Vodafone have announced the local winners of its Vodafone AppStar competition, a list of eight mobile apps that will now fight to become the best app in Europe and claim a share of the €1 million Vodafone AppStar prize fund.

In the UK, JoggerTracker – an application developed by Mark Salvin that uses GPS to calculate information such as the amount of calories burned and distance travelled during a run as well as displaying this information on a graph along with previous runs information – took the top spot, with judges particularly praising the user experience of the app. The app claimed the €25,000 local prize and will now go head-to-head against the seven other country winners in a public vote to decide the overall winner of the competition and a total prize of €100,000.

Also highly commended by the Vodafone expert panel were Richard Wilson for Pokerzzle, who claimed second place, and Nick Sheard for TrailTrak, placing third. They will each receive €15,000 and €10,000 respectively.

From 29 April to 21 May mobile enthusiasts can view the entire shortlist and vote for their favourite here. Voters will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win one of ten Samsung H1 devices. The results of the public vote, and the overall winner of the Vodafone AppStar competition, will be announced on 24 May 2010.

The Vodafone AppStar competition is part of Vodafone’s ongoing engagement with developers. Vodafone recently announced a new publishing process for developers via the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) portal, enabling developers to use open web technologies to create, monetise and distribute apps to customers with JIL-enabled handsets. Apps submitted through JIL.org are supported by 50 different handset models across multiple European markets and offer an attractive revenue model for developers. In addition, developers benefit from a quick and transparent review process, which sees all apps assessed in 10 business days.

For further information about developing for Vodafone, go to http://developer.vodafone.com.

A nice and brief one, this one – my buddy Stephen over at Fonehome.co.uk has got his hands on a Vodafone 845, and has been busy documenting it in video (below) and pics (see above). If you’d like to check out the full set o’ pics, then go here.

The 845 is the first VF-branded handset to be based on Google’s Android platform. It will run on Éclair, the latest version of the Android platform, and will be pre-loaded with VF 360 apps, giving users access to unique services such as Vodafone Music and MyWeb. The device itself has a 2.8” screen, offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G/HSDPA connectivity, and features a 3.2MP camera and 500MB of memory as standard – for those of you that get excited by numbers 

[Via: Fonehome.co.uk]

“We want Brazilians to fully experience the World Cup and be able to watch the games anywhere and anytime,” Hugo Janeba, Executive VP of Marketing and Innovation in Vivo, the largest mobile operator in Brazil, said publically last week, adding “and when soccer fans have their own pocket TV, the experience certainly becomes much more complete.”

The new terminals were designed by ZTE and are based on Siano’s receiver chip, which supports the Brazilian ISDB-T DTV format. The 3G data-cards are compatible with all standard notebooks, netbooks, and desktop PCs.

Brazil is leading the roll-out of mobile digital TV services in South America, with MDTV services having recently debuted also in Argentina and Chile. Other countries very likely to join include Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Paraguay – who are expected to launch ISDB-T services within the next fifteen months – overall generating one of the largest unified Mobile DTV markets worldwide, totaling more than 300 Million potential viewers!

“As one of the largest cellular terminal makers worldwide, ZTE is proud to lead the mobile TV market in Brazil,” said Zhang Yadong, Manager of Mobile Broadband Device Production at ZTE. “Siano has been our major partner for mobile TV terminals, due to their excellent products and support”.?

You can’t argue with the numbers, right? Despite Broadcast Mobile TV slowly tailing off to zero globally, Brazil seems to be scaling up in a big way – and if people are going to have a convenient way to watch Football, you know the product that provides that is going to be popular

Logging into Energy Map, the iPhone’s geo-location immediately locates the user, identifies the borough and presents the average annual household energy spend, a breakdown into electricity and gas cost, the CO2 emissions and ranks the borough from worst (highest) to best in the UK. In addition the 408 boroughs can be viewed A-Z to make it easy to find your home area and compare it with friends and family.

