Vodacom launches Betavine, widget competition locally

“We hope that Betavine will become a hub for local application developers using all types of technologies to try out their ideas and get feedback on their applications from their peers,” said Romeo Kumalo, executive director: commercial, Vodacom South Africa, yesterday Thursday, 13 August 2009.

Widgets are applications with simple functionalities designed to allow customers to enjoy a bespoke mobile experience.

Technology agnostic

Through its open forum, SA mobile application developers have access tools and resources across all devices and platforms to develop widgets and apps. with the full tool kit provided on www.betavine.net.. Betavine.net is technology agnostic, and the intention is that the 'resources' section will grow over time to include links to all relevant technology resources that developers may need to create applications in the wireless and Internet communications space.

Through http://betavine.mobi, developers are able to access an end-user audience and receive feedback and ratings on the applications they have created in the Betavine community, as well as device compatibility feedback. This feedback is automatically collated and displayed on the application profile page on Betavine.net so the developer (and others) can gain insight into the functioning of multiple handsets and firmware versions.

Added Kumalo, "We aim to bring together the developer community with the early adopters to their mutual benefit."

Widget developer competition

The 'Dawn of the Living Widgets' workshop and competition invites developers to demonstrate their skills by developing a mobile application or widget in a marathon session for a first prize of R50 000, as well as second, third and spot prizes during the day.

The judging panel, including experts from Vodacom, Vodafone and the industry in SA, will be assessing the entries based on the following:

• Usability: how easy is the widget to use?
  
• Innovation: how creative is the widget?
  
• Value to users: what does it enable users to do?

All developers submitting widgets will also have an opportunity to make their entries available through the newly launched Vodafone Apps Manager, which allows Vodafone customers access to the widgets. The manager runs on the Opera S60 platform and is available through Vodafone live! to around two million customers across Vodafone's major markets, including Germany, UK, Spain and SA.

For the full terms and conditions, guidance on appropriate content and helpful advice on how to create a good widget user experience, go to www.vodacominnovation.co.za.

Betavine was launched in 2007 through the Vodafone R&D lab.