Mike Kivuva, Andrew Mutua and Jotham Nguri, are the three winners of “Nokia Hack” the mobile application competition hosted by Nokia. The two day event pitched developers against each other, in the search for rich, compelling apps for Nokia smartphones.
Mike Kivuva bagged the first prize for his app “Skinswap”, which allows users to get wallpapers easily and create a hybrid of animals and skins based on preference. Want a wallpaper of a lion with a zebra skin? No problem! In addition, the app allows you to share the wallpapers via social media channels.
“I’m extremely delighted to have won with Nokia. It’s a clear demonstration that Kenya’s mobile app developers, like me, have a great chance to place themselves on a global platform with locally relevant ideas,” said Mike Kivuva.
Andrew Mutua, the first runner up, won for his app “Mhasibu”, which helps manage your finances, expenses, bill reminder, and debt management. “Quick Drums” by Jotham Nguri, was the second runner up, with his beat creation app, able to also record and join sequences.
“We are incredibly proud of the developers that won, as they rose to the challenge and pushed the envelope in developing applications that stood out with the judges. The energy and enthusiasm that the developers brought to this challenge was amazing and we encourage them to keep up the momentum,” said Peter Karimi, Business Development Manager within EDX, Nokia East Africa.
The competition received over 300 developer applications, of which 120 were shortlisted. There were over 70 applications developed, 14 of which were selected as the top apps to be presented to the judges.
Other apps that were showcased included: Safety Plus, an app for road safety where user’s report & share incidents; QDj, an app that allows mixing of video and audio, rating and sharing of tracks; MyBike, an app that tracks biking duration, speed and distance; MegaCalc, an all in one calculator with body mass index and mathematical formulas; Fiad Finder, a file finding application for mobile devices; People Around, which is a mix of Foursquare and Facebook of sorts, which highlights a list of friends near your location; iBudget which helps users with budgeting and calculation of daily and monthly expenses; Dashboard, able to notify a driver once they go over a certain speed limit; and finally Airstream, an app that streams Kenyan music and radio stations, news & sports and offers around 500 stations.
Peter Karimi added, “We had only expected 100 subscriptions but received over 300. This is a clear indication of the enthusiasm and determination our developers have to come up with rich apps that meet the specific needs of consumers. We will continue to reach out and partner with developers to build a vibrant local ecosystem.”
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have become an integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia’s technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most recognized in the world. For more information, visit http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia.
Image via capitalfm.co.ke
