Sensis backs Android/iOS dev showdown
A high-stakes hackathon next month will attempt to answer what is arguably the biggest question of this generation's coding talent: are Android developers better than iOS developers?
The SAPI hackathon in Melbourne on 19 November will pit teams of Android developers against their iOS counterparts, "hack" the recently released Sensis API and develop a minimal viable product.
The prizes announced so far include a day of developer support from Sensis, and promotion through its API gallery.
The hackathon will take place at the soon-to-be-opened co-working space York Butter Factory, backed by venture capital firm Adventure Capital. The event has been organised by Sensis, CEO of developer firm Taboo Richard Hack and Adventure Capital partner Darcy Naunton.
Hack believes it's the first time that Aussie Android and iOS developers will go to head in a competition, and will be judged on a number of key criteria, including utility, user experience (UX) and innovation.
Utility will measure the depth of integration with the Sensis API, how it leverages the Yellow and White Pages directories, and the value for consumers and business.
UX and innovation will evaluate the ease of use, graphical appeal and "cool factor", he said.
"Points are awarded for applications that aren't necessarily the most logical thing to do, but the most innovative and groundbreaking thing to do," Hack said.
"So if it's solving a business or customer problem, if it's satisfying an unmet need or an unrealised and unmet consumer need, then that really dictates the application."
Hack said that the developers ultimately retain control of the intellectual property.
This will be a heavily developer-focused event, he said, compared with other start-up-building events like StartupWeekend Melbourne and Launch48, where strangers from different disciplines gather over the weekend to build a working prototype of a product.
Sensis will target business ideas and entrepreneurs with future events, he said, and it has been engaged deeply with the local developer community to inform the development of its API, including a series of developer forums last year.
"Those forums were one-on-one sessions and focus groups that really gave Sensis an idea what the developer community would want the API to look like and function," Hack said.
"It's the first time Sensis did this sort of thing, and now it's about getting people to jump on, have a look and play with it and see what flowers can bloom."
Adventure Capital's Darcy Naunton said that these events are important for the local ecosystem, with the York Butter Factory also to host the StartupWeekend Melbourne event in early November.