With the intention of marrying mobile content development and entrepreneurship, the country’s oldest business and technology conglomerates have joined forces to launch a competition for the country’s most dynamic space – the mobile communications sector.

Business heavyweight Ayala Corp., through Ayala Foundation, and local tech group IPVG Corp., recently launched “MobileXtreme: The Big Apps Competition,” a nationwide search for innovative mobile applications designed by budding developers.

The competition is being spearheaded by IPVG,, Ayala Technology Business Incubator, and Megamobile Inc., the mobile communications arm of IPVG.

Megamobile is currently a mobile service partner of content providers and communities which include names in the publishing, online gaming, music, and entertainment industries.

The contest is seeking mobile applications that run on the Java (J20) platforms. The competition will be facilitated through an official Web-based portal where contestants can upload their entries.

MobileXtreme, which will run from November 2009 to February 2010, competition consists of the following categories: games and entertainment, enterprise and productivity solutions-enterprise and productivity solutions, and cause-oriented apps, Enrique Gonzalez, chief executive officer of IPVG, said during the launch that the contest was inspired by the small applications in the iPhone and Facebook that has become the rage in the tech space.

“This business model has certainly leveled the playing field and opened opportunities as it has allowed any developer from any country to earn for his work,” Gonzalez said.

Manny Fernando, president of MegaMobile, said in a presentation that the local market for mobile applications could be worth somewhere between P8 to P10 billion. He noted that last year, data revenues of mobile operators increased by 50 percent.

Fernando said business opportunity is promising in the country since only 36 percent of current mobile users are using VAS (value-added services) such as mobile applications.

He also cited a survey wherein 49 percent of the subscribers said they “can be encouraged” to use VAS, while 58 percent are “open to trying out content propositions,”

According to organizers, the competition entries will receive infrastructure support from IPVG to help develop their ideas into a full blown commercial products, plus a chance to have their products launched commercially through IPVG and Megamobile. Category winners will also receive a cash prize of P50,000 each.

Deadline for submission of entries will be on January 10, 2010. Finalists will be invited to the MobileXtreme Awards Night – Open Tech Party to be held on February 26, 2010 at the lobby of the UP-AyalaLand TechnoHhub in Quezon City.

For details and to learn more about the organizers, participating companies, visit www.ayalatbi.org, www.ipvg.com, or www.mymegamobile.com. For inquiries, email innovation@ayalafoundation.org.