With the release of the second Beta of Opera Mobile 9.5. Opera also announced a Widget Contest for developers called X Widgets Challenge. this forms part of their strategy to defend their Browser in the mobile market from Firefox and Skyfire and as a plus to promote the Desktop version of the Browser.
There are $10,000 in prizes and in this times of Economic Doom & Gloom. this is the kind of opportunity that should appeal to anyone interested in widget development. they call them X widgets because they are cross device widgets. widgets that need to work in the desktop Opera browser and in the Opera Mobile 9.5 browser. so it also helps Opera against the coming wave of competition they will face with Silverlight and Flash on Mobiles. so why not give them a break and get some money and experience in the process too?. if you don`t trust them because they are Norwegian and they are weird. don`t fret. they are trusty as Canadians. they are cool. i vouch for them. 
Are you up to the challenge?
Opera is challenging developers to create cross-device widgets or “X-Widgets†that can be used on both mobile phones and PC/Mac computers.
An example of an X-Widget might be a shopping list you keep both on your computer and mobile phone. That way you can update it whenever and never lose track of what you need to pick up at the store. Another could be a simple game that you can play on your computer, then pause it, and continue on your mobile phone – perfect when you are going for a high score. One more could be an online auction widget, where you could follow an auction both at home and on the go, and bid right up to the last minute!
Cash prizes galore!
Opera is stepping up and awarding generous cash prizes for the best overall X-Widgets submitted.
In addition you can win t-shirts and $50 Amazon gift cards if you’re one of the first 20 qualified entrants. The best weekly widget will be rewarded with a $300 Amazon gift card.
If your X-Widget is among our top picks, we will promote it on widgets.opera.com and you might also find it bundled in our next widget product release!
Yes! How do I get started?
Check out our Opera Widget SDK which has an emulator and access to the Opera Widget manager on Windows Mobile and Symbian phones to help you test and play with your creation.
Rules
Have a read through these rules before you roll up your sleeves:
Submitting your X-Widget
To submit and participate in the challenge you have to:
Judging
All X-Widget entries will be judged by a panel of developers and marketers at Opera. X-Widgets will be judged on:
Dates to remember
Weekly prize deadlines:
Final deadline: November 23rd, 2008.
Winners will be announced December 15, 2008 in this blog.
Tips and tricks!
Enter the X-Widgets Challenge!
via My.Opera
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