Samsung today announced the finalists of its Free the TV Challenge. Finalists were selected from a wide range of submissions for developing the most innovative applications for smart TVs, Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Home Theater Systems. Winners of the Challenge will be announced at the upcoming 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 6-9, 2011. The top three winners, as well as a People’s Choice award winner, stand to win a total prize value of half a million dollars. Samsung will also make the winning applications available on Samsung Apps, the world’s first HDTV-based application store.
“To date, Samsung has seen more than 1 million global downloads of our over 200 applications on Samsung Apps, and we look forward to a continued collaboration with our developer partners to offer consumers more of the content they want.”
Samsung kicked off the Free the TV Challenge in August to spur development of new connected TV experiences and bring more of the content and services that people want to the largest screen in the home. Developers across the country were invited to submit their best ideas for 2D and 3D TV applications across all categories, including sports, gaming, video, information and social networking. The Challenge is part of a global rollout of developer-focused contests and events led by Samsung around the globe that open up TVs to developers wanting to distribute their content on an easy-to-use platform.
“We are very excited to see the level of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking that resulted from the Challenge. The participating developers truly took the time to customize their apps for the SmartTV and 3D and received an opportunity to extend that experience to multiple smart devices in the home. We hope to continue to attract those developers and applications that leverage our multi smart device portfolio,” said Eric Anderson, vice president of content and product solutions, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. “To date, Samsung has seen more than 1 million global downloads of our over 200 applications on Samsung Apps, and we look forward to a continued collaboration with our developer partners to offer consumers more of the content they want.”
The panel of judges for The Free the TV Challenge include industry leaders such as Roelof Botha from Sequoia, Mike Maples of Floodgate, Bob Borchers from Opus Capital, Jeremy Levine of Bessemer, as well as Eric Anderson. Three winners will be chosen from the submissions. The public have also been given a chance to vote for their favorite application for the People’s Choice award. Visitors can preview the apps from the finalists at Samsung’s booth #12006 in the Central Hall at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show.
For more information on Samsung’s Free the TV Challenge and the finalists, please visit www.FreeTheTVChallenge.com.
Description of The Free the TV Challenge Finalists
A3 Art
Transform your TV into an exclusive gallery in motion with A3 Art. British photo-artist Michael Banks creates some of the most unique and exciting contemporary art in the world today. The bright, rich colors of his organic and abstract photos will come alive in HD, providing endless hours of enjoyment as you rotate through his many collections.
Armchair Astronaut
Armchair Astronaut allows you to explore the solar system in stunning high definition incorporating a combination of real and digitally-created 3D content. It is both an exciting tool for education and an impressive demonstration of 3D home theater technology.
Dashwhoa
Dashwhoa is a dashboard with everything you need to know before you go out: hourly weather forecast (via weather.gov), current traffic (via Google Maps), and a recent highly-ranked local photo from Flickr.
Guroo TV
Guroo TV is a new, improved TV guide. Instead of offering a boring list of shows by channel, Guroo TV provides the most talked-about shows playing right now based on Twitter references and what people like. You can add your favorite shows to your playlist and Guroo TV will let you know when they’re on.
TheGymbox
The Gymbox delivers weekly, full-length workouts on demand in a variety of formats including Step Aerobics, Kickboxing, Yoga, Pilates, Core Strength, Treadmill, Cycle, Strength Training, and Stretch. New classes are added weekly so you never have to repeat the same workout twice.
Numote – Social TV Listings
Numote is a new way to experience TV. It provides a social TV experience with trending TV listings and badges for checking into shows.
Redux Discover
Redux Discover is a fun and beautiful way to discover the videos that your friends and relevant tastemakers are watching, all in an effortless lean-back experience. You can personalize Redux even further by adding your Twitter account to surf through videos your friends are sharing, and by adding your favorite channels.
Signbotic
Signbotic is a digital signage solution for the small business owner. Harnessing the power and flexibility of the new samsung smart TV lines, small business owners can create a digital sign in minutes. With Signbotic you no longer need to buy cumbersome dedicated hardware, work with difficult software, or pay high consulting fees.
TrickTV
TrickTV has seven core features including the ability to control lighting, climate, door lock from the TV, video surveillance/chat and remote home management from your mobile phone. TrickTV is free and includes free mobile phone apps for Android, iPhone, Blackberry and Windows Mobile.
TvPet!
TvPet! is the world’s first Social Tamagachi for your TV. You can watch TV feed, play with, teach tricks and buy decor items for your very own virtual pet. It provides the ability to level up to unlock even more cool tricks and items while playing alone or with friends on Facebook.
TV Twicker
TV Twicker brings Twitter updates to your TV without taking away from the television experience.
TV Twicker only takes up the space where news tickers reside at the bottom of the screen, and conveniently floats above your current shows, providing a more immersive television experience than ever before.
WeDraw
WeDraw is the ideal living room game. It lets contestants win points and compete by guessing another player’s drawing. It’s easy: one person draws using their finger on a smart phone, the others guess.
WeTeli
WeTeli brings people together to watch and share their favorite videos right on your SmartTV. Using your smart phone, you can search for videos and add them to the queue. You can also vote for other people’s videos to push them up or down in the queue, and add comments right on the screen.
