Unlike Apple, which maintains a firm handle on third-party applications for its popular iPhone handset, Nokia has organised Push N900, a competition amongst hackers and crackers to develop new software for the smartphone.
Launching the competition at the OneDotZero event which took place over the weekend in London, Nokia said it wants to push the boundaries with the N900, which is driven by a new multi-tasking operating system called Maemo.
With a closing date of 11 October, the Push N900 competition is the first time that an IT vendor has effectively opened up the source code, APIs and coding hooks of its device to all and sundry.
Five white hat hackers and crackers will be offered the chance for Nokia to invest in their N900-related project, and a number of competition entrants are also being given a free N900 handset to work with.