13 great examples of mobile innovation [Meffys]

The next time you’re at a tech conference and someone tells you that mobile is the next big thing, you should probably stand up and correct them. In a world where Apple can sell 9-million people are willing to buy the iPhone 5S on opening weekend and where mobile advertising is a multi-billion dollar industry, mobile isn’t the next big thing, it’s “the” massive thing happening right now.

That said, there’s still plenty of room for innovation in the space, especially given that large portions of the world are only just starting to experience mass smartphone ownership and the possibilities brought about by high speed mobile networks.

And if you want know who’s doing seriously innovative stuff in the mobile space, then you could do worse than have a look at the winners of this year’s Meffy Awards.

The 10th anniversary Awards received entries from over 25 countries across all five continents from both established mobile companies and innovative start-ups as well as representatives from new vertical sectors including internet giants, banks and agencies.

The ultimate winners highlighted the ubiquity of the mobile content and commerce industry with many of the awards recognising the central role mobile now plays in consumers’ everyday lives with convenience and usability as key success factors gaining recognition.

The Meffys were part of the inaugural MEF Global Forum 2013 and for the first time, took place in San Francisco. Supported by Kaspersky Lab, Real Networks, Vserv.mobi, KPMG and Barclays the Gala Dinner brought together over 200 international finalists and guests and was hosted by Emmy nominated and award winning author & broadcaster and Google’s Head of Media Outreach, Partnerships Lead and official spokesperson Daniel Sieberg.

Rimma Perelmuter, CEO, MEF commented: “The 2013 Meffys have once again marked an amazing year of mobile success and innovation from across the globe. It was fantastic to host the Awards 10th anniversary in San Francisco in conjunction with the inaugural MEF Global Forum 2013 to connect and celebrate emergent and global mobile companies with those based in Silicon Valley. The Awards demonstrated the diversity of the mobile ecosystem and showcased international innovation to a key new audience.

Brand on Mobile Award
Brandtone for Pepsico / Credito Para Torcida

Consumer Trust Award
NQ Mobile for NQ Mobile Security

Content Service Award
Maluuba

Discovery & Engagement Award
Everything.me

Games
ZeptoLab for Cut The Rope Cheese Box

Life Tools App Award
Tile for Tile

Mobile Money
Barclays for Pingit: Picture Payments

Social & Entertainment App Award
Shazam for Shazam for TV Service

Social Responsibility & Development Award
Mahindra Comviva for Ecocash powered by Mobiquity

Innovation Award for App
SwiftKey for SwiftKey 4

Innovation Award for Technology
Mozilla for Firefox OS

Innovation Award for a Growth Market Initiative
moWoza

Innovative Business Model
Fortumo for Android App Distribution