"Now that mobile devices are becoming as powerful as personal computers and more ubiquitous, challenging mobile developers and young inventors to develop the right applications can take the device simply known as a cellular phone and transform it into a catalyst to help society in many different ways," Kamen said in a statement.

Prizes will be awarded in three categories:

1. ECO-Challenge: mobile solutions that help consumers make sustainable choices such as reducing their energy consumption or carbon footprint.

2. Emerging Markets: solutions for education, health data access, infotainment, rural agriculture, or any other application that improves lives in emerging markets.

3.Technology Showcase:, experience-driven applications, using any technology that runs on Series 40 or S60 devices, such as Flash Lite, Java, Python, or open source. From a single-purpose application to completely community driven, this developer's showdown will help open consumers' minds about what an application can do.

First-place winners in each category will receive $25,000, a trip to Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, and distribution of their application for free through a variety of Nokia channels. Second place winners will receive $10,000 and third place winners will receive $5,000.