CHICAGO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, today announced the addition of eight new sponsors for the 2010 Global LBS Challenge, contributing to a new record global prize pool valued at over $10 million US.

"This year's NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge will prove to be more rewarding for application developers than ever before, supporting them with cash awards, data licenses, software development kits (SDKs), application programming interfaces (APIs), porting and remote testing services as well as handsets for multiple platforms," said Marc Naddell, vice president, partner & developer programs, NAVTEQ. "We are excited about the extensive backing and support from across the industry, helping to stimulate LBS innovation in new application areas, for new platforms and for new devices, benefiting both developers and users of location-aware solutions."

The new Global Sponsors for the 2010 Global LBS Challenge include:

DigitalGlobe - a leading global provider of commercial, high-resolution earth imagery products and services

As a Global Sponsor, DigitalGlobe ( http://www.digitalglobe.com) will provide contestants with access to an online ImageLibrary of continually updated, high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery designed to integrate seamlessly with NAVTEQ(R) map data. Sourced from its own advanced satellite constellation, DigitalGlobe's imagery solutions support a wide variety of defense, commercial and navigation applications. DigitalGlobe's contributions to the global prize pool are 12-month ImageLibrary subscriptions for the Grand Prize Winners, and 6-month subscriptions for the two Runners-Up in each region, worth a total of $500,000. Through the Global LBS Challenge, DigitalGlobe aims to encourage image-rich applications that deliver the real world perspective.

Intel - providing support to developers of next-generation applications

Intel will support the 2010 Global LBS Challenge with SDKs, technical support and Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor based devices. Intel encourages developers to build innovative applications for next generation handhelds and Netbooks based on the Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor and Linux-based Moblin(TM) OS (www.moblinzone.com). This will allow developers to take advantage of premium PC like performance and deploy rich, innovative and engaging applications such as 3D navigation and augmented reality on a variety of designs. As a Global Sponsor, Intel will provide qualifying finalists from each region with a choice of a Netbook or a handheld.

Microsoft Corporation - providing enterprise-level support for building map-based solutions using Bing Maps

Microsoft will support the competition by giving all contestants access to rich tool sets, user forums and support for building map-based solutions through Bing Maps for Enterprise ( www.microsoft.com/maps). The Bing Maps platform is supported by flexible APIs for developers to design and build customized, immersive end-user experiences. As a Global Sponsor, Microsoft will offer complimentary licenses to all finalists and winners to use the Bing Maps platform for their commercial applications, at a value in total of $1 million US. Microsoft will provide each Grand Prize Winner with $50,000 US worth of Bing Maps licenses, the two Runners-Up in each region $30,000 worth of licenses as well as $10,000 worth of licenses to all finalists.

The new Regional Sponsors include:

Alcatel-Lucent - a leading provider of telecom hardware, software, solutions and services fostering new business models between service providers and Web 2.0 application developers

As a Regional Sponsor for North America, Alcatel-Lucent ( http://www.alcatel-lucent.com) is a leader in providing developers with seamless, secure access to the unique capabilities of service provider networks helping them create 'mash up' applications combining telecom functionality with Web-based capabilities. Alcatel-Lucent is providing 12 finalists with 6 months of free access to its Open API Service ( http://developer.openapiservice.com), bringing developers and service providers together seamlessly for rapid creation and testing of innovative applications. Prizes - totaling $50,000 US - include up to 10,000 free high-accuracy location queries per month, along with technical support from Alcatel-Lucent to facilitate the use of the Open API Service in conjunction with NAVTEQ map data.

AtlasCT - previous Global LBS Challenge finalist, developer and provider of worldwide location-based solutions offering SDKs for web and mobile platforms

AtlasCT ( www.atlasct.com) is a regional sponsor of the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and North America regions, offering contestants its Atlas Mobile SDK including the Navigation and Multimedia packages for free. Compatible with HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and other devices, this SDK enables developers to easily create rich location-based applications within a few days. As a regional sponsor, AtlasCT will be granting a 1-year license to the Grand Prize Winners in the two regions to use the Atlas Mobile SDK, Atlas Web SDK, Atlas GIS or Atlas LBS for up to 9,000 monthly subscribers of their commercial applications, valued to in total $240,000.

NAVTEQ has been managing the Global LBS Challenge annually since 2003, recognized in the industry for stimulating innovation in location-aware applications. Conducted by NN4D across five different regions - EMEA, North America, South America, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and India - this is a world-wide competition challenging application developers around the world to build new applications using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ(R) maps. In addition to the record global prize pool valued at over $10 million USD to be shared by the overall winners, "Best of" recognition awards will be awarded in nine categories to recognize achievements in particular areas.

Serving as Global Awards Sponsors will be:

Imagination Technologies - a market leader in graphics acceleration technology looking to boost development of mobile applications using 3D mapping and LBS features

Imagination Technologies and its POWERVR Insider program ( http://www.powervrinsider.com) collaborates with NAVTEQ Network for Developers(TM) (NN4D) to stimulate increased developer adoption of 3D graphics in navigation and LBS. As a Global Awards Sponsor of the 2010 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, Imagination will nominate the "Most Innovative Use of Graphics" from the finalists for each of the five (5) regions in the competition. The regional award winners will all receive a hot new Netbook device, half a day of dedicated technical consultancy as well as demo space in Imagination's booth at an event during 2010. A global 'Best of' winner in the category will be flown to the UK for two days of intensive support, training and fun with Imagination engineers.

Mobile Distillery - a leader in cross-platform software solutions and testing services for mobile application developers

Ensuring a mobile application to run on as many devices as possible is vital for volume business. Mobile Distillery is returning as a Global Awards Sponsor for the second year in a row and will be contributing $280,000 worth of licenses to this year's global prize pool. All runners-up and Grand Prize Winners across all five regions will receive a 6-month license to Alembic, Mobile Distillery's comprehensive device database, giving them access to thousands of fully tested characteristics on over 1,000 devices worldwide. Each Grand Prize Winner will also receive a 12-month license to Celsius, the industry leading mobile application development and porting platform, allowing them to easily target the widest range of handsets, including for example Nokia, BlackBerry(R), Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and Android(TM) based phones.

For more information about this year's competition, please visit www.LBSChallenge.com.

About the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge

First launched in 2003, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge is a world-wide competition conducted by NAVTEQ Network for Developers (NN4D), daring application developers around the world to build innovative location-based services (LBS) using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ maps. Integrating the accuracy and richness of NAVTEQ digital map data and LBS content facilitates the timely evolution of the next wave of location-aware applications. The Global LBS Challenge has become the premier event in the LBS industry for shining the spotlight on global LBS innovation and opportunity. Over 32% of the finalists from the past six years have gone on to receive venture capital funding or launch commercially-distributed applications. For more information on this year's competition, go to www.LBSChallenge.com.

About NAVTEQ Network for Developers

NAVTEQ Network for Developers (NN4D) is a dynamic web portal and global community that provides developers and business partners with the technical and business support needed to build, showcase and launch the most innovative location-enabled solutions. The NN4D includes resources such as mapping APIs, LBS content, point of interest data, routing information as well as geospatial platforms and tools from NAVTEQ and its partners. Members can rely on NN4D when creating GPS-based applications for the web, mobile phones, GIS and portable navigation devices that employ traffic, navigation, location content and location-based advertising for enterprise and consumer use. Connect with the people, tools and resources you need to build and market your location-enabled products by joining today at www.NN4D.com/joindevelopers .