Young regional developers given platform to showcase talents
Alongside the latest N9 handset featuring Near Field Communications (NFC) handset technologies as seen by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai yesterday, Nokia is showing its dedication to the developer community in both the UAE and the region through a series of activities and competitions at this year’s GITEX event.
Following on from the success of its Ramadan application campaign that saw over one million downloads from around the region during the holy month, Nokia is amplifying its developer strategy to encourage app developers to partner with Nokia and give them the expert counsel, and financial support they require to bring fantastic app ideas to fruition. Part of these initiatives, Nokia will be conducting free of charge developer training workshop on its apps development frame work with a focus on its newly launched Nokia N9 smartphone and the latest Near Field Communications (NFC) offering. These workshops present a great opportunity for any developer to keep right up to date with the latest tools from Nokia and show how to leverage the new NFC technology when developing apps.
At the heart of the GITEX apps activity will also be the Nokia Lounge event with the “Pitch Your App” competition taking place on Tuesday evening at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, in Dubai, co-hosted with CPI. Participants will have the opportunity to pitch their app idea in front of a camera and three winners will be chosen who will receive financial support and guidance to help make their app ideas become a reality. The competition also promises a web reality TV show for the first winner, the first of its kind in the region. Interviews and self-shot sequences will be posted weekly and will capture three months in a life of an app developer. To top the competition off, Nokia will also offer the winners a route to success: comprehensive technical support to develop the app but also a very appealing marketing package, including prime visibility in the Nokia Store for the winning apps and inclusion in Nokia digital media for promotion.
Praveen Prabhakaran, Marketing Solutions Manager, Nokia Lower Gulf, said: “With the application and developer ecosystem expanding at such a rate, Nokia is keen to ensure young and burgeoning talent is given the best chance to succeed in this dynamic environment. We are very excited about the Pitch Your App competition and look forward to seeing the ‘apps of the near future’ in their concept stage and with our support, witness them become a reality.”
Over 50,000 applications are now available for easy download at the online Nokia Store, while direct billing with Etisalat enables quick and easy payment.
Nokia’s stand (S1-MAC2) will be located in Sheikh Saeed Hall 1 in the Mobile, Apps, Content section. This year, Nokia’s highlights at Gitex will focus on the upcoming Nokia N9 device, the introduction of the NFC technology, and the new devices range based on the new Symbian release: Symbian Belle. Nokia also promises great new experiences combining NFC with content sharing, social networks and much more.
About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services,, including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.
