Nokia search on for most popular RSS app

MANILA, Philippines - Today’s mobile phone apps are like yesterday’s wallpapers and ringing tones when once upon a time, people couldn’t get enough of them.

Because mobile devices now are more high tech than ever before, mobile phone apps have been flying off the digital shelves and straight into the devices of the bored, information-hungry, and diehard tech fan.

But for those who want to go a notch higher and make an app for you to share with the rest of the world, here’s your chance. Submit the app that you created using the new Ovi app wizard (http://www.ovi.com/appwizard) and win a new Nokia device and up to $5,000.

If you’re a publisher with RSS-enabled content, you can use the new Ovi app wizard to create an application for use on Nokia mobile devices in a matter of minutes. It’s the fastest and easiest way to create an app for distribution in Nokia’s Ovi Store. 

In fact, publishers from 94 countries have already used the new online tool to create locally relevant apps, which deliver a valuable service to consumers.

Creative examples of how the Ovi app wizard is being used include apps for things like comparing gasoline prices by location, bringing together communities of interest, and providing timely traveler alerts like the Ash Cloud app.

Once your new app is published on Ovi Store, submit it to Calling All Innovators (http://www.callingallinnovators.com/bestrssapps/) and be eligible to win one of 10 special prizes for the Most Popular RSS Apps created using the Ovi app wizard. 

The top 10 submissions for Most Popular RSS Apps will win a Nokia E72 and a Nokia N97 mini. The No. 1 submission will also win a cash prize of $5,000 and Spotlight placement in the Ovi Store.

To be considered for this prize, select one of the four contest categories (Eco/Being Green, Entertainment, Productivity, and Life Improvement). 

All submissions for the Most Popular RSS Apps must be in by June 10. 

The top 10 submissions will be determined based on the following criteria:

• Innovative use of the Ovi app wizard tool;

• Marketing plans and tactics demonstrating how the application will be promoted in the Ovi Store. Nokia wants to see creativity — think of all of the online resources available (one’s website or blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and;

• Total downloads of the app from the Ovi Store by July 15.

After the top 10 apps are announced, the creators will compete to see which app will be ranked No. 1. 

The top 10 will have until Aug. 30 to promote additional downloads for their respective apps. At the end of August, downloads will be tallied again, and the app with the most downloads will be named the Most Popular RSS App.

The winner will be announced in September at the awards ceremony for Calling All Innovators during the Nokia Developer Summit.

The Nokia Stories contest

Meanwhile, to celebrate nine solid years of being the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Platinum awardee when it comes to mobile phones, Nokia has launched a three-month contest called The Nokia Stories.  

Now is the chance for Nokia users to tell people about the greatest, funniest or most interesting experiences they have had with their Nokia mobile devices. 

Log on to www.nokia.com/ph/nokiastories and write about this experience. Tell how the Nokia phone saved the day, how it helped in that long-distance relationship with a significant other, how it’s a new best friend, and so on.

Nokia will post the best entries on the site, and every month, it will choose two winners to receive a brand new Nokia 2220 slide. 

The Nokia 2220 slide is a compact quality slider that helps the user express himself while giving him practical ways to stay connected and organized. 

Listen to the built-in FM radio and stay entertained, browse the Internet with GPRS connectivity and access social networking sites, keep up with the news, and search for useful information, all on the move. 

The user also use his free e-mail address from Ovi by Nokia on the Nokia 2220 slide or access free webmail on any PC, write notes to help remember shopping lists, directions, and other information he needs throughout the day, and store up to 1,000 entries in the phone book.