The N97 is invoking a lot of mildly cautious oohs and aahs from gadget freaks, media hoarders, and widget aficionados alike. Nokia is tightening the gap between PIDs and cell phones, and it looks like the N97 could herald the best mobile phone widget experience to date. I hype, I hype. But a homescreen plated with always-on widgets sounds good to me. And Nokia's opening up the playing field with a contest.
The Nokia N97 Widget Competition pits entrants against each other in a public voting challenge, and the top-ten performers will be passed on to members of the N-series team for judgement. The winner gets a pre-release N97 with their widget installed, an excellent pick-up line, and the satisfaction of knowing that their idea will be utilized by lots and lots of people.
Here's where it gets interesting. You don't have to know anything about coding to participate. It's a graphic design competition. All you have to do is come up with a concept and make it look stunning. Of course, that's much more difficult than it might first sound.
Hopefuls need to "avoid using trademarked or copyrighted images," and working around that hurdle might be the most significant factor in thinning the herd. While it's fine to use brand names, you can't imply that your design is an official app, or that it's endorsed in any way.
The design package includes three files, two of which are white rectangles:
You've got 360 x 60 pixels and a 200KB Max.
Constriction inspires brilliance. Clean and simple, FTW.
All JPGs are due on February 27th. The winner will be announced at the contest page on March 13th.
