Calling All Developers: Help Select the Winners of Verizon's Apply Your Ideas Mobile Apps Contest

October 6, 2009 12:00 PM EDT

SAN DIEGO and BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon today announced the semi-finalists in its inaugural Apply Your Ideas mobile applications contest and invited registered members of the Verizon Developer Community to log on and cast their votes for the winners beginning Oct. 7. The company also introduced a diverse panel of judges who will select the Grand Prize winning application.

The Apply Your Ideas judges represent the best of the technology industry and have creative, financial, consumer and technical expertise. The judges are:

    --  Chris Connaway, super-user and member of the Verizon online community
        who participates in Verizon's consumer forums to help people who are new
        to electronic devices be more productive in their work and personal
        lives by making their phones work for them.  He has worked in the
        automotive industry for more than 10 years, most recently as a technical
        manager.
    --  Mitch Lasky, general partner, Benchmark Capital, and former executive
        vice president of Mobile and Online at Electronic Arts who has spent
        more than two decades in the mobile gaming, new media and interactive
        entertainment business.
    --  Kevin Thau, head of Mobile, Twitter, and industry veteran who has worked
        with service providers, device manufacturers and content providers to
        help develop the ecosystem in which today's global wireless data and
        premium content businesses have evolved.
    --  Gigi Wang, board member and chair emeritus of the MIT/Stanford Venture
        Lab (VLAB), a high-tech forum in Silicon Valley with an international
        background in marketing, sales and strategy for mobile, Web services and
        telecom companies.

    --  Pete Wentz, bassist and lyricist of the GRAMMY(®)-nominated band Fall
        Out Boy who has leveraged his music stardom into a complete portfolio of
        music recording and label management, apparel, publishing and media, and
        nightlife projects.  His boundless range of talents and prolific
        entrepreneurial skills has solidified his place as one of
        entertainment's most successful stars.

The Grand Prize-winning application will be selected by the judges from among the category winners. The judges will examine each application's originality and innovation, quality, appeal, technical execution, and overall value proposition in choosing the winner, which will be featured in V CAST Apps when it launches later this year. The Grand Prize winner will also take home $50,000 and 200 percent of the application's revenue for a year (to a maximum of actual revenue plus $100,000).

VDC Members to Vote for Category and People's Choice Winners

Winners will be chosen in the five contest categories - Connect, Enhance Living, Entertain, Guide, and Save Time - for which there were sufficient eligible entries. Voting continues through midnight Pacific Daylight Time on Oct. 17. Members of the VDC can vote once each day in each category, choosing the top application in each category based upon innovation, quality and consumer appeal. The application with the most votes among the winning applications will be named the People's Choice winner.

The semi-finalists in each category are:

CONNECT

    --  AP Movil - Stay connected with what's happening in the world and in your
        area with multiple language support from AP Movil.  Designed
        specifically for BlackBerry(®) devices, AP Movil is the only news
        application that lets you seamlessly toggle back and forth from English
        to Spanish while keeping all your customizable settings.  Tap into
        breaking stories, browse award-winning photos, share news with friends
        and post to your favorite networking sites.
    --  Hockey Scores - A simple application to quickly and easily see all of
        the day's hockey scores.
    --  mGreeting - BlackBerry users can now send greeting cards to dear ones on
        special occasions.  Select or create your own greeting cards and choose
        from pre-existing greeting templates that can be customized before
        sending.
    --  PicDial - PicDial's "Automatic Picture Caller ID" lets you share your
        Facebook / MySpace profile picture (or any picture taken with your
        phone) with your PicDial friends every time you call.  When you change
        your picture or status, it is automatically updated on your friends'
        phones.  You determine the picture others see when you call.  PicDial
        also brings your mobile address book to life by linking your contacts to
        their information from social networking sites.

    --  Vaayoo - Vaayoo's multifaceted social application comes for the first
        time to BlackBerry users.  You can Click n Share photos and videos to
        Web communities, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, along with other cool
        social networking and sharing features.  Features include Global Mail
        Recording, sending video/audio messages and picture messages; Click n
        Share photo and video uploads to Facebook and video upload to YouTube;
        My Peeps to connect you with people who share your interests and
        passions; vBox to automatically upload all your pictures, videos and
        audios from your phone to your private Web box; and veeTweets, the first
        mobile based video Twitter that allows you to add a flair to your Tweets
        from your mobile phone with video, photos, or audio.

ENHANCE LIVING

    --  Anywhere Abs - Anywhere Abs is like having a workout partner on your
        BlackBerry.  It will guide you step-by-step through a routine to
        strengthen your core. This routine, which takes only six minutes to
        complete at the advanced level, is perfect for the frequent traveler or
        for home use.  It can be performed anywhere there is space on the floor,
        making it an ideal hotel room workout.  Anywhere Abs consists of six
        exercises, performed while a timer counts down for the duration of each
        exercise.
    --  craigslist mobile by Movela - craigslist mobile is a full-featured
        client application for BlackBerry devices that allows users to browse
        and search craigslist postings, bookmark and reply to posts, save
        searches and more.  The application supports all categories and all
        countries supported by www.craigslist.org.
    --  Edocrab - Edocrab (barcode spelled backwards) is a new, free app for the
        BlackBerry that will let you scan product barcodes with your camera and
        get instant online price comparisons, user reviews, product images,
        video clips, and more.  You can even make purchases online directly from
        your BlackBerry.  The Watchlist feature allows you to set price alerts
        on products and easily monitor for price drops on any item.

