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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
WINBC Announces Winners of Third Annual Wireless Innovation Contest
Las Vegas, NV, CTIA Wireless – April 5, 2006 – The Wireless Innovation Network of BC (WINBC) today announces the winners of the third annual Wireless Innovation Contest 2006 (WIC’06) in an award ceremony to be held at CTIA Wireless. The award recipients are wireless companies and technologies from across North America that have proven to change lives and driven change . Winners of WIC’06 demonstrated innovative solutions that made customers significant returns on their investment and advanced technology processes.
The winners are:
- Taking care of business – private sector: Gearworks: Gearworks’ etrace
mobile workforce management software enables service-driven companies to monitor, measure and manage their field operations at the point of service delivery. On average, its GPS-aware, handset-agnostic application has enabled companies to cut their overtime pay by over 55%, increase productivity by 10% and eliminate operations overhead.
- Taking care of business – public sector: Elster Electricity, LLC: The
EnergyAxis® System utilizes smart meters with an embedded mesh radio that creates a robust two-way communication network upon installation. Prior to the installation of the EnergyAxis system, AVEC (Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Inc.) meter readers were required to either dig tunnels in the snow to read the meters, or forgo reading meters during the winter months.
Now the utility can read meters in five remote villages from their headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska. After a successful test pilot in 2005, AVEC anticipates continued expansion of the EnergyAxis System to all of its 52 member villages (approximately 21,000 customers).
- Taking care of yourself – home and entertainment: Digital Chocolate: With
MLSN Sports Picks, Digital Chocolate brings to market the first “socially connected” mobile club. Built to deliver on the promise of connected mobile games, MLSN Sports Picks brings members together to compete, interact and stay connected around all things sports.
- Taking care of yourself – sports and recreation: MedicTouch: MedicTouch
Wireless Pulse Meter Pro sport and wellness monitor is a wearable application that monitors physiological parameters from a mobile phone.
Walkers, runners and those watching their health will benefit from an easy-to-use sensor that works with mobile phones for tracking wellness and real-time vital signs monitoring.
- Taking care of the community: Mobile Voter: Mobile Voter is a non-profit,
non-partisan organization that uses text messaging solutions to engage youth in civic life. Mobile Voter’s software and service provide a turnkey solution for local governments and voter mobilization organizations to register young voters.
- Student: mobSKY: mobSKY’s Mobile Greeting Cards uses a Web-based interface
that allows the sender to select the occasion, choose from a variety of animated full-color greeting cards, compose a personal message of up to 160 characters, and select a date and time to send it.
Runners up in WIC’06 are as follows:
- Taking care of business – public sector: Orthogon Systems – wireless on
the rough seas
- Taking care of business – private sector: WebTech Wireless – VW
factory-assembled WebTech locators and bcgi – ATM Recharge
- Taking care of yourself – home and entertainment: Amp’d Mobile – Amp’d
Live
- Taking care of yourself – sports and recreation: ComVu Media -
PocketCaster
- Taking care of the community: Transclick – wireless language bridge
The winners were selected by an impressive panel of judges, including Tom Nyberg (Nokia), Chris Langdon (TELUS), Ray Gilbert (Lucent Technologies), Michael Calyniuk (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Oliver Starr (Angel Strategies and Foldera), Bill Ray (ARC Chart and Wireless Business & Technology), Dan Koeppel (Verizon Communications), Lee Hancock (Go2), Gummi Hafsteinsson
(Google) and Chris Shipley (DEMO Conferences and Guidewire Group).
“This year, the competition was fierce and our judges were really challenged to select the award winners,” says Sang Mah, President of WINBC. “The award winners are testament to how wireless occupies all walks of life. We’re very pleased to see how wireless is truly driving change in many sectors.”
Open to Canadian and American wireless developers and solution providers that have deployed a wireless solution, contest entries were submitted in one of six categories:
- Taking Care of Business:
o Public Sector: a solution that showcases new processes or models, improves
productivity and/or saves money in the public service (utilities, health, government, fire or police services).
o Private Sector: a solution that showcases new processes or models,
improves productivity or facilitates commerce in the private sector.
- Taking Care of Yourself:
o Home & Entertainment: a solution that entertains or facilitates life at
home.
o Sports & Recreation: a solution that showcases wireless in a sport,
recreation, fitness or wellness setting.
- Taking Care of the Community:
- Community & Citizenship: a solution that helps raise the bar for the
disenfranchised (disabled, elderly, illiterate, immigrants, non-profits).
- Student: student entries in one of the above five categories.
Entries came from all corners of North America, including Illinois, Ontario, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Florida, Texas, BC, Nova Scotia, Washington and New York.
A benefit valued at $100,000, Wireless Excellence winners are rewarded with targeted exposure in media and at trade shows, inclusion in a special case study publication, and a one-hour mentor session with the panel of judges during CTIA Wireless.
"We are honored to be selected for an award that recognizes wireless innovators delivering real-world mobile application solutions to end customers and the wireless carriers who serve them," said Todd Krautkremer, chief executive officer for Gearworks. "Gearworks' LBS-enabled mobile workforce management solution, etrace, not only allows service-driven companies to gain immediate benefits from real-time visibility and control of field operations, it also providers wireless carriers with a compelling application that drives LBS services and higher data APRUs (Average Revenue Per Unit)."
“Digital Chocolate is honored to be recognized for our commitment to innovation and quality – two elements that we consider crucial to the success of any mobile application,” said Trip Hawkins, founder and CEO of Digital Chocolate. “We developed MLSN Sports Picks to not only leverage the inherent social connectivity that mobile gaming offers consumers, but also to attract and retain users with an original, high-quality mobile gaming experience. The resulting success for MLSN Sports Picks has been phenomenal and we look forward to releasing the next game in Digital Chocolate’s innovative Social Application series.”
WINBC, the producer of WIC’06, is supported by key industry leaders Lucent Technologies, Nokia and TELUS, and marketing partners CTIA WIRELESS 2006, RCR Wireless News, FierceWireless.com, Outlook4Mobility, CCN Matthews, SymbianOne and Forum Nokia.
“The creative and innovative wireless solutions displayed by our winners showcase the positive economic and social impacts of wireless technology,”
said Chris Langdon, Vice President, Wireless Solutions, TELUS. “TELUS is proud to partner with the Wireless Innovation Contest again this year and to work with other leading industry partners to help raise the profile of wireless innovation across North America.”
The winners and runners-up will be recognized at an award ceremony at the main trade show stage (MEX), 11.45 am on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. The case study booklet of winning and runner-up entries will be handed out at the awards ceremony. The fourth annual Wireless Innovations Contest 2007 (WIC’
07) will be calling for entries in December 2006.
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