[General Topics] quicksite:
UPDATE DECEMBER 14, 2010

VOTING BEGINS ON THE WINDOWS MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEM "DEVVY AWARDS" on Wed December 22nd. For all the latest news and updates, explanations of how to vote, eligibility, go to http://DevvyAwards.com ....

Nominations for ANDROID, iPHONE, PALM, BLACKBERRY, and WINDOWS PHONE operating systems begin on Monday December 27th....

Hello XDA-Developers! Less than 1 year ago the idea struck me after seeing the typical end-of-the-year RECAP news stories and "BEST OF" lists of all varieties in the tech world:

This was on or about December 20th, 2009.

The answer I found was: There ISN'T such a list because there ISN'T a peer-to-peer "academy" of sorts, of touchscreen application developers -- on par with actors, writers and directors in the film industry --- or musicians and songwriters in the music industry. And it struck me:

The hardware & over the air Delivery system pipeline is more or less complete now in the post iPhone new paradigm of the multi-billion dollar touchscreen phone industry: It goes like this:

• Touchscreen devices: plentiful

• Operating systems: many to choose from

• App marketplaces: Download via Over The Air app stores right on the phones

• Connectivity & Bandwidth: Cell Providers have 3g and 4g networks and more

Wifi is also supplanting cellular connectivity in many cases

Product differentiation from carrier to carrier and phone maker to phone maker will not be very hugely distinguishable in 3-5 years.

What is the driver of the gargantuan business that every statistic shows is changing behaviors, changing methods of delivery of services, changing whole concepts of product development?

APPS, everyone knows that. But to hear the tech industry report on apps, by and large, you would think they fall out of the sky and land in the app stores, since the vast majority of reporting that mentions the word apps is always framed in a context of "WHO'S GOT MORE, APPLE OR GOOGLE? WHOSE APPS ARE BETTER? WHOSE SYSTEM IS MORE OPEN? WHOSE HAS MORE CENSORSHIP? WHOSE INTRODUCES "viruses" (!)? WHOSE NUMERICAL COUNT IS A GAME CHANGER? WILL IT PUT PALM OUT OF BUSINESS? DOES BLACKBERRY HAVE A CHANCE?"

Tech Reporting is sloppy and unfocused in the touchscreen world, and the central player in the entire arena of revenue generation for ALL players are App Developers, and that is due to the same truism that applies in film business as it does to this new industry: hardware is not king. CONTENT is king.

This industry is nothing without apps and everyone knows it. It was the missing link that created a revenue model. Yet, just as the Hollywood Screenwriter is often the last person to be consulted regarding the success of a film he or she wrote, so too in the touchscreen world the App Devs are, in the view of this author, treated on the whole (and with some exceptions) as interchangeable widgets the gatekeepers collect toll from at the tollbooth.

I didn't like that last year. I like it even less THIS year as the industry further matures. And thus the Devvy Awards were born to create that PEER-TO-PEER recognition system, where, if there must be end of year "Best of" lists of Apps, App Developers shall be the final judge and arbiters of what constitutes quality, performance, and high achievement. Or at least their deliberations will now have a voice and a public outlet of expression and dissemination.

This is year one, and we're in beta. But with a team of 2 people, we've worked our rears off to make this happen and do it with the highest integrity possible.

Earlier this year many of you answered the Call for Nominations in the multiple categories for Devvys recognition for the Windows Mobile Operating System. We thank you very much. That was Part 1 which enabled this entire process to lift off the ground. The Devvys do not exist without you, the actual developer communities.

And now, all we ask from you ---- is that you vote.

Thanks to everyone at XDA-devs for helping nurture this project and give it a chance to breathe. Happy Holidays to all!

/quicksite