Earlier this year Microsoft sent out the word that it was looking for students to create apps for Windows Phone 7 that would be both fun and innovative. In July the company announced that it had received a large number of student-made apps and was awarding the creators of some of the better apps some Windows Phone 7 developer smartphones. This week, the Windows Phone 7 developer blog site has revealed even more student made apps that Microsoft has picked from the entries. Once again, Microsoft is giving some Windows Phone 7 dev phones to the creators of those apps (a pre-release HTC Mazaa, to be precise).
Some of the more interesting apps among the 15 that were picked are WorldPainter, which lets the user put up "virtual graffiti" and then share your creation with friends. Yet another is SpellingList which offers kids a way to learn how to spell via games. Finally there"s InspirEngine which is a "Getting Things Done" app that has some social and gaming features. Microsoft Windows Phone 7"s developer Ben Lower said, "It was very encouraging to see how submissions keep evolving in their use of Metro design elements and new features in Mango. It’s obvious that people are learning from one another and pushing things further."
Microsoft isn"t quite done yet with this program. Lower says, "We’ll announce the third & final group of winners (15 total) of this contest on Friday, September 9th. If you’ve been waiting to put your idea into Sketchflow, you’ve got a bit more time." Hopefully we will see these prototypes turned into actual Windows Phone 7 apps.