Thirty-one awards given by a panel of industry experts at the Handango Partner Summit

Handango announced the winners of the Handango Champion Awards at the Handango Partner Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona last week. Honoring the best in mobile software, the Handango Champion Awards were judged by members of the media and other industry experts. Each winner received a generous awards package including promotional opportunities and a US$5,000 marketing stipend.

"The Handango Champion Awards is a rare opportunity to shine a spotlight on the exceptional developers and outstanding applications in the mobile software market," said Laura Rippy, chief executive officer of Handango. "We're thrilled to be able to recognize their achievement. We're also honored that such an elite panel of judges agreed to give their time to help recognize these companies whose work has made our lives more productive, portable and fun."

Three nominees in each category were recognized. These nominees were chosen by the votes of thousands of industry influencers and customers. The winners were determined by an elite panel of judges including experts from Gannet News Service/USA TODAY, Network Computing, ABC Radio - KGO AM810, Pen Computing, Wireless Gaming Review, Java World, Phone Scoop, Pocket Goddess, Palm Infocenter, Wireless Developer Network, My-Symbian, The Gadget Guy, Bityard Magazine, Visor Central and PDAStreet.

Awards were presented for Palm OS, Pocket PC, Symbian OS, Java, Windows Mobile Smartphone and Linux platforms in the following categories:

Category Excellence for Palm OS

Best Productivity Application - DateBk5 by Pimlico Software

Best Business Application - Quickoffice Premier by Cutting Edge Software

Best Game - Bejeweled by Astraware

Best Lifestyle Application - SplashPhoto by SplashData

Best Medical Application - PatientKeeper Personal 2.33 by PatientKeeper

Best Education & Reference Application - DictionaryToGo by LearningToGo

Best Travel Application - Rand McNally StreetFinder by Handmark

Category Excellence for Pocket PC

Best Productivity Application - Pocket Informant by WebIS

Best Business Application - Pocket SlideShow by CNetX

Best Game - Lemonade Tycoon by Hexacto

Best Lifestyle Application - CodeWallet Pro by Developer One

Best Medical Application - Medical Dictionary by Beiks

Best Education & Reference Application - Pocket Stars by Nomad Electronics

Best Travel Application - Pocket Streets by Microsoft Corporation

Category Excellence for Symbian OS

Best Productivity Application - BugMe! by Electric Pocket

Best Business Application - Remote Control by Bitween

Best Game - Interstellar Flames by Xen Games

Best Lifestyle Application - MP3Go by m-internet.com

Best Education & Reference Application - Dictionaries by Paragon

Best Travel Application - WorldMate by MobiMate

Category Excellence for Emerging
(Includes Windows Mobile Smartphone and Linux platforms)

Best Productivity Application - IA SIM Manager by IA Style Inc.

Best Business Application - eWallet by Ilium Software

Best Game - Strategic Assault by Eon Games

Best Lifestyle Application - tkcKapital by the Kompany

Best Education & Reference Application - Speed Reader Plus by MobileDynamo

Best Travel Application - Travel Dictionary by AIM Productions

Category Excellence for Java

Best Productivity Application - WebViewer by Reqwireless

Best Business Application - MidCast by HillCast Technologies

Best Game - MotoGP by THQ

Best Education & Reference Application - Pocket Quotes by JSmart

Best Travel Application - ActiveViewer by SIMEDA

At the awards ceremony, Handango also recognized six software developers for their outstanding accomplishments. Recipients of the Developer of the Year award represent the complete package: outstanding software development, committed customer care and forward-thinking innovation.

The winners of the Developer of the Year award were as follows:

Palm OS: Handmark

Pocket PC: Spb Software House

Symbian: Xen Games

Java: Sumea Interactive

Windows Mobile Smartphone: IA Style

Linux: Bundu Technology