    --  MobileCamViewer Lite for BlackBerry - MobileCamViewer Lite brings live,
        high-quality video from your webcams or IP cameras to your BlackBerry. 
        The software runs on a carrier-grade platform and is compatible with all
        PC-based webcams as well as IP cameras from Panasonic, Axis, Sony and
        more.  MobileCamViewer Lite is ideal for use in the home, where it can
        be used as a video baby monitor, pet cam or nanny cam.  The application
        has entertainment value as well; with simultaneous viewing, users can
        share their live video with family and friends all over the world.

ENTERTAIN

    --  Abyss - Abyss is a new action-puzzle game relying on an original
        concept. Exclusively designed for the BlackBerry(®) Storm(TM), Abyss
        uses the touch screen accelerometer to provide fun and innovative
        gameplay.  The goal of the game is to rearrange colored pieces by
        sliding them so that Pearls do not fall in the Abyss of the ocean.
    --  AllHipHop - AllHipHop.com has been the #1 online community for urban
        consumers for 11 years.  The AllHipHop news, entertainment and lifestyle
        application delivers a massive amount of original news, music and video
        content on a daily basis.  Leveraging GPS technology, our application
        will offer directions to and discounts at local hot spots and even
        access to money-making job opportunities in neighborhoods across
        America.  True to our reputation as tastemaker, we feature and sell
        other apps that deliver entertainment, economic, education and
        productivity value to the millions of urban consumers that we serve and
        influence.  In an effort to help urban cell phone subscribers save money
        on things like wiring funds to family and friends, the AllHipHop
        application will include access to wireless wallet capabilities that are
        connected to our uVIP pre-paid credit card.
    --  America's Best Mobile Pix - aPix, the world's largest mobile photo
        sharing community, lets you show off your awesome photos and see fun pix
        of cute babies, the hottest guys, and much more for the sake of
        popularity and the chance at cool prizes.  Browse, vote, rate and
        comment on an endless collection of photos as well as meet new people in
        your area to text and trade photos with.

    --  Revball - Revball is an exciting new paddle ball game for the BlackBerry
        Storm.  Part pinball, part ping-pong, but completely unique, Revball is
        a fast-paced game of skill that features exciting animations, sound
        effects and game play uniquely designed around the Storm's touch screen
        interface.  The object is to strategically hit the ball with your paddle
        to keep it from escaping the circular arena.  One challenging level
        after another must be completed to beat the computer and earn the title
        of Champion.  Simple to learn, Revball's addictive action will quickly
        make it your favorite game for the BlackBerry Storm.

GUIDE

    --  Berryminder - Have you ever gone to the grocery store, only to find that
        you forgot your list?  Have you ever been at work and thought of
        something you needed to do when you get home?  Have you ever wished your
        to-do list would remind you based on your location? Berryminder is an
        application that allows you to set alerts based on your GPS-determined
        location.  Set a detailed alert and attach a location to it so that
        whenever you enter the specified region, the alert appears.  Berryminder
        also contains standard alarm features and date-based alerts that aren't
        location dependent.

    --  DealAtlas - DealAtlas is the ultimate guide for shoppers in the field
        and lets you leverage the power of your location to find the best deals,
        many of which will be exclusive to DealAtlas users.  Search for the best
        deals with a single click and eliminate tedious sifting through mobile
        Web sites or product databases.

SAVE TIME

    --  Call Control Lite - Call Control blocks telemarketers that appear on a
        user-generated Community Blacklist, effectively reducing or eliminating
        unwanted spam telephone calls to your BlackBerry.  It works better than
        traditional call blocking applications because Call Control Lite has
        identified over 2.5 million spam callers and is continuously updated
        based on user and Government Do-Not-Call complaints.
    --  It Has Been - It Has Been is a multi-purpose timer that helps you
        remember all the important tasks that took place, featuring an unlimited
        number of timers, six of them accessible on the screen at any time. 
        With the application, you will know how long it has been since you
        changed the AC filter in your home or how long it has been since you
        last went for a dental cleanup.
    --  Mobi4Biz - Mobi4Biz puts 24/7 business news and personalized stock info
        where you need it - in your hand.  You can view live business TV on CNBC
        and more, plus breaking video alerts on your stocks.

    --  splitCosts - splitCosts allows you to split bills or expenses among a
        group of people. It allows you to create different events in which bills
        or expenses can be added to it so that it can be split evenly at the end
        of the event.  For example, when on vacation with friends and family and
        several people are paying for different bills or expenses, simply input
        the costs into splitCosts and at the end of the vacation, click "Settle
        Event" and it will display who owes money to whom.

For complete contest rules, visit www.applyyourideas.com/official_rules.aspx. Information about the VDC, including how to register, is available at http://developer.verizon.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving 87.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 87,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

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