GSMA Announces Winners of the 17th Annual Global Mobile Awards

BARCELONA, Spain, February 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Mobile World Congress -- The GSMA today announced the winners of the 17th Annual Global Mobile awards, held at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The winners were honoured in an afternoon ceremony hosted by comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin.

Minchin delighted and entertained the audience, performing two songs during the awards show. Cherie Blair, champion of the GSMA's mWomen programme, joined Minchin on stage to co-present four awards within the 'Social and Economic Development' category.   

"The 2012 Global Mobile Awards continue to showcase the greatest, most creative and innovative products and services driving the mobile ecosystem today and into the future. With a record number of high calibre entries this year, it is a significant achievement to have been honoured in today's ceremony," said Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "The GSMA congratulates winners and commends all those taking part for raising the benchmark of contributions to mobile communications across the entire industry."

The winners of the 2012 Global Mobile Awards are:

Best Mobile App for Consumers
Winner: Rovio Entertainment Ltd. - Angry Birds Rio

Best Mobile App for Enterprise
Winner: Citrix Systems - Citrix Receiver

Judges Choice - Best Overall Mobile App
Winner: WhatsApp Inc. - WhatsApp

Most Innovative Mobile App
Winner: SwiftKey

Best Mobile Advertising & Marketing Campaign
Winner: Brandtone - Carling Black Label "Be the Coach"

Innovation in Mobile Advertising
Winner: Google - Google Wallet

Mobile Marketing & Advertising Agency of the Year
Winner: [am.o.bee]

Best Enterprise Mobile Service
Winner: Fiberlink - MaaS360

Best Consumer Mobile Service
Winner: Google - Google Maps for Android

Best Network Product or Solution for Serving Customers
Winner: Turkcell - Turkcell TiklaKonus

Best Product, Initiative or Service for Underserved Segments
Winner: Safaricom - Grundfos

mWomen Best Mobile Product or Service for Women in Emerging Markets
Winner: Etisalat, Qualcomm, D-Tree International and Great Connection Inc. - Etisalat Mobile Baby

Best Use of Mobile in Emergency or Humanitarian Situations
Winner: UBL Omni - transparent and efficient Cash Disbursement service after the 2009 IDPs Crisis and the 2010 Flood Crisis

The Green Mobile Award
Winner: Flexenclosure - E-site

Best Mobile Health Innovation
Winner: Etisalat, Qualcomm, D-Tree International and Great Connection Inc. - Etisalat Mobile Baby

Best Mobile Innovation for Education or Learning
Winner: OnPoint Digital - CellCast Solution

Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive, Transport or Utilities
Winner: Ford Motor Company Ltd. - Ford SYNC with Emergency Assistance

Best Mobile Money Innovation
Winner: Etisalat, MasterCard and Oberthur Technologies - Etisalat Commerce

Best Mobile Innovation for Publishing
Winner: Financial Times and Assanka - The Financial Times Web App

Best Smartphone
Winner: Samsung - Samsung Galaxy S II

Best Feature Phone or Entry Level Phone
Winner: Nokia - Nokia C3-00

Device Manufacturer of the Year
Winner: Samsung

Best Mobile Tablet
Winner: Apple - Apple iPad 2

Best Embedded Mobile Device (Non-Handsets)
Winner: AT&T - Garmin GTU 10

Best Mobile Broadband Technology
Winner: KT - KT's Premium WiFi Solution

Best Infrastructure Technology
Winner: Alcatel-Lucent - lightRadio Network

Best Technology Breakthrough
Winner: Vodafone Group PLC - Quad Rate Technology: an evolved path doubling the efficiency of mobile voice

Best Cloud Based Technology
Winner: Appcelerator - Titanium Integrated Development Platform

Best Technology Product or Solution for Safeguarding and Empowering Customers
Winner: Cloudmark - Cloudmark Mobile Messaging Security Suite

GSMA Chairman's Award
Joint winners: KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, INC. and SOFTBANK MOBILE

Government Leadership Award
Winner: Government of the Republic of Colombia

A panel of judges searching for the most promising 'Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2012' will select a shortlist of nominees, and a winner that will be announced on the morning of Thursday 1st March, 2012 at Mobile World Congress. Both the shortlisted nominees and the winner will be announced via Mobile World Live TV and on the Global Mobile Awards website.

The full list of winners and finalist for the 2012 Global Mobile Awards is available at: http://www.globalmobileawards.com/winners2012.php

In total, more than 170 independent analysts, journalists, academics and subject matter experts and 16 representatives from mobile operators throughout the world participated in the judging of the 2012 awards.

2012 Global Mobile Awards sponsors include: INQ (Platinum Awards Sponsor);Conduit (Apps of the Year Category); CNBC, Fortune and Time (Platinum Media Partners); and Africa Telecoms, Fierce Wireless, GIZMODO, GoMo News and Mobile Communications International, Tech Week Europe (Gold Media Partners). Market data for the 'Best Mobile App for Consumers' and 'Best Mobile App for Enterprise' categories was provided by Distimo.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at http://www.gsma.com or Mobile World Live, the online portal for the mobile communications industry, at http://www.mobileworldlive.com.