After 6 weeks of vigorous competition, in which we have reviewed some of the weirdest and most wonderful app ideas known to man, we have finally determined a winner. We can now proudly announce that the winner of iPhoneAppCafe’s App Idol is Eric Egong with his idea for Boom!erang. Eric wins a prize of $1,000, courtesy of iGame Radio and gets his app developed by leading development company Locassa, as well as continued mentoring from our App Idol judging panel and huge exposure on iPhoneAppCafe as well as our numerous partner sites. This truly is a fantastic opportunity for this bright and ambitious young man.
Picking a clear winner certainly wasn’t an easy task; Boom!erang had some tough competition to beat and it really did come down to the wire. The top three finalists were:
Winner: Boom!erang
Second Place: League of Ex-Presidents
Third Place: Bear Freestyle
The winner was selected after each judge voted their top 3 apps. It was actually a very close call between the League of Ex-Presidents and Boom!erang, but at the end judges decided to go with Boom!erang because some people voiced concerns about game play involving Ex-Presidents being offensive. Also, Picture This was very high in the rankings but at the last minute we found out that very recently a similar app called PictureThis was released on the App Store, therefore we had to exclude this app from our top three list. We also had many votes and comments on our blog, which, although they weren’t part of the formal decision-making process, the judges definitely keep them in mind when determining the outcome.
We would like to thank everybody who submitted their ideas to this competition, everybody who followed App Idol and shared it with their friends and any fan of our website, old or new. It is your loyalty and support that helps us launch competitions and events like App Idol; we really could not do it without you.
We are very excited to work together with Eric Egong and Locassa to start developing Boom!erang and turn in into a successful app.
Here’s a little reminder of our winner’s proposal; see the rest of the video submissions here.
A fun game with a simple concept yet is hard-to-master boomerang game. This app requires the player to flick on the screen to throw their boomerang against a certain target/enemies. The characters in the game will try to dodge the incoming boomerangs, run from it or even counter a throw with another object. But be careful not to hit yourself!
Our judge’s thoughts…
Chris Maddern: “This is a fun idea. I guess the big question for the success of this in my mind is ‘would I then hand my phone to a person I was with and say, “OK then…you try”, which would then prompt them to download it too. Maybe I would.”
Rob Shoesmith: “What I love about this app is its simplicity. It’s not overly complicated and I feel that it would have an addictive nature which is always important.”
Alex Cequea: “Cool idea, but really comes down to execution. Games that require you to accurately throw or guide an object can get frustrating really quick if the controls aren’t ultra sensitive. Nevertheless, this can be a fun casual game.”
Simon Lee: “Nice pick-up and put down idea. Quick and simple to get into but difficult to master.”
If you have any comments or ideas about what features to include in Boom!erang then please write them below. We do value all feedback from our readers and we would love your help in turning this fantastic app idea into successful app that tops the iTunes charts!
[…] Contests, Games After 6 weeks of vigorous competition, the winner of the iPhoneAppCafe App Idol contest has finally been revealed. Eric Egong won the grand prize with his idea for Boom!erang […]
Im surprised by this since there are already quite a few “boomerang” apps out there.
Was thinking the same thing. Boomerang AR??? Check it out in the app store.
I find it extremely interesting that no one has commented on Boom!!!!erang winning this competition after all of the support it received. It seems to me that the comments/votes might have been from the submitters themselves or friends of them rather than the “public.” I do congratulate Boom!erang and the submitter, but I do wish that the final decision was based more on the judges considerations and not on the very obvious submitters comments. Again congratulations to Eric, and I hope his app does well
@Kain we have actually checked Boomerang AR which has no game play. The Boom!erang game Locassa has in mind will be completely different.
@Humphrey we also thought we would see more jubilation from Boom!erang supporters as well. Yet the fact of the matter is that Boom!erang won because it got the highest votes from the judges after League of Ex presidents but the developer Locassa had some concerns about developing the League of Ex presidents so Boom!erang became the winner. So contrary to your wrong assumption it wasn’t because of public vote that Boom!erang won. The winner was selected based on judges votes.
Knew this idea would make it! I feel happy for the young man 🙂
And no, as I said before in my comments, the Boomerang games that currently exist on the App Store are simulations. What Eric has in mind from his descriptions are entirely different and I can’t wait to play with it!
I don’t think it’s right to say that the votes might have been from the submitters or their friends. I myself, for one, was drawn to the idea entirely by its own merit. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it have been equally easier for them and their friends to submit congratulatory comments as well?
Nevertheless, I think that this competition should be a regular event! What say you Ashkan? Fingers crossed my idea makes it next time 😛
Congratulations to Boomerang! From the descriptions, it seems like the judges really had a hard time deciding on the winner. Personal rant: Showed this idea to my big bro and he’s one of the members in Dubai Silicon Oasis (no promo intended). In the end, he got more excited about this idea than I daresay the young man. No wonder venture capitalists have eyes for these things 😉
Anyway, congratulations again. Hope Boom!erang tops the App Store charts in the future!
Congratulations to Boomerang and to Eric. We really loved this idea from the start. To be honest, I am one of Eric’s course mates and I feel compelled to clarify what his attitude had been like throughout this competition. He was really passionate about this idea, even sketching on whiteboards etc during some of our medical tutorial sessions lol. And the more he explained, the more we can imagine how playing with this game will be like.
