MACAU, November 20 /PRNewswire/ --

The GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade group for the mobile industry, today announced the winners of the APAC leg of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition. The winners were announced at the GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress, Asia's leading mobile communications event, that's taken place in Macau, China this week.

The Mobile Innovation Marketplace at the Mobile Asia Congress is a unique platform for top innovators competing for the Mobile Innovation Global Award Championship title. During this event 15 emerging growth companies from around the world competed in five categories and their innovative products and services were reviewed by senior executives from mobile operators, industry suppliers and venture capital organisations. The distinguished judging panel included representatives from Vodafone Ventures, Belgacom, Orange, SK Telecom, Telecom Italia, Microsoft, Intel Capital, and ICT 168 Capital.

The Global Finalists for the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition - APAC Tournament are:

-- TuneWiki, US -- CooTek, China And the five Global Semi-Finalists are: Most Innovative Wireless Device-centric Technology -- CooTek, China Most Innovative Carrier Infrastructure or Platform -- Sunbay, Switzerland Most Innovative Mobile Application in a Vertical Market -- Impetus Technologies, India Most Innovative Consumer Application or Service -- TuneWiki, US Most Innovative 'True Mobile Start-Up' -- Sentry Wireless, Ireland

Driven by an impressive entrepreneurial spirit and a desire for technical excellence, it's clear there are some outstanding opportunities ahead for these highly innovative companies with their 'best of breed' products and services, said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer for the GSMA. We commend the enthusiasm and commitment shown by all the finalists in the competition, who have clearly shown they have what it takes to succeed in the mobile world.

The Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition was created by the GSMA as part of the Mobile Innovation Market, which encourages breakthrough technology, applications and services in the mobile industry by bringing together smaller companies developing innovative mobile products and solutions, with industry investors from leading venture capital firms and senior figures from mobile operators and leading global brands.

TuneWiki and CooTek have won the right to compete against other regional Mobile Innovation Global Finalists for the prestigious title of the 2009 GSMA Mobile Innovation Global Award Champion, to be named during the GSMA's Mobile World Congress, the largest, most significant and most successful global mobile event in the world, in Barcelona next February. The Platinum sponsor of the Mobile Innovation Marketplace is the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia).

Quotes from the judges

We have seen some great innovation from these brave young enterprises. Through this continuing innovation, the mobile industry can overcome the current financial crisis and continue to generate values to our customers, said Dr Cheol Kim, Team Leader of Future Business Sourcing Team, SK Telecom

We are delighted and encouraged by the innovation displayed at this year's Mobile Innovation Marketplace at the GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress. We look forward to partnering with a number of these start-ups, said Matthew Fix, Principal, Vodafone Ventures

I was very impressed by the quality of the companies presenting in Macau at the Mobile Innovation Marketplace. TuneWiki was a deserving winner in what turned out to be an extremely competitive process, said Marcos Battisti, Sector Director, Mobility, EMEA, Intel Capital

TuneWiki's winning solution is an interesting innovation that brings together music and the community world with lyrics in multiple languages, which will be really cool for young people, said Paolo Paganucci, President of Scouting Benchmarking, TIM

In the face of challenging economic times, it's great to see the pace of innovation has not slackened, said Jeff Belk, Principal, ICT 168 Capital

This competition has been the toughest of all of the tournaments so far, with exceptional choice. The two winners, though, have great technologies. CooTek provides essential 'next generation' technology for touch phones, while TuneWiki takes karaoke to everyone. I can't wait to hear the revellers in the Paris Metro, said Steve Glagow, VP Marketing, Orange Partner Program, Orange

Great companies! Great ideas! I was pleased to see more 'greener' and 'social' related solutions, which is very promising, said Frederic Schepens, EVP Strategic Business Development, Belgacom, ICS

For more information on the GSMA's Mobile Innovation Market and the Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition, please visit: http://www.mobileinnovation.org and http://www.mobileinnovation.org/awards.

Entry for the Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition - EMEA Tournament, to be held at the GSMA's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, closes on December 5th, 2008.

About the GSMA

The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade group representing more than 750 GSM mobile operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. The Association's members represent more than 3 billion GSM and 3GSM connections -- over 86% of the world's mobile phone connections. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives.

The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers.

The GSMA's Mobile Asia Congress

The GSMA is co-organising the Mobile Asia Congress 2008 at the Cotai Strip(R)CotaiExpo(TM), the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel with China Mobile and China Unicom From 18-20 November 2008. Telenor, one of the largest pan-Asia operators, is a platinum sponsor of the event; Nokia China is a gold sponsor.

For more information, visit: http://www.gsm.org.

Matt Simmons of GSM Association, press@gsm.org