AlertMe, says: “Our aim is to make energy information available and understandable so that consumers can make decisions to act on that information and find ways to save energy and save money without sacrificing comfort. This national Government data on energy spend and CO2 emissions, is available but we wanted to make it accessible and useful too. Our new iPhone app gives consumers a tool to judge their own energy use against the average in their area and other areas of the country and allows them to take greater control over the amount they spend. By giving people the tools to understand how much energy they are using and what that means in financial terms we aim to help them not just to decrease bills but also to reduce their carbon footprint.”

A noble cause, and I’d say worthwhile given the eco-times that we now live in. If you want the App, you can get it by hitting up the link below.

EnergyMap (£free) [iTunes link]

As part of its regular own-brand portfolio refresh, Vodafone has announced eight  (yes, eight!) new handsets designed to for a range of market segments – from ultra low cost, through fashion and design influenced, to competitively priced mobile internet devices with cutting-edge smartphone functionality.

So what did they announce? Check the devices out after the jump…!

The Vodafone 845 will be available in the first instance in 12 Vodafone markets, including the UK. The Android powered smartphone runs on the latest software v2.1, has a 2.8” screen, WiFi connectivity, a 3MP camera, access to Android Market and, where available, it comes preloaded with Vodafone 360 services. More on that here.

The Vodafone 546 is a slim 2.5G entry-level full QWERTY keyboard device for optimised internet browsing with Opera Mini, email and SMS chat. The phone has a 2.2” landscape display, and is designed for emerging markets

The Vodafone 543 comes with a number of exchangeable covers in the box, the choice of colours and finishes allowing customers to personalise their phone. The phone has a 2.4” touch screen and runs the Opera Mini browser. The 543 also comes with Vodafone’s innovative pre-pay balance indicator – an always-on display of how much credit is available to use.

The Vodafone 547 is a stylish 2.8” touch screen phone with Opera Mini powered internet browsing. The phone comes in black, red or white.

The Vodafone 246 has standard voice and text features as well as extras such as an FM radio, vibration alert and torch. The 246 also comes with Vodafone’s pre-pay balance indicator.

An otherwise standard device with basic voice and text features along with FM radio and a colour display, the Vodafone 247 stands out due to its integrated solar panel which charges on the go, saving both time and money.

The Vodafone 248 is a stylish slider phone featuring a large colour display with standard call and text options as well as an FM radio.

The Vodafone 350 and 345 are variants of an ULCH with full QWERTY keyboard – designed to be perfect for messaging, be it SMS or SMS Chat. The slightly higher specification Vodafone 350 also offers easy WAP access to MMS and Email. Both devices have an FM radio, calculator and currency convertor and they are available in black, white or pink.

Racing and Fast & Furious fans everywhere will, for the first time, be able to share their dominance in the world of underground street racing through innovative social network and connectivity features. Fast & Furious: Adrenaline allows players to upload videos of their fastest races to both Facebook and YouTube and see how they stand up against the competition on the Facebook leader board. The game also features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth multiplayer functionality that allows players to connect for multiplayer turf wars and ghost races against other players. Regardless of game mode, this innovative new title delivers high-resolution graphics, ultra-responsive accelerometer-based steering controls and smooth gameplay that delivers the pulse-quickening speed and intensity of real street racing.

F&F:A is available in the Apple App Store for $2.99 – hit up iTunes to get your racing action on! You can also enter an F&F-related competition on Facebook here.

Fast & Furious: Adrenaline ($2.99/£1.79) [iTunes link]

Vodafone UK already has a ton of Android-powered smartphones in its range, and customers will soon have even more choice available with the launch of the Vodafone 845.

The 845 is the first VF-branded handset to be based on Google’s Android platform. It will run on Éclair, the latest version of the Android platform, and will be pre-loaded with VF 360 apps, giving users access to unique services such as Vodafone Music and MyWeb. The device itself has a 2.8” screen, offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G/HSDPA connectivity, and features a 3.2MP camera and 500MB of memory as standard – for those of you that get excited by numbers

The Vodafone 845 is the latest addition to an extensive range of Android-based devices already available, which includes the HTC Desire, Sony Ericsson X10 and the HTC Legend. With the Google Nexus One just around the corner, VF UK will be able to offer an Android device to suit everybody!

