Sponsored by Gemalto, Samsung, Sun Microsystems, and mobile operators Maxis, MTN, Telefonica and TIM, the ninth edition of the SIMagine Contest rewards the most innovative projects for wireless applications

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, February 6, 2008–The SIMagine developer contest challenges Java™ developers worldwide to present innovative Value Added Services for the cell phone. Expanding over the past eight years, the SIMagine contest has become a major event in the mobile value-added services ecosystem. As part of the 2008 SIMagine worldwide developer contest more than 200 innovative entries in the field of wireless applications were evaluated by a selection committee composed of international members. The eight finalist projects from a ll over the world are now selected, and their teams invited to present to the public and to an international jury at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Open to start-ups and universities, the 2008 edition is strongly themed around two new technologies where the SIM card enables very innovative services, the Near Field Communication (NFC) and the Smart Card Web Server (SCWS).

The exceptional prizes – worth up to 60 000 euros plus the supply of valuable development resources and marketing support to bring the winning ideas to market – attract entries from mobile service specialists, application developers and students from all over the world. Building on the high performance Java Card™ engine for SIM cards which has contributed to the success of Gemalto, the SIMagine developers, mobile operators and service providers take advantage of its powerful popular multi-application capability to quickly deploy value-added services, add new revenue opportunities, increase subscribers’ loyalty and continuously develop their customer base. The wide proliferation of Sun Microsystems Java Card™ platform and Java development tools mean that such applications and services may be rapidly developed, tested and deployed worldwide.

“Through this contest, Gemalto is proud to bring forward-thinking ideas and intuitive insights to the market, and make the most creative wireless services quickly available to operators and subscribers,” stated Philippe Vallée, Executive Vice President, Telecom, Gemalto. “The SIMagine contest continues to catalyze smart ideas from all over the world, leveraging SIM capabilities while meeting operators and subscribers demand.”

“Sun is pleased to sponsor this prestigious contest which brings together Java Developers from around the world with their innovative ideas,” said David Bryant, Senior Director of Marketing, Client Software Products. “The interoperability and success of Sun’s Java Card platform open up these applications to world-wide deployment.”

The eight finalists are the following:

• Medi-SIM – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)

  Medi-SIM offers SIM-based tools that aim at improving public health, especially in developing countries and other areas where people lack access to health information systems.

• Mobi Campus – Rhodes University (South Africa)

  Mobi Campus is an integrated communication and access infrastructure for campus environments, which leverages mobile technologies with convergence on mobile devices.

• NFC Coupon – SIODATA Technologies (China)

  This wireless marketing and CRM solution uses NFC and Java Card™ technologies. It aims at leveraging couponing and creating more accurate advertising data analysis.

• Precise BioMatch™ – Precise Biometrics (Sweden)

  A secure solution for matching a person’s fingerprint with one stored inside the protected environment of a cell phone SIM card for a reliable and user friendly authorization. Both security and privacy are protected as the matching is performed entirely inside the SIM card.

• SIMply Informed – ISMEA (France)

  This original application keeps people connected with the information they need, anytime, anywhere.

• SIMUnity – St. Petersburg University of Cinema and Television (Russia)

  This project aims at providing the infrastructure to uniformly extend existing web-based social networks like MySpace and Facebook to the mobile environment and use different personalization services.

• SmartDoor Bell – Upper Austria University of Applied Science (Austria)

  This access solution, which replaces a standard intercom system with an NFC reader, works with an ordinary mobile phone for use in family homes as well as large office complexes with multiple entrances.

• Taggy Tones – Free Access (Italy)

  A totally new way of buying, distributing, giving as gifts or exchanging ringtones or other digital content using a colorful card containing an RFID tag.

The eight finalists will present their projects to the jury during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The awards will be attributed during a ceremony on February 12 at 6:00pm at the Gemalto stand. (8A102).

About SIMagine

SIMagine is the Worldwide Mobile Communication & Java Card™ Developers Contest aiming at stimulating innovations using SIM-based solutions.

The contest initiated by Gemalto is organized in association with the main sponsors Samsung Semiconductor Europe and Sun Microsystems supported by Gemalto’s operator partners Maxis, MTN, Telefonica and TIM for this edition.

Launched in 2000, SIMagine brings together talents such as research engineers and start-up entrepreneurs around the world to propose creative applications for tomorrow’s mobile services.

Over the last eight years, a total of 1400 participants representing more than 30 countries from all 5 continents have been promoting the Java SIM message through training in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia.

Innovative ideas are brought to life in the field of Gaming services, Financial services, Mobile Contactless services, Interactive services, Community services, Entertainment & Mobile TV, and Multimedia & Convergence. Applications are leveraging new technologies such as Java Card™, SIMToolkit, Smart Card Web Server / HTTP, NFC (Near Field Communication), Multimedia SIM, Peer-to-Peer technologies.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the leader in digital security with pro forma 2007 annual revenues of over €1.6 billion, more than 85 offices in 40 countries and about 10,000 employees including 1,300 R&D engineers. In a world where the digital revolution is increasingly transforming our lives, Gemalto’s solutions are designed to make personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.

Gemalto provides end-to-end digital security solutions, from the development of software applications through design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and tokens to the deployment of managed services for its customers. More than a billion people worldwide use the company’s products and services for telecommunications, financial services, e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights management, IT security, mass transit and many other applications.

As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus.
For more information please visit http://www.gemalto.com.

Contacts

Gemalto
Rémi Calvet
Tel: +33 (0) 1 55 01 64 10
Mob: +33 (0) 6 22 72 81 58
E-mail: remi.calvet@gemalto.com

TBWACorporate
Sophie Mazoyer
Tel: +33 (0) 1 49 09 26 87
Mob: +33 (0) 6 07 21 08 77
E-mail: sophie.mazoyer@tbwa-corporate.com