Google Announces Android Developer Challenge 2 Winners

Google has announced the winners of the Android Developer Challenge (ADC) 2, including overall winners that consist of an application to help smartphone users sleep better, an online multiplayer game and a mobile security solution.

In a blog post, Eric Chu of the Android Mobile Platform team said Google launched the ADC 2 competition back in May at the Google I/O developer conference, "to encourage the development of cool apps that delight mobile users."

Said Chu:

"We received many interesting and high-quality applications -- everything from exciting arcade games to nifty productivity utilities. We also saw apps that took advantage of openness of Android to enhance system behavior at a deep level to provide users with a greater degree of customization and utility. We were particularly pleased to see submissions from many smaller and independent developers. "

In the ADC 2 competition, Google awarded winners in 10 categories:

·         Education/Reference

·         Games: Casual/Puzzle

·         Games: Arcade/Action

·         Social Networking

·         Lifestyle

·         Productivity/Tools

·         Media

·         Entertainment

·         Travel

·         Misc 

However, the overall winners were:

“SweetDreams

SweetDreams is a revolutionary tool that will finally allow you to go to sleep without worrying about changing your phone settings in order to avoid unwelcome late night calls. You can even use those inactivity periods to save battery power as well, and of course forget about enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or ringtones volume...

What the Doodle!?

'WTD!?' is a real-time online multiplayer game where one player tries to draw out a given phrase and others try to guess it. Features FFA and Team games, Global Highscores, Personal Face Doodles, integrated Voice Recognition and more! Real-time drawing!? Built for performance, you'll really see the magic at first doodle!

WaveSecure

WaveSecure is a complete mobile security solution that protects your device, data and privacy. 1. Track your phone's location and who is using it 2. Lock down your phone remotely, making it worthless to the thief 3. Backup all your data 4. Wipe out your data remotely 5. Restore your data May the phone be with you!”

Meanwhile, the selection process included community votes and votes from Google-chosen judges. People with Android-powered devices, including T-Mobile G1, T-Mobile myTouch 3G and Motorola CLIQ customers, were able to participate in the judging of applications with the Android Market application, Android Developer Challenge. The community vote constituted 40 percent of the final score and votes from Google-selected judges constituted 60 percent of the final score.

As a Google-selected ADC2 judge, T-Mobile's director of mobile apps & partner programs, Venetia Espinoza, said, "It was great to be part of such a unique experience and it is energizing to see all the innovative applications submitted to the Android Developer Challenge. As the leading provider of Android-powered devices, T-Mobile's participation with the ADC2 enables us to continue to provide developers with opportunities for featured placement and marketing partnerships.”