Win $25,000 by making smart phones smarter

It's time to announce another innovation contest, and this one is for anybody who knows how to write applications for smart phones. Nokia and Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, are sponsoring a contest called Calling All Innovators to stimulate new ideas mobile phone apps that "enhance the use of mobile devices in real-world scenarios."

Environmentally-friendly Nokia has made sure that one of those real-world scenarios has to do with the environment.

Here's the Eco-Challenge:

"Your chance to join an important world-wide movement! Assist Nokia in creating mobile devices, software and services that reduce our impact on the environment. Make a difference by submitting the application that will minimize mobility's global environmental impact and help people make sustainable choices. Developers who submit for this category will be building tools to help people take care of the environment--from charger reminders to mobile learning applications, from navigation info to recycling tips."

And here's a challenge to help developing nations:

"The mission of the Emerging Markets Challenge is to open up new opportunities for developers to pioneer and monetize services impacting the daily lives of millions in developing nations. Examples include applications providing health information and data access, apps offering low-cost infotainment, SMS-driven apps that inform rural agricultural workers of the best time and place to bring products to market, as well as literacy and general education solutions."

You'd better hurry. Entries are due December 15.

Don Willmott's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.