Microsoft crowns the winners of the “Big App on Campus” contest

Not too long ago Microsoft looked to drum up some new, innovative apps for the Windows Phone Marketplace by initiating a challenge to intelligent, hard working students at 19 different schools around the country. The “Big App on Campus” contest was born, offering a $15,000 grand prize.

Well it has been four months and after many entries, Microsoft has crowned the winners.

The two grand prize winners, who just brought home $15,000 each, are Andrew Bares of the University of Arizona and Jeremiah Isaacson of the University of Wisconsin. Andrew is the creator of Power Planner. The app sells for $1.99 and is an organization app for students that helps them keep track of their schedules and their schoolwork. Jeremiah is the man behind Ninja Fruit. This free app is a play on the popular game Fruit Ninja, but in this game the player is a green lime seeking revenge on the human ninjas.

Two other developers managed to rake in $2,500 each by winning the People’s Choice award. Chevon Christie of CUNY/Hunter College created ScanBizCards, which is an app that allows you to scan in and organize business cards. This $6.99 app is great for networking. Quinn Damerell of Purdue University also won a People’s Choice award for his free Reddit app called Baconit.

In addition to the winners, all 10 finalists in the competition where flown to South by Southwest and treated to a private concert from four indie bands all courtesy of Microsoft.

A big congrats to all the winners. We can’t wait to see what you come up with next.

source: Windows Phone Blog