Turkcell (NYSE:TKC, BIST:TCELL) Turkey’s leading telecommunications and
technology company finalized its App Marathon, a 6-week-long journey
launched to mentor and promote the best local mobile software
development efforts. 8 finalists shared the products of their efforts
with members of the Turkish press.
App Developers Marathon, organized under Turkcell’s umbrella project
“Developers of the Future”, had received 580 applications. 153
developers in 60 teams were admitted, and following more than 2000 hours
of work under the mentorship of Turkcell volunteers, 45 applications
were produced in 7 categories: Education, Health, Mobile Finance,
Transportation, M2M, Business World and Social Responsibility.
Meeting Turkey’s growth target in information technologies
Introducing the 8 finalists, Ilker Kuruoz, Turkcell’s Chief
Technology Officer, underlined Turkcell’s commitment to creating a
mobile software movement in Turkey. “Turkey’s growth target in
information technologies is an ambitious one – we aim to generate 8% of
our national income from information technologies by 2023. In order to
make this goal come true, we have to grow the ecosystem. By supporting
the young generation of Turkey to develop applications through programs
like “Developers of the Future”, Turkcell plays a crucial role in
realizing our potential and improving Turkey’s standing in the software
development market. The outcome of our App Development marathon is very
promising. We will continue to closely follow and support not only the
winning but other applicants as well.” said Kuruoz.
Kuruoz also emphasized the need to increase the reach of products,
especially of mobile apps, developed by the country’s software
development ecosystem. Globally, an application generates $500,000
monthly revenue on average. In Turkey, this number is at $35,000 USD
level.
Turkcell continues to support teams in the post-development phase
At this phase, Turkcell will continue to support successful teams by
contributing to their visibility across national and international
investment platforms. Some of the teams will have the opportunity to be
business partners with Turkcell. 8 finalists will develop their business
models and strategies in the upcoming 3 months and the winner of the
marathon will get a chance to visit the Silicon Valley.
Each of the 8 apps that have made the final cut is available in at least
one app store. Among these 8 apps are the following:
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“Smart Location” facilitates communication among I-beacons and warns
users of obstacles on their way through beacon technology.
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“Smart Key” enables smartphones to open locked doors with the help of
a camera and a generated QR code.
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“Pinicate” is a location based platform that enables users to report
local news and share them with greater audiences.
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“Adventures of Miko and Dodo” is an application that offers
educational games and interactive stories for children between ages of
0 and 5 in Turkish, English and Arabic.
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“Rough Road” helps drivers report rough roads in with the help of GPS
and smartphone sensors to required authorities in order for them to
repair.
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“Pogitive” is an application where the users will be able to find the
exact quotes of people on news without distortion. Users will also be
able rate and comment on quotes via social media.
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“Blood link” is a CSR application where blood and thrombocyte donors
can post where they are and be reached when there is a need of a
donation.
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“Social Ant” developed by the female students of Turkcell’s
“Snowdrops” program, helps tracking NGOs and their current social
responsibility projects.
Turkcell’s App Developers Marathon is part of “Developers of the
Future”. Launched in September 2013, the project aims to improve
technological literacy and the software development landscape, making
online learning available in Turkish for people interested in coding.
The community already boasts 21 thousand members from 40 countries.
Mobile software development information is available for iOS, Android
and Windows Phone.
Turkish speakers can access the project website and become members at https://gelecegiyazanlar.turkcell.com.tr/.
ABOUT TURKCELL: Turkcell is the leading communications and
technology company in Turkey, with 35.2 million subscribers as of
December 31, 2013. Turkcell is a leading regional player, with market
leadership in five of the nine countries in which it operates with its
approximately 71.3 million subscribers as of December 31, 2013. It has
become one of the first among the global operators to have implemented
HSPA+. It has achieved up to 43.2 Mbps speed using the Dual Carrier
technology, and is continuously working to provide the latest technology
to its customers. Turkcell Superonline, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Turkcell, is the first telecom operator to offer households fiber
broadband connection at speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps in Turkey. As of
December 2013, Turkcell’s population coverage is at 99.49% in 2G and
86.17% in 3G. Turkcell reported a TRY11.4 billion (US$6.0
billion) revenue with total assets of TRY21.3 billion (US$10.0 billion)
as of December 31, 2013. It has been listed on the NYSE and the ISE
since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read
more at www.turkcell.com.tr
You can now follow the most up-to-date Turkcell developments on twitter
by clicking on the link below. http://twitter.com/TurkcellNews
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