Vodacom has unveiled 'Dawn of the Living Widgets', a widget workshop and competition, to encourage developers to be creative and experiment with widget technology.
'Dawn of the Living Widgets' will take place on 5 September at Vodaworld, and developers are invited to demonstrate their skills by developing a mobile application or widget in about five hours.
Developers will compete for a first prize of R50 000 and will be judged by a panel comprising experts from Vodacom, Vodafone and the SA mobile industry at large.
The judging will be based on three criteria: usability, innovation and the creativity of each design, as well as the value of the widget or application to users.
Apart from a chance to win the first, second and third prizes, developers submitting a widget can also make their entries available through the Vodafone Apps Manager, for Vodafone customers across the globe to download.
Vodacom says interested developers should visit http://www.vodacominnovation.co.za for the full terms and conditions, guidance on appropriate content, and helpful advice on how to create a good widget user experience.
In another attempt to assist the growth of mobile applications and widget development, Vodacom and Vodafone are jointly promoting Betavine, a mobile application developer community.
The companies say the community and the Betavine.net Web site will provide developers with an open forum to access the latest tools and resources for any device across any platform, as well as an environment to exchange ideas and knowledge with other developers from around the world.
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