Handango Announces Champion Award Winners

Handango support team sucks. They have no clue what they're doing.

Problem is, they don't really have a category for SilverScreen. Maybe next year they should add one called "General Use".

Well, since it's Handango's job to *sell* software, they aren't likely to be awarding the free stuff. This is a marketing stunt to get more attention to their site by promoting their listed products. Notice that they won't be giving awards to anything sold elsewhere.

> Handango Announces Champion Award Winners
> Best Lifestyle Application Finalist:
> Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet Dining Companion
> by neohand

No offense to neohand, however I wonder if the description at Neohand's store ("This store is operated by Handango.")
has anything to do with this nomination?

To be able to counter accusations like this is why they used independent judges. I know some of them and if Handango went to them and said, "We're going to tell you who wins" they would refuse to be involved.

I'm guessing you are a developer who didn't get nominated and are pissed. It's called "sour grapes".

There's only two software distribution companies, Handango and PalmGear. You can't be involved in handheld software without having some ties to one or the other of them.

Found this in an email from Handango...

>>FEATURING YOUR PRODUCTS
Handango is proud to feature your applications, and we would like to work with you to provide more exposure for your products and increase software sales.
We are committed to only featuring applications that reference Handango throughout the trial version of the software. In order to facilitate this process, we can create a custom URL for you to place in the Registration and About screens of your trial versions. This URL can be anything you wish, such as www.handango.com/productname or www.handango.com/companyname.
To receive your customized URL, please contact your Business Development representative or email us at partners@handango.com. Please include information about your product, the URL you would like to have created, as well as the Product ID you would like the new URL to link to.
When your Business Development representative receives this information, your application will be reviewed for a potential featured product spot.<<

I love the part: "We are committed to only featuring applications that reference Handango"

So basically, you can have garbage software but mention the word Handango and BINGO you have the best application!

I'd take the awards with a grain of salt.

Everyone likes to have an award show - just look at the MTV Movie Awards. Most of the nominations weren't exactly Oscar(tm) candidates, but then again neither were the categories.

Regardless what people think of Handango's business practices, they (along with PalmGear) do provide a valuable service to the consumer - a place to find and buy PalmOS (and PPC) software for their devices.

OK, the developer is getting screwed, but that is another topic.

Steve Bush writes: " I was mailed a CD that contained 3 pieces software for each of 5 categories, and a spreadsheet for ranking them first, second and third."

As the Hot chocolate song goes... "Everyone's a winner babe"

It enough to make the Academy awards look impartial!

clinton

Guys,

Give us a break! We didn't rig the awards, and we aren't part of the military industrial complex. =)

Steve Bush describes the process accurately. We sent each of the 8 judges 5 or 6 categories of apps to judge, so we had a minimum of three judges per category. The judges submitted their votes back to us, and we then tabulated them and gave the awards last Thursday. Just because some winners and nominees do business with us in other ways (LOTS of people do business with us in other ways) or that you don't agree with the choices in some categories doesn't mean the fix was in.

Two years ago, we gave similar awards, but we simply chose who won. That wasn't all that meaningful to us, the world at large, or the winners. This time, we submitted the decision to judges, put together a marketing package for the winners and gave some pretty decent plaques and trophies to the winners; plus, we spent a fair amount of time just recruiting and coordinating with the great judges we had on board (though apparently we stopped that communicating after their judging was done - sorry about that Steve; we were a bit behind and I think we sent you a thank you and list of winners today!).

In the next quarter, we're going to be rolling out something on the site that lets users vote for Handango People's Choice Awards. It is our hope that this - like the Champion Awards - will bring much needed attention to some of the great mobile software applications and the talented folks who make them; only this time, it's the customers who'll be voting.

We don't intend to alienate anyone. Our sole purpose in these initiatives is to shine a bright light on some of the great work being done in this industry.

Clint,

How were the 3 products from each category chosen?

About Handango, someone above said, "OK, the developer is getting screwed, but that is another topic."

Screwed? In what way? And as compared to what? Did you know there are a large quantity of developers that have not been paid by PalmGear for a *single* sale from 2002? And yet everyone just seems to ignore that. Handango has never been anything but honest with the developer about what they were going to do.. and they have *always* paid on time, even in my first months when that check was $6.. they sent that check every time, on time... where for almost a year now, I've watched as my payments from PalmGear get later and later and later...

I came by this article today and thought to myself, "congratulations to those winners", they must have worked so hard to get where they are today! Some of the applications that won I have used and some of the applications that didn't win, I use, and to read some of the comments that I have read are a shame. To insinuate that awards sponsored by Microsoft, Nokia, USAtoday and Handango are rigged is ridiculous. To comment that Handango favors those that list software on their site - what do you expect. Do you expect Handango to scour the net for the thousands upon thousands of applications that exist and test each one of them and rate them. If you do, I can guarantee that even if they went this far to give out awards, there would still be the same sore losers out there that would complain. This is the nature of the beast and many of you out there who have made such ignoramus comments should be ashamed of yourself. You're nothing more than a sore loser. I person that complains, and a person that wakes up in the morning mad that someone else is outshining you.

As noted above Handango has brought additional attention to the thousands of developers out there in the market place. They are providing a forum where users can find software, download software and install software. They are a small company and they are growing, and though I am a developer and do sell all my applications on many portals, I can honestly say, that Handango is the most professional. PalmGear has not paid me in six months, and the other sites have no traction. Handango has gone out of their away to present awards to developers, and even take the time to comment on this board.

These "awards" are a good thing, and I am sorry for those that complain, obviously you are the loser in all of this and your spirit, attitude and comments only can confirm your poor sportsmanship. Instead of criticizing those who won, why not make suggestions, if you think Documents to Go is not the best application, than what is. If you don't think MD Coder is the best application than what is? Back it up, why is not the best, why are the others better. Like the lazy people, it is so easy to criticize. What applications do you develop?

Y.L.J.F.
L.J.T.