Nokia 'Your wish is my app' campaign to go international

NEW DELHI: Finnish handset maker Nokia's India arm on Friday launched the second season of ' Your wish is my app' contest, where the company will source ideas from people in India and overseas on the kind of apps they would like made, for the Windows Phone platform.

Nokia India managing director P Balaji said that entries for the contest will be sought via Twitter, Facebook, text messages and several on-ground activities to drive awareness about the contest.

Last year, the company limited advertising to Twitter and radio, yet managed to get 38,000 app ideas of which 1,200 have been developed into apps for the Windows Phone app store. Around 300 more such apps will be added in February. Consumers who gave ideas for the top 10 apps were given monetary incentives.

Nokia has seen a 266% increase in the number of monthly downloads from the Windows app store and eight times increase in revenue from operator billing. The company, along with Microsoft, is talking to Indian operators to introduce operator billing in the Windows Phone app store, Balaji said.

This will allow Windows phone users to purchase apps and pay the operator on a monthly basis, in case of postpaid connection, or pay from the balance of a pre-paid connection.

This year, Nokia intends to reach out to consumers in India and seven international cities including New York, Milan, Lagos, Hamburg and Barcelona. The top app idea will get Rs 10 lakh, while two runner up app ideas will get Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively.

Balaji expects around 50,000 app ideas to flow in by end of March, when the contest closes. While 4,000 ideas will be made available for Windows app developers while final 30 apps shortlisted will be showcased in a television series as a reality show.