Several awards were given away at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress. Nokia made it to several categories as a winner.
The GSMA CEO’s Award for Outstanding Environmental Contribution – Nokia
The GSMA’s inaugural Green Mobile Awards recognised an overall sensitivity to, and contribution, to environmental leadership with this the first GSMA CEO’s Award for Outstanding award for an Overall Environmental Contribution. The award went to Nokia. “It is an honour to accept this on behalf of the thousands of Nokia people who have made sustainable, environmentally sensitive practices an integral part of our day to day business. With more than a billion people using Nokia phones globally, we feel we have a responsibility to make a difference.” He added, “Even in these tough economic times, environmental sustainability is not just the right thing to do, it is the only thing to do and makes good business sense,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia.
Best Mobile Internet Service – Nokia Sports Tracker
Nokia Sports Tracker is a web-based application for mobile devices that monitors exercise and tracks fitness levels while making the information available online to share with friends. This unique application, available from sportstracker.nokia.com, acts like a virtual training buddy by monitoring activity as it happens and uploading it to a personal page while the online community is a hub of advice-giving, route-sharing fitness fans from all over the world.
Phenomenal demand meant Nokia Sports Tracker was launched ahead of schedule in 150 countries to ensure fitness fans could start using it as soon as possible. Available on all Nokia S60 3rd edition devices, it has been downloaded by a massive 2.5million people to date, recording a total exercise distance of 31 times the distance to the moon!
Judges’ comments: “A great example of a service that utilises the capabilities of high tier handsets to deliver a compelling application and service proposition. The ability to share data captured on the handset with a community of users typifies how social networks are increasingly being driven by mobile use.”
Watch the video coverage of Fonearena here.
Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough – RIM – BlackBerry Storm 9500 SurePress Screen
The revolutionary BlackBerry® Storm™ 9500 SurePressTM touchscreen is large and vibrant with a truly tactile touch interface. Purpose-built for exclusive carriers, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless, the BlackBerry Storm SurePress touchscreen is a world first and overcomes difficulties associated with typing on traditional touchscreen devices. It builds on RIM’s acknowledged leadership in the smartphone market and takes it to the next level by incorporating touch with confirmation so users are able to experience a new level of interaction with a touchscreen mobile device. The precision typing and navigation enables a whole range of applications and features that have not been possible on a touchscreen mobile device.
Best Mobile Handset or Device – INQ¹
INQ describes INQ¹ as the first Social Mobile, because the INQ¹ is an affordable handset with a range of fully-integrated social networking features like Facebook, Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Last.fm. INQ is also one of the first mobile companies to create a ‘living address book’ which merges and automatically updates phone numbers, emails and Facebook status and photos of all your contacts. The result is a device featuring Internet-driven applications that are so intuitive and seamless it’s actually incredibly easy for mass market consumers to enjoy fully portable social networking at a reasonable price.
Nokia – Nokia E71
Email is made easy with the Nokia E71. The world’s thinnest mobile QWERTY device, the Nokia E71 is designed for easy setup and use, offering access to a wide range of personal and professional messaging needs – including Microsoft Exchange, the world’s most widely adopted corporate email solution – as well as thousands of ISPs.
Designed for a busy mobile lifestyle, the Nokia E71 provides one-touch access to email, calendar and contacts. It’s compatible with Nokia’s Ovi services including maps, music and media and comes with customizable home screens – one for work, one for home – which allows users to switch over when they switch off from work.
T-Mobile – T-Mobile G1
T-Mobile G1 is the device built for the mobile internet. The unique design of its hard- and software makes it a device that brings the value of the mobile internet to everyone.
G1 is the world’s first Android based mobile phone. Android, a mobile software stack developed by the Open Handset Alliance, gives users and developers unparalleled opportunities to customize their phone and enrich its features.
Android Market offers thousands of great applications for download to tailor-make G1 to one´s individual needs. Efficient and modern multi-tasking allows T-Mobile G1 to respond and perform swiftly with the wide variety of applications.
Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development – Nuance Communications – Airtel-T9 India Consumer Vernacular Messaging Campaigns
This entry is based on creative and innovative programs completed jointly by Bharti Airtel, India’s leading Mobile Carrier, and T9 Predictive Text (now a Nuance Communications product) to drive mobile vernacular messaging in India. The objective was to promote Hindi script to communicate via SMS — utilizing Hindi T9 — to Hindi-speaking family and friends. The result, measured by Airtel messaging servers, was a sharp uptake in SMS usage. This represents a social phenomenon against globalization: by utilizing mobile phones, Indian society can maintain Hindi and vernacular language script, and thereby retain traditional linguistic and cultural identity into the 21st century.
Judges’ comments: “A truly moving project that combines technology and tradition to protect and encourage the use of a language that is core to a national identity. With literacy posing a major issue with SMS, this is one very impactful way of resolving it.”
Other winners:
Best Mobile Game – Gameloft – Real Fooball 2009
Digital Chocolate – AvaPeeps: FlirtNation
Best Mobile Music or Video Service – BBC – BBC iPlayer on mobile
Best Mobile Advertising Service – Turkcell – Tonla Kazan
Best Mobile TV Service – MobiTV
Best Mobile Enterprise Product or Service – Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited
Best Mobile Money Service – Safaricom and Vodafone – M-PESA
Best Broadcast Commercial – KT Freetel – Show is ……
Best Mobile Brand Campaign – R/GA London – Nokia Urbanista Diaries
Best Network Technology Advance – Nokia Siemens Networks – Flexi Multimode BTS Software defined HSPA/LTE
Best Service Delivery Platform – NewBay Software – LifeCache Social Networking Solution 2.0
The 2009 GSMA Chairman’s Award – Research in Motion (RIM)