But his integrity really shows (and our group really respected this) when he specifically asked us NOT to post any comments or any votes during the entire running of this competition. It would have been an easy route, but “being dishonest isn’t the way to top the app charts” was what he said 🙂
But since this competition is over, I think it’s ok to comment now. You are one techno-savvy medic!!
@Alex Good points! agree. And yes we will definitely aim to run the competition again. All the judges agreed the standard of all the 11 finalist apps were very high and we had many good comments so far. Cheers!
@Sara thanks for your comment 🙂 Good to know and thanks for sharing!
I really didn’t expect this. Boom!erang won! so excited! 😀 I can’t wait to play it! Hopefully, it is as good as it sounds or even better. can’t wait to see the features they’re gonna add too. 😀 congratulation to Boom!erang and Eric!
Hi everyone,
I’m Eric, the winner of this competition. First of all, I would like to thank everyone here on iphoneappcafe, igameradio, Locassa, the 4 judges and of course all the readers for believing in this idea. This means the world to me and I would never have expected to win because all the other ideas are so good and creative. Here, I would also like to clarify what the idea is all about (this is an entry on igameradio’s website).
“Boom!erang is intended to be a game that is simple to learn but hard to master. Basically, you’ll be flicking your boomerang on the screen against your targets who then try to dodge the incoming boomerangs, run from it, or even counter it by throwing another object. We can definitely see multiplayer potential in this game, both hotseat and online. But, as Eric Egong stated about the game, “be careful not to hit yourself!”
Again, a big thanks for everyone for having faith in this idea’s potential. I would love any constructive criticisms and ideas so that we can make the best app that we can.
Sincerely,
Eric
Ahh the winner has been announced!!! I would have commented earlier if I weren’t travelling!
Congratulations to Eric! Its really good to know that you’ve won the competition.
I will be the first person to download your app once it is released! Please dont put too much adverts in the app okay!
Can’t wait to see the app!
To ashkan and the judges, you’ve made the right choice. Millionaires know best.
yay go boom!erang. i hope it will go as famous as other fun and skill-acquring games like angry birds, drawsome etc. you go eric for this brilliant idea. anticipating a cool medical related app next from u!
Congrats to the winner. Can’t wait to get my hands on Boom!erang…
Boom!erang finally you did it!brilliant idea from a brilliant guy! 😀
Congratulations to you,young man! 😉
Wow, can’t believe this! Congrats to Boom!erang.
Congratulations Eric. I can’t wait to try out your app. Enjoy the process and I’m sure your app will do very well.
My sincere congratulations to Boom!erang for winning this competition. As a visitor of the website, I am very glad that we get to have a bit of an influence in the decision-making process. Of course, merit of the idea submitted accounts for perhaps 99% of the final result and I salute the 11 ideas for that 🙂
The judges were right, it’s the simplicity of Boom!erang that makes it so appealing. I myself have downloaded virtually every game that makes it to the top charts in the App Store. It is really refreshing that this competition came up with an idea that does not try to replicate Angry Birds, Temple Run etc. Kudos to all of you for that and I can’t wait to play with this app when it is released!
Ex-Presidents and Bear Freestyle were indeed very strong contenders, and both these app would also sell very well on the App Store if they get developed. To both the participants, don’t give up. You have very bright futures ahead of you 🙂
To iphoneappcafe, please, please organise more competitions like this. I personally believe that ordinary peopele, not just developers are brimming with wonderful app ideas that will make a difference in the world. Time for something to usurp Angry Birds’ throne!! 😀
Wow, this sounds like a potential chart-topper! Congratulations to Eric for the awesome Boom!erang idea 😀
@Alex. Wow, you must be so keen about this competition, posting twice to request for more competitions 😛 And yes, I fully agree. Iphoneappcafe should make this a monthly event lol.
It’s a bit frustrating for me because I had submitted a lot of ideas to medl’s app incubator and also fundedapps but have so far received no reply (arghhh). Fingers crossed my next idea will be next idol! 😀
@Ashkan here is your statement from above:
Boom!erang won because it got the highest votes from the judges after League of Ex presidents but the developer Locassa had some concerns about developing the League of Ex presidents so Boom!erang became the winner. So contrary to your wrong assumption it wasn’t because of public vote that Boom!erang won. The winner was selected based on judges votes.
So in reality the League of Ex-President app truly won based on the Judges votes but Locassa had concerns with developing the app so Boomerang was given the win. I hope Jason was contacted and given consolation at the very least. Was Locassa clear on what their concerns were? Could Jason have been contacted to make adjustments? Seems a little unfair but I do appreciate your candor in sharing it here so that people know that the Judges at least picked that app first.
I hope you have success in developing and promoting your Boomerang app. I also hope another developer with some foresight steps up and gives the League of Ex-Presidents app a chance. I see a great deal of potential for financial return in that app.
Oh. This is what i was looking for.
I have some uniqe app ideas but i don’t know how to make a reall app out of that!
Where else can i find some competetitions like this?
Which companies are open to new ideas? I don’t want much money.(i actually can’t since i leave in IRAN)
@Zahra I am an app developer, currently looking for a project. Contact me on twitter: @TheLustigLabs you and anyone else who has any app ideas they’d like developed. Most likely, I will not charge to make your app, and will definitely NOT take from the profit.