Communications Inc. has named the mPOD by MedicTouch the winner of the BlackBerry 6510 Extensibility Challenge, a J2ME Platform developer contest. The contest was open to independent software vendors and developers who build and support applications that leverage the Mobile Data Service (MDS) feature of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and run on Nextel's voice and data iDen network.

MedicTouch (North Miami Beach, FL) took first place for its Mobile Pulse Oximeter Device (mPOD) that provides remote blood oxygen content and pulse readings on the BlackBerry 6510. Factors such as an aging population and an increased incidence of heart disease are thrusting remote monitoring services such as mPOD to the forefront of a healthcare market that is focused on reducing costs and providing better care without significantly impacting the daily routines of physicians or patients.

The BlackBerry Extensibility Challenge required developers to create programs that serve enterprise customers for key vertical segments including: transportation & logistics; financial & insurance; manufacturing & distribution; government/public sector and higher education; and utilities.

Applications were judged on five equally weighted criteria: use of the MDS feature of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for corporate data access; relevance of the application to the different priority business segments; capability of the contestant to deploy, support and market the application; contestants business model including Return on Investment estimates; and overall application quality.

RJR Technology (Oyster Bay, NY) captured second place with its Mobile Management Console (MMC). MMC gives users who have little to no programming experience the ability to link existing corporate data to the handheld device. MMC can read data from virtually any data source, including spreadsheets and database platforms. Through use of a wizard-style program, it generates a complex Active Server Page, which in turn delivers the data through MDS to a Java Application on the handheld device.

The third place award was presented to SyncPak (Mission Viejo, CA) for its SyncPak for Econoday Economic application, which allows users to import economic event data onto the BlackBerry 6510 calendar. This solution utilizes the BlackBerry Enterprise Server push-based technology to relay Wall Street event information, consensus and release data, and major announcements directly to the user’s BlackBerry 6510.