Teams of developers took to the show floor on the final day of CABSAT 2017 to create the best TV app during this year’s Appathon, sponsored by Metrological SDK.
The winning team got their chance to pitch the app to top telco operators, which offer a total reach of over 40 million households worldwide.
Tiberiu Iacomi, Chief Probability Observer at the 1mpo06able agency and one of the judges at the Appathon said: “The winning team had a very thorough technical presentation. They won because they were able to monetise their idea and marry the technical and business part together. It is so important to have innovation opportunities like Appathon.
“Every team who took part learnt something new. Even if they weren’t a winner today, they have all developed skills that will be invaluable moving forward in their careers. I will be looking out for all of the teams in the next few months to see where they end up.”
A group from the software development company Strypes in Bulgaria were crowned winners on the day with their app Linda, which was designed to help individuals with all aspects of their television through a voice recognition application, removing the need for a remote control.
“It means the world to us to win this award,” said Tifron Statkov. “We are delighted with the product we have built and it is great to have something complete that is really working and can benefit a lot of people. Our app is very technical and required a lot of effort over the last 48 hours and not much sleep, but it is something new that has a lot of potential. It is great that this was recognised by the jury. We are excited to see what the future holds and we hope that we can use this platform to launch the app into the market.”
The team behind Linda have won three months membership at one of the biggest technical hubs in Dubai, In 5. There they will have the opportunity to work alongside like-minded tech entrepreneurs and meet potential mentors and investors in the region.
Bodgan Alexandru Zokas, Online Video Network CEO and fellow judge of Appathon said: “It was great to see people from all different walks of life taking part. Some teams had come from fully fledged technical backgrounds, whereas others were just groups of friends who were passionate about an idea. The Appathon is a huge opportunity for all entrepreneurs looking to get into the tech space and provides them with free access to resources and knowledge regardless of their ability. All the teams will now be able to create apps on the Metrological platform thanks to the training they have received, so it is just now a matter of finding the right business.”
“We believe in the power of these Appathon events because they give the developer community at large the opportunity to bring innovative new content and features to the pay-TV viewing experience,” said Robert Cloudt, Head of Content Management and Strategy of Metrological. “It was great to see the first annual event attract such talented and passionate developers.”
Delivering the latest in entertainment media solutions and technologies to the MENA region, the three-day trade show, welcomed thousands of regional and international visitors involved in the creation, management, distribution and monetisation of content to explore pioneering products, technologies and regional investment avenues.