AppJam Dundee award goes to iGiveADamn blood donor app

The winners of the UK's first AppJam have been announced after a 48-hour challenge in Dundee to produce the next killer app.

The winning iGiveADamn team.

Published in the Courier : 12.11.10
Published online : 12.11.10 @ 05.35pm

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iGiveADamn — awarded top prize for best overall app by judges — could vastly improve the current system for blood donors. It helps donors connect with each other through social media and reminds them of when they can next give blood.

The winning app.

It also provides locations of the user's closest donation centre and general public announcements.

The app has already attracted interest from several international firms looking to publish it for overseas territories.

Andy Mackenzie, of the Centre for Creative & Digital Industries at Dundee College, which hosted the event, said, "It's not easy to create an app. We wanted to ensure the teams performed on every level such as ensuring the product actually works on a chosen platform.

"We also asked teams to think about the app's proposed function.

"No matter what an app does, it needs to do what it says on the tin. If they were producing a game, then it had to be fun or if it's a business app, it needed to crack the problem that they set out to solve — which iGiveaDamn clearly delivered on."

Team Pataka, from Dundee, landed the Nokia QT award for their innovative mobile multiplayer pencil game, where players compete by hurling pencils across the screen.

Thirteen teams took part in the 48-hour challenge to produce the next killer app as part of an event that brings together some of the top names in the industry.

Starting from scratch, the budding developers had to design and then present their work to some of the biggest developers in the industry.

Judge Tina Yang, from Nokia, said, "It's extremely hard to come up with something truly original, so we were looking for a great deal of creativity and original thought as well as playability and good functionality.

"We chose Pataka as the team delivered on all fronts. We were blown away by the standard of apps delivered today, particularly as it was in just 48 hours."

The winners will receive a range of the latest Nokia handsets and a year's subscription to the online training organisation lynda.com.

Dundee College staged the AppJam, itself part of the week-long NEoN Digital Arts Festival.

Photos courtesy of 2010.appjam.eu.