First of all: we need to make an excuse for announcing the winner of the Samsung Focus contest so late. The MobilityMinded team consists of 5 editors who all have a full time job and due to a lot of traveling and other causes we were unable to post this earlier. Now back to the contest ! The rules of the contest were:

1. Follow @mobilityminded and Tweet the following: ” Like ,Post & Follow @MobilityMinded and Win a @SamsungMobileUS Focus @windowsphone 7, easy rules  http://bit.ly/e0niBx @Samsungtweets “
2. Click on the ” Facebook Like ” button on the top of this article.
3. Go to our forum , Register yourself and Post in this thread your Twitter name and Facebook name and tells us why you want to win this new Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7.
4. The more you tweet and share on Facebook the more chance you make to win the Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7.
5. Our contest ends on February 28th at midnight EST and we will announce the winner in the days following.
6. All entries in the forum will be numbered and we will use Random.org to select our winner.

Without further ado we would like to present the winner of this awesome Samsung Focus to you: BppIsEarth. a.k.a. Alan Valentine. The winner was chosen through random.org just like we announced in the rules.

Alan, please get in touch with us by sending us a private message on the forum with your details and please do let us know in the forums how this awesome phone is.

We are so excited with the launch of the new Windows Phone 7 devices that we want to make sure that you are not the only one in the know. Earlier this week we had the official announcementof Microsoft new mobile platform of Windows Phone 7 on 9 devices, the HTC 7 Surround, HTC  7 Trophy, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC HD7, HTC 7 Pro, Samsung Focus, Samsung Omnia 7, LG Quantum and the Dell Venue Pro.

Help us spread the word of these great new devices with Windows Phone 7 and you can win a Windows Phone messenger bag.

The rules for this contest are very easy.

1.Follow @MobilityMinded and @WindowsPhone on twitter first. If you already Follow us, Great !! and thank you.

2. Tweet the following: “   Follow @MobilityMinded to win a @WindowsPhone Messenger Bag, check out the easy rules here http://bit.ly/9ZTJBF “

The contest ends on Monday October 18 11.59 pm EST. We will use the number of entries from the MobilityMinded twitter mentions list and use Random.org to select our winner. We will cross check the winner on the followers list from WindowsPhone.

We will announce the winner on Tuesday October 19th.

If you new to MobilityMinded.com don’t hesitate to discover what we all are about.

Thank you for supporting MobilityMinded and Windows Phone.

The worst scenario which you can think of: You lost your Windows Phone and cannot find it anymore. It doesn’t answer if you call it and nobody reported your phone as being found. Of course it contains all your phone numbers, your calendar and your private files. What to do ?

Hopefully you have connected your Windows Phone to the Microsoft MyPhone service. MyPhone enables you to sync everything on your device to a secured location, so that in case of a lost phone you can easily recover all your data to your new phone.

But there is more ! If you use the Premium MyPhone service, you can even locate your phone at it’s last reported location. You can see the position of your phone on the map and if you are close enough, you can even locate it by sending an alert to the phone which causes the phone to ring for a minute, even when it was on silent or vibrate.

Do you have a great story about losing your Windows Phone and locating it with the MyPhone service and you can prove it ? Then you will have an opportunity to win a brand new Windows Phone from Verizon or AT&T.

Check out all the details and rules at the  Lost Without MyPhone site.

One of my friends Derrick Ngan, Microsoft MVP and one of the people behind the PocketPC Channel and PocketPc.com.hk, notified me about the Windows Mobile Creative Software & Game Design Contest. This news-item will provide a quick overview of the goal of the creative software & design contest, who should apply for the contest and of course what are the prizes to win?? Please read on …

What is the task to compete in the contest ?

“The core value of the new platform of Windows Mobile lies in the unique user experiences it offers. The task of the contestants is to design a program which can bring entertainment or lifestyle information to the users through the Windows Mobile platform.” [ref01]

Personally I can only agree with the fact that Windows Mobile is one of the richest platforms available regarding the personalization and finetuning with available applications, providing sometimes a familiar desktop like experience. However the task is not just about programming and designing a simple piece of software, the bar is put up high !!

“A successful program should achieve a balance among the following aspects: creativity, functionality, aesthetic design, interface operation, usability and entertainment factors.” [ref01]

Who should apply for the contest ?

“Anyone aged 16 or above, irrespective of nationalities is eligible to join. Each team of contestants may consist of a maximum of 5 individuals. Individual, team, organizations and corporate entries are also welcome.” [ref01]

Windows Mobile Creative Software & Game Design Contest is therefore not limited to geographic location, which is analogue to the real business world, providing a great experience to the participants.

What are the prizes of the contest ?

