Sprint Just Awarded Developers $250,000 in Cash, a 4G Phone, & Free Service; Announces Gowalla Check-in Promotion
Sprint’s been quietly promoting their 4G phones – and, by extension, their 4G network – with developer competitions. They’ve just announced five winners who each received $50,000 in cash, their choice of a Samsung Epic 4G or an HTC EVO 4G with a year of complimentary service, and a one-year membership to Sprint’s Professional Developer Program. They’ve also been invited to Las Vegas to mingle with folks attending WIRED’s VIP party at CES.
Developers had to develop applications for one of five categories: Productivity, Social Networking, Multimedia, Entertainment, and Gaming. The catch was that they had to make good use of Sprint’s 4G network. Honestly, most of the apps submitted would do just fine on a decent 3G connection, but for promotion’s sake we’ll roll with it.
That promotion is done, but a new one for all types of users has been announced: using Gowalla, you can check in to your favorite spots around Manhattan and be entered to win a Samsung Epic 4G and 6 months of complimentary service. Not nearly as good as the prizes from the developer competition, but you can never beat free. You can still participate if you don’t use Gowalla and aren’t in Manhattan. For the full details, check Sprint’s press release out here. Here’s the release for the developer competition.