At an exciting WAP developers forum held in Auckland today, Nokia announced the launch of its "Best of WAP" contest which will challenge the WAP community of New Zealand to bring new and exciting services to the mobile phone users. This contest is an extension of the Nokia Artus Developers Program and aims to bring more localization to WAP service content.
As one of the first WAP competitions in Asia Pacific, the inaugural Nokia Best of WAP award covers three categories - Information, Entertainment and Business Applications. There will be prizes awarded to the top three winners from each of these categories, as well as one grand-prize overall winner.
This award will create an exciting opportunity for exceptional WAP service developers to receive the recognition that they deserve for their efforts. Aside from the publicity and promotion of their created services, winners will also receive Nokia's latest WAP products, with the overall winner receiving a trip for two to CeBIT 2001, in Hanover, Germany. Also under consideration to be awarded may be the potential of investment by Nokia in winning individuals and companies.
Registration will commence Monday 1st May, 2000 and close Saturday 1st July, 2000. The three winners in each of the three categories will be announced on Monday 7th August with a prize-giving and gala dinner taking place in Auckland Thursday 17th August, 2000.
The distinguished judging panel for the award finals will include: Nokia New Zealand's Managing Director, Phil Kemp; Bo Ilsoe, Director of Marketing and Strategy, Nokia Networks, Asia Pacific; along with several local industry experts such as Nigel Horrocks, Editor NZ NetGuide Magazine.
"The Best of WAP contest is one way in which Nokia will stimulate the market for applications and services for the Mobile Internet. We are delighted to be staging this contest in New Zealand and look forward to creative and innovative applications that will enable New Zealanders to put the 'Internet into their pockets'," says Mr. Phil Kemp, Managing Director, Nokia New Zealand.
"WAP is an integral part of Nokia's vision towards a Mobile Information Society and we see this contest as a means of expanding our expectations and stimulating the creation of newer and more personalized services in New Zealand," added Kemp.
A leader in the cellular industry in many markets in Asia Pacific, Nokia provides innovative, industry leading and market-relevant technology and products to around 30 diverse markets in the region.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is an open global standard for communication between a mobile handset and the Internet or other computer application. WAP-based technology enables the design of advanced, interactive and real-time mobile services, such as mobile banking or Internet-based news services, which can be used in digital mobile phones or other mobile devices. The WAP specification allows solutions from multiple suppliers to perform consistently and reliably for the end-user across digital networks. For more WAP information visit: www.wapforum.org.
Nokia is paving the way to the mobile information society with its innovative products and solutions. The company is the leading mobile phone supplier and a leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks, related services as well as multimedia terminals. In 1999, Nokia's net sales totaled EUR 19.8 billion (USD 19.9 billion). Headquartered in Finland, Nokia is listed on the New York (NOK), Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Frankfurt and Paris stock exchanges and employs more than 55 000 people.
Further information:
Michael Buchholz, Marketing Communications Manager, Asia Pacific, Nokia Networks
Tel: +65 377 4615, Fax:+65 377 4717
Lisa Rothwell, Marketing / Communications, Nokia New Zealand
Tel: +64 9 3753 514, Fax:+64 9 3022 888, E-mail: lisa.rothwell@nokia.com