In order to trigger the creativity and best design some great prizes in cash, as well as special creative prizes can be won. However there is more to win, next to infinite honor and glory in the mobile world:

“All of the winning programs will be featured in PocketPC.com.hk and the future publication of The Pocket PC Channel. They will also have a chance to be highlighted in the upcoming Windows Mobile Marketplace website.” [ref01]

If you want to learn more about Windows Marketplace for Mobile, please read the article in reference 2, which covered the Windows Marketplace for Mobile announcement back at Mobile World Congress earlier this year.

Interested ?

Don’t waist you time, and form your team arround the competences described in the task of the contest.  Head over to the Windows Mobile Creative Software & Game Design Contest, do a little more reading, find additional contest information and make sure you and your team:

“The team will be required to submit all related contents to the FTP on or before 21 September, 2009 Hong Kong Time 6:00pm (GMT +8:00). Submission time will be recorded by the server; any late submission will not be accepted.” [ref01]

If there are still some unclearities go and visit the Windows Mobile Creative Software & Game Design Contest website, or contact Derrick Ngan directly.

(Young) developers please show the world that Windows Mobile is a great platform to develop on and amaze everyone with some great applications and awesome designs.

Reference List

1. HOME: Windows Mobile Creative Software & Game Design Contest
2. CTIA 2009: Microsoft announces partners in Windows Marketplace for Mobile and more

The MobilityMinded winner of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro is Pierre Aterianus.

If you didn’t win don’t worry because other sites are still having their contest to win the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro as well, Good Luck!!

Tools for Thought (15-Apr 19-Apr) Winner announced
ChipChick (16-Apr 20-Apr) Winner announced
VivirLatino (17-Apr 21-Apr) Winner announced
slashgear.com (18-Apr 22-Apr) Winner announced
www.modaco.com (19-Apr 23-Apr) Winner announced
Gadgetell (20-Apr 24-Apr) Winner announced
GeeksRoom (21-Apr 25-Apr) Winner announced
OSNN (22-Apr 26-Apr) Winner announced
Techmamas (23-Apr 27-Apr) Winner announced
Clintonfitch (24-Apr 28-Apr) Winner announced
Justanothermobilemonday (25-Apr 29-Apr) Winner announced
Geek.com (26-Apr 30-Apr) Winner announced
MediaBlab (27-Apr 01-May) Winner announced
Smartphonethoughts (28-Apr 02-May) Winner announced
Mobilityminded (29-Apr 03-May) Winner announced
The Gadgeteer (30-Apr 04-May) Ongoing
Geekzone (01-May 05-May) Ongoing
Techie Diva (02-May 06-May) Ongoing
Bostonpocketpc (03-May 07-May)Ongoing
GearDiary (04-May 08-May) Starts Today
MobilitySite (05-May 09-May)
AbsoluteWindows (06-May 10-May)
Mobilejaw (07-May 11-May)
Experiencemobility (08-May 12-May)
HackCollege (09-May 13-May)
Gear Live (10-May 14-May)

You probably already know that MobilityMinded is part of a great and big AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro give-away-project among 25 other websites. So if you would like to win a brand new Windows Phone, this is your chance, because the rules are very simple and easy !  The give-away contest @MobilityMinded started April 29th, 2009 untill May 3rd 11:59 pm EST, so unfortunately today is the last day to enter !!

What could you win ?

• AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro handset;
• Service Credit (via gift card) in the amount of $100. The gift card is good for anything sold through any AT&T store or can be used for the cost of a service plan.

What are the easy rules ?

1. Sign up with twitter and follow @mobilityminded
2. tweet the following line: RT Win an AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro @mobilityminded  just follow the easy rules. http://twurl.nl/i7430y
3. Come back to the original contest post and leave a comment.  In the comment you leave your Twitter name.

Read on for the full information in the original post, submit your comment today, and maybe you are the winner of a brand new AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro and a $100,-  service credit !! Of you don’t know this Windows Phone, you could read about some first impressions over here.

Reference List:

1. AT&T: Pantech Matrix Pro Product Page

Other websites with still an open- or upcomming contest are listed below. And you certainly want to follow their twitter and rss-feeds !

• The Gadgeteer (30-Apr 04-May)
• Geekzone (01-May 05-May)
• Techie Diva (02-May 06-May)
• Bostonpocketpc (03-May 07-May)
• GearDiary (04-May 08-May)
• MobilitySite (05-May 09-May)
• AbsoluteWindows (06-May 10-May)
• Mobilejaw (07-May 11-May)
• Experiencemobility (08-May 12-May)
• HackCollege (09-May 13-May)
• Gear Live (10-May 14-May)