For more information and to register for updates, visit here.

Back on the Android news trail, and this time we find Vodafone UK receving some Android goodness… customers can now order the premier Google device!

Vodafone is the first European mobile operator to offer Nexus One. Customers who pre-order online will be the first to get one for free on a £35 monthly price plan (24 month), on April 30. It will also be available via Vodafone stores and telesales, with Vodafone providing direct support with the “superphone” when they need it. It will also be available on a range of Vodafone price plans, on both 18 and 24 month contracts.  Price plans start from £25 a month on a 24 month contract.

Vodafone UK customers with the Nexus One can use up to 1GB of mobile data as part of their price plan as well as take advantage of unlimited access to Wi-Fi in the home and free, publicly available services throughout the country.

You can order the Nexus One, “the new superphone from Google”, at vodafone.co.uk/nexusone.

O2 today made its latest play in the mobile broadband market by announcing two laptops with built in mobile broadband exclusive to O2. The new ultra-thin Asus UL30A laptop and the Samsung N150 netbook with embedded SIM cards will only be available from O2.

The launch of O2’s first embedded devices follows a launch into the lucrative laptop market last year. With the laptop market continuing to grow rapidly O2 has moved to offer customers these laptops with the full service wrap that has proved so successful for mobile broadband customers.

Customers signing up to the new deals will benefit from inclusive Wi-Fi, an extended two year warranty, 30 days O2 Techies support, McAfee Internet Security for the life of the contract and O2’s 30 day ‘Happiness Guarantee’ allowing customers to return the laptop if they are not satisfied at no additional cost.

Felix Geyr, Head of Home and Broadband at O2, said: “We know that customers want to be able to click and go without the hassle of having to load up a mobile broadband dongle and our new range will make surfing the web and staying touch even easier. The laptop market has exploded in the last 18 months and we believe these two laptops from Asus and Samsung will once again give O2 customers a great experience.

“By purchasing the laptop from O2, customers are benefiting from award winning customer service and a number of additional services that other providers charge for. Now we have our O2 Techies if customers have problems getting started they can contact a technical specialist who can talk them through the start up process for no extra cost. Customers also have access to the widest Wi-Fi network in the UK through BT Openzone and The Cloud.”

The Samsung N150 will be available online and in O2 retail stores from April 30 on a 24 month tariff priced at £25 a month which includes 3GB downloads + 500MB Wi-Fi and 300 texts. There is also a one-off upfront payment of £29.99.

The Asus UL30A will be available in May and will cost £30 a month on a 24 month tariff which includes 3GB downloads + 750MB Wi-Fi and 300 texts. The Asus will have a one off payment of £79.99.

ALK Technologies today announced that it has submitted CoPilot Live HD to the app store. With street maps stored on the device, CoPilot Live HD takes full advantage of the iPad 3G’s in-built GPS receiver and high resolution touch screen to provide the ultimate large-screen voice-guided navigation experience.

CoPilot Live HD makes it easy to find the way in-car or to plan a trip in advance with beautiful hi-resolution maps and graphics.  A new split screen driving view (as you can see from the pic above) combines uncluttered 3D or 2D map displays with clear, non-distracting turn instructions. As with CoPilot Live for iPhone, the HD edition auto-switches between portrait and landscape, uses pinch-zoom functionality and offers access to iPod music controls from within the app.

CoPilot Live HD North America has been submitted to the appstore for approval, and is expected to be available to buy for iPad 3G in early May. Pricing will be the same as for the CoPilot Live iPhone app with no ongoing fees or subscriptions.

Heathrow decided that people needed the App for free, since most people travelling at that time have been facing travel chaos! Nice move guys!

You can get info such as flight arrival/departure info, terminal news and maps, and check-in procedures – pretty much everything you’d need for a stress-free flight!

The free offer runs out at the end of May. You can find out more here.