MACAU, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The GSM Association (GSMA), the global
trade group for the mobile industry, today announced the winners of the APAC
leg of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition. The winners were
announced at the GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress, Asia's leading mobile
communications event, that's taken place in Macau, China this week.
The Mobile Innovation Marketplace at the Mobile Asia Congress is a unique
platform for top innovators competing for the Mobile Innovation Global Award
Championship title. During this event 15 emerging growth companies from around
the world competed in five categories and their innovative products and
services were reviewed by senior executives from mobile operators, industry
suppliers and venture capital organisations. The distinguished judging panel
included representatives from Vodafone Ventures, Belgacom, Orange, SK Telecom,
Telecom Italia, Microsoft, Intel Capital, and ICT 168 Capital.
The Global Finalists for the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award
Competition - APAC Tournament are:
-- TuneWiki, US
-- CooTek, China
And the five Global Semi-Finalists are:
Most Innovative Wireless Device-centric Technology
-- CooTek, China
Most Innovative Carrier Infrastructure or Platform
-- Sunbay, Switzerland
Most Innovative Mobile Application in a Vertical Market
-- Impetus Technologies, India
Most Innovative Consumer Application or Service
-- TuneWiki, US
Most Innovative 'True Mobile Start-Up'
-- Sentry Wireless, Ireland
"Driven by an impressive entrepreneurial spirit and a desire for technical
excellence, it's clear there are some outstanding opportunities ahead for
these highly innovative companies with their 'best of breed' products and
services," said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer for the GSMA. "We
commend the enthusiasm and commitment shown by all the finalists in the
competition, who have clearly shown they have what it takes to succeed in the
mobile world."
The Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition was created by the GSMA as
part of the Mobile Innovation Market, which encourages breakthrough
technology, applications and services in the mobile industry by bringing
together smaller companies developing innovative mobile products and
solutions, with industry investors from leading venture capital firms and
senior figures from mobile operators and leading global brands.
TuneWiki and CooTek have won the right to compete against other regional
Mobile Innovation Global Finalists for the prestigious title of the 2009 GSMA
Mobile Innovation Global Award Champion, to be named during the GSMA's Mobile
World Congress, the largest, most significant and most successful global
mobile event in the world, in Barcelona next February. The Platinum sponsor
of the Mobile Innovation Marketplace is the Generalitat de Catalunya
(Government of Catalonia).
Quotes from the judges
"We have seen some great innovation from these brave young enterprises.
Through this continuing innovation, the mobile industry can overcome the
current financial crisis and continue to generate values to our customers,"
said Dr Cheol Kim, Team Leader of Future Business Sourcing Team, SK Telecom
"We are delighted and encouraged by the innovation displayed at this
year's Mobile Innovation Marketplace at the GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress. We
look forward to partnering with a number of these start-ups," said Matthew
Fix, Principal, Vodafone Ventures
"I was very impressed by the quality of the companies presenting in Macau
at the Mobile Innovation Marketplace. TuneWiki was a deserving winner in what
turned out to be an extremely competitive process," said Marcos Battisti,
Sector Director, Mobility, EMEA, Intel Capital
"TuneWiki's winning solution is an interesting innovation that brings
together music and the community world with lyrics in multiple languages,
which will be really cool for young people," said Paolo Paganucci, President
of Scouting & Benchmarking, TIM
"In the face of challenging economic times, it's great to see the pace of
innovation has not slackened," said Jeff Belk, Principal, ICT 168 Capital
"This competition has been the toughest of all of the tournaments so far,
with exceptional choice. The two winners, though, have great technologies.
CooTek provides essential 'next generation' technology for touch phones, while
TuneWiki takes karaoke to everyone. I can't wait to hear the revellers in the
Paris Metro," said Steve Glagow, VP Marketing, Orange Partner Program, Orange
"Great companies! Great ideas! I was pleased to see more 'greener' and
'social' related solutions, which is very promising," said Frederic Schepens,
EVP Strategic Business Development, Belgacom, ICS
For more information on the GSMA's Mobile Innovation Market and the Mobile
Innovation Global Award Competition, please visit:
http://www.mobileinnovation.org and http://www.mobileinnovation.org/awards.
Entry for the Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition - EMEA
Tournament, to be held at the GSMA's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in
February, closes on December 5th, 2008.
About the GSMA
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade group representing more
than 750 GSM mobile operators across 218 countries and territories of the
world. The Association's members represent more than 3 billion GSM and 3GSM
connections -- over 86% of the world's mobile phone connections. In addition,
more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's
initiatives.
The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless
services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to
individual customers and national economies, while creating new business
opportunities for operators and their suppliers.
The GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress
The GSMA is co-organising the Mobile Asia Congress 2008 at the Cotai
Strip(R)CotaiExpo(TM), the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel with China Mobile and
China Unicom From 18-20 November 2008. Telenor, one of the largest pan-Asia
operators, is a platinum sponsor of the event; Nokia China is a gold sponsor.
For more information, visit: http://www.gsm.org.
