BlackBerry names 12 app finalists

BlackBerry Partners Fund yesterday announced 12 BlackBerry smartphone applications that were selected as Regional Finalists in the third annual BlackBerry Partners Fund ‚Super Apps‚ Developer Challenge. They each receive a finalist prize package valued at almost $35,000 and competed for an additional $85,000 in prizing in the fourth and final round of judging, which took place yesterday.

The finalists selected were from the North America, Latin America, Europe/Middle East and Africa regions and their applications ranged from free dictionaries to GPS mapping solutions.

North American Finalists: Dictionary and Thesaurus ‚ Dictionary.com: The only free dictionary app for BlackBerry smartphones is from Dictionary.com. Their well-known reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com includes more than 500,000 words, definitions, and synonyms. The app also features phonetic and audio pronunciations, spelling suggestions and Dictionary.com’s popular Word of the Day that is enjoyed by millions of people.

Poynt: Poynt enables users to find businesses, retailers, restaurants, movies, gas prices (US only) and weather information. It uses GPS or cell-site location to quickly deliver the information users need, whenever and wherever they need it, right on their BlackBerry smartphone.

Vayyoo: With Vayyoo it has never been easier to capture and share life’s moments in one BlackBerry application. Whether users are out with friends, having fun on vacation, or witnessing breaking news, Vayyoo makes capturing and sharing moments simple by integrating the camera, location, email and many other BlackBerry smartphone features. Latin America Finalists: Navita Sports: Navita Sports provides up-to-the-minute sport scores and coverage including Soccer, Tennis and Formula 1, Basketball, Football, Hockey and Rugby. Games times are based on a user’s Time Zone: in some sports users can choose which categories they like to watch, and more.

Vlingo Plus – Voice App: Vlingo is the intelligent voice app that turns a user’s words into action. With Vlingo users can simply speak to their BlackBerry smartphone to send a text or email message to any contact: search the web using Google or Yahoo!: call a friend: update their Facebook or Twitter status: use instant messaging apps: and, speak to virtually any application. It also reads incoming text and email messages while users are on the go.

Waze (LATAM): Waze’s social navigation app brings users to the intersection of where geogaming meets crowdsourced traffic info and real-time live maps. In addition to providing free turn-by-turn navigation on BlackBerry smartphones, Waze also gives drivers the ability to actively update one other on traffic, construction, and more, reflecting a live description of the road at any given moment.

Europe / Middle East / Africa Finalists

CamCard(Business Card Reader): CamCard is a professional business card reader based on IntSig’s market leading OCR technologies. It helps users turn piles of business cards into BlackBerry Contacts with just a few clicks. Users need only provide clear card photos either by built-in camera or album. Snap and click, and all info on the business card will be automatically recognized and categorized.

n-tv mobil: This application enables users to get the latest news and videos anytime and anywhere on their BlackBerry smartphones. Users can open news articles at the push of a button: open and configure Favorites: find information on scheduled German soccer league matches, and more.

UbiNav EU: UbiNav turns a BlackBerry smartphone into a reliable GPS mapping solution with real-time turn by turn navigation on screen. Users can listen to the turn-by-turn vocal instructions and find whatever they need wherever they are. They can find, map, navigate to, or simply call over 10 million businesses listed within the database. Asia Pacific Finalists Forum for BlackBerry: REMKO’s Forum is an application for mobile devices where users can discuss the latest News and Events, Politics, Gossip, Music, Sports, Religion, Fashion, Love and Relationships, etc. with other BlackBerry smartphone owners worldwide. Users can also exchange images, ringtones and files with others while on the go. Love Indonesia: This application is an all-in-one guide for Indonesia on BlackBerry smartphones. It is a free location-based lifestyle portal that guides users in finding anything they need with its different search features. It provides regular reviews and discount promotions of merchants for each city in Indonesia, along with information on restaurants, hotels, shopping, movies, news, traffic, events and more.

Ramadhan Pocket Guide: Ramadhan Pocket Guide for BlackBerry smartphones provides up to date information about Islamic Prayer Schedules, Imsak Schedules and Adzan reminders. Users can choose schedules and reminders based on location, enhanced with notification alerts using vibration and actual Adzan sounds. ‚Congratulations to the developers that created the apps we selected as finalists in their respective regions and category,‚ said Kevin Talbot, Co-Managing Partner, BlackBerry Partners Fund. ‚Over the course of this year’s Developer Challenge, we’ve reviewed and tested some of the most compelling apps available. Those that made it this far certainly rank among the top apps we’ve seen to date.‚ The Regional Finalists were selected from across seven categories: Productivity, Fun & Games, Knowledge, Sharing, Navigate & Explore, Multi-media, and In the Know. The applications were judged on quality, user experience and how effectively they incorporated ‚Super App‚ characteristics, which take advantage of the BlackBerry Application Platform’s unique capabilities. Participants in this year’s Developer Challenge are competing for a total prize package valued at over US$1.5 million. Full contest details, including links to Regional Selections, Regional Semi-Finalists and Regional Finalists is available at http://www.blackberrypartnersfund.com/2010challenge. Prizes are made possible with the help of members of the BlackBerry Developer Services community ‚ including 151 Ventures, App-Promo, DeviceAnywhere, Medialocate, Mob4Hire, and Perfecto Mobile ‚ who are providing numerous services to participants in this year’s BlackBerry Partners Fund Developer Challenge.