MobileMonday Global

^{Asia-Pacific winners announced at CommunicAsia 2008} Joikusoft wins a Navteq award

Joikusoft has won the Grand Prize at Navteq’s annual location-based developers’ program. The win was announced during an awards ceremony at CommunicAsia 2008.

Joikusoft received a prize package valued at USD 275,000, including USD 50,000 in cash and USD 225,000 in Navteq data licences.

Navteq is a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation.

Joikusoft’s solution, JoikuSpot, is a free location-aware mobile software solution which turns Nokia Smartphones into hotspots. When the software is installed on the phone, laptops and internet tablets can establish wireless internet connections via the phone’s 3G internet connection. Virtually any wireless device can become its own hotspot.

Three runners-up - Road-Guard; Point-I; and Pacific DataVision – each received USD 7,500 in cash along with data licences valued at USD 150,000. Road-Guard’s GreenDrive patented technology helps drivers develop smart and safe driving techniques that lead to average fuel savings of 10-25 percent. GreenDrive senses the nature and significance of impending road attributes which influence fuel consumption and alerts the driver and provides drivers with both real-time and historical information about their eco-driving performances.

Point-I’s solution, On2Gether, provides communication, location information, security and entertainment all at once. Location-based features include message, call and chatting, avatars, and pictures between friends. On2gether also provides indirect exposure of location information by showing only the distance on the home screen, and helps guarantee security by sending the location periodically when in safety mode. On2gether is perfect for social networking between friends.

Pacific DataVision’s solution, SkyMail, enables mobile workers to quickly send a prioritised voice message with their location from a mobile phone to any email address in the world. Locator for SkyMail provides user-initiated tracking and includes GPS coordinates, physical address, an interactive map, and timestamp in addition to the SkyMail voice message.

The twelve finalists of the competition representing the APAC region embodied a broad spectrum of wireless applications and were selected based on commercial feasibility, functionality, ease of use and design. The final judging panel included executives from Autodesk, Bridge Mobile, Celcom, Garmin, Mobility Magazine, Motorola, Nokia, Reliance Entertainment, Singapore Land Authority, Singtel, and SK Telecom. Since the launch of the Navteq Global LBS Challenge in 2003, approximately 25 percent of the finalist companies have gone on to receive venture capital funding or launch commercially distributed applications, many on major wireless carriers.

Nokia returned as a three-time Global Sponsor of this year’s contest, with the Nokia N95 serving as the Official Device of the 2008 Global LBS Challenge. Autodesk also returned as a multi-year sponsor and as a Global Sponsor for the first time.

No comments