Ridgefield Park, N.J. –
said Monday it is returning last year’s Free the TV
Challenge for TV apps developers by raising the stakes with a new developer
challenge this year.
The new challenge celebrates the recent release of version 2.5 of
Samsung’s software development kit (SDK 2.5), which allows developers to create
an entirely new category of “Converged Apps” that work across multiple screens,
running on both the TV and another device such as a phone, tablet or computer.
The winner of last year’s Challenge was MOVL’s WeDraw, which
Samsung pointed to as an example of a converged app because the app could be
installed on a SamsungTV and any iOS, Android phone or tablet, allowing users
to draw pictures that appear in real time on the TV.
Other players then race to guess the image by typing their
guesses into their phones.
“Samsung Apps has become the most popular TV Apps platform in the
industry, with more than 900 apps available worldwide and nearly 10 million
downloads to date,” said Eric Anderson, Samsung content VP. “In addition, our
Galaxy mobile phones and tablets have also been incredibly well received. The
time is right to bring these devices together with Converged Apps. I’m excited
and energized to see what creative ideas our developer community will come up
with.”
Samsung that the contest includes three categories of Converged
Apps:
* Controller apps that enable a second device to control an App
on the TV providing touch or mouse input that a standard remote control cannot;
* Companion apps that use a second device to provide additional
information (including via web sites and social media sites) that is synchronized
to, and supplements, what is shown on the TV; and
* Interactive apps that allow a second device as a secondary
display, so for example, a user can pause a video on the TV and resume it on
the other device.
To participate developers can visit
to register
and find information about downloading SDK 2.5. SDK is available free of charge
at the Samsung D Forum site,
, where interested developers
can also find guides, tutorials, a Q&A section, and an emulator.
The Samsung D Forum site also provides a community for developers
to ask questions, discuss ideas and concepts, and otherwise interact.
MOVL is also making its MOVL Connect Platform available to
developers free of charge during the contest entry period. The service provides
both tools and cloud-based infrastructure to developers, freeing them from
concerns about bandwidth and servers when creating applications bridging
multiple devices.
The MOVL Connect Platform, documentation and examples are
available to developers at
http://connect.movl.com/samsung
.
TV Challenge 2011 judges this year include: James McQuivey (VP, principal
analyst, Forrester), Ross Rubin (executive director, industry analysis, The NPD
Group), Bob Borchers (general partner, Opus Capital), Eric Anderson (content VP
for Samsung Electronics America), Peggy Ang (marketing VP for Samsung
Electronics America) and Greg Dudey (user experience VP for Samsung Electronics
America).
The competition is powered by ChallengePost, a web platform that
enables social problem solving.
Winners will be announced at the 2012 International CES in Las
Vegas. The first prize winner will receive $100,000, a 65-inch Samsung LED TV
and a Samsung Galaxy Tab. The winning app will also be highlighted in Samsung
Apps, the world’s first HDTV dedicated apps store.
Second prize is $75,000, a 55-inch LED D8000-series Smart TV
(estimated retail value $3,500), and a Galaxy Tab 10.1 – 32GB (estimated retail
value $600).
Third prize is $50,000, a 55-inch LED D8000-series Smart TV
(estimated retail value $3,500) and a Galaxy Tab 10.1 – 32GB (estimated retail
value $600).
