Monday, August 18, 2008

AT&T dangles $10K prize for Fast-Pitch contest

By Mass High Tech Staff

Wireless carrier AT&T Inc. has announced its own version of “American Idol” aimed at uncovering the best of New England’s wireless applications developer community.

Dubbed Fast-Pitch New England, the contest will pit local mobile developers against each other for a prize of $10,000 in cash and a region-wide promotional campaign at all AT&T-owned retail locations in New England. The winning application will also garner placement on the company’s website and be fast-tracked for wider distribution on one of AT&T’s mobile download portals, which reaches the Texas-based company’s 73 million wireless customers.

The contest is also being sponsored by the region’s local industry groups, including the Massachusetts Network Communications Council, the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and Mass Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX).

The contest, which began today, is designed to promote the local tech community while underscoring AT&T’s commitment innovation, according to a company statement.

AT&T (NYSE: T) has held similar competitions in the past, including a national Fast-Pitch contest, but the New England event is the company’s first regional mobile application contest. The national program yielded applications such as Ascendo Fitness, My Local TV News Over Wireless, and Mobile Comic Books by uclick.

Deadline for submissions is September 30, 2008. Three finalists will be announced on October 22 and will be invited to present their application and business cases to a panel made up of AT&T leadership, a venture capital firm, a major wireless handset manufacturer and a select group of industry influencers. The 15-minute presentations will take place on November 12, 2008, and the winners will be announced at the end of the event.