over 11 years ago

Announcing the winners

We're thrilled to announce the winners of the Samsung Free the TV Challenge!

View the winners and all the other submissions in the Gallery.

Thanks again to everyone who participated and made the challenge a great success!

The Samsung Free the TV Challenge team


almost 12 years ago

One week left to submit!

By: Eva B.

The submission deadline for the Free the TV Challenge is fast approaching. Make sure to submit your converged app by Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. EST.

Let me quickly remind you about the great prizes we are offering. In addition to the cash prizes and the Samsung product prizes, we are flying two members from each finalist team (3 finalist teams total) to Consumer Electronics Show 2012 in January. The challenge winners will be announced at the Samsung press conference, just before CES.

The winning apps will also be showcased at the Samsung booth at…

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almost 12 years ago

3 weeks to go!

By Krishnan Nair

We're inching closer to the final weeks of the Free the TV Challenge. It's not too late to enter — start building a converged app today! We're here to help you every step of the way: just post your questions in the challenge forum or the Samsung D Forum

If you've already started working on a submission, here are some reminders to help you make sure your entry is complete and your apps are easy to test and review.

Submission Checklist

  1. Finish your submission video — check out these tips on how to make one
  2. Finalize…

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almost 12 years ago

This is no stunt

By Ethan Rasiel

Having spent almost 15 years in the field of public relations, I know a PR stunt when I see one.

This year's Free the TV Challenge has gotten plenty of attention, but I want to make it clear that this is no stunt. In fact, the challenge represents the next step in a strategy that Samsung has been pursuing for years. Internally, we call it our N-screen Strategy, but it boils down to a determination and commitment to find new ways to link devices — in order to deliver unique experiences that truly enhance consumers' lives.

Today,…

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almost 12 years ago

Samsung D Forum upgrade

If you've been working on a submission for the Free the TV Challenge, you've probably explored the Samsung D Forum (SDF). The SDF is a great resource for developers, and it's the distribution point for the Samsung TV App SDK and other tools.

But for the next 7 hours (until 9 p.m. EDT), the SDF will be unavailable. It's currently being upgraded and redesigned, so you can look forward to an enhanced, easier-to-use site. When the SDF is relaunched, you'll need to create a new account. (If you try to sign in with your existing account, you'll be prompted…

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almost 12 years ago

The Samsung TV App SDK -- now even better!

By Krishnan Nair

When Samsung first rolled out its software development kit (SDK) for creating TV applications, it was received with both excitement and reservation by developers. Traditionally, not many hardware companies have boasted about an SDK that enables creating applications for TVs. The idea of running a browser on a CE device and enabling applications on your 46-inch TV was definitely impressive, but the question was, how long would the SDK last?

I’m pleased to say that we’ve come a long way from SDK 1.5. The current SDK, version 2.5, is available for creating converged applications for the…

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almost 12 years ago

A note from one of our judges

By Greg Dudey, Vice President, Visual Display UX Lab, Samsung Information Systems America

I'm really excited to be one of the judges for the Free the TV Challenge this year. I'm hoping to see some innovative converged applications with great user experiences. What's a "great user experience"? I'm talking about apps that provide significant value to the customer, are very simple to use (taking advantage of the specific features of each device), and are visually stunning. So far, most of the successful apps in the Samsung App Store focus on media consumption and generally only allow people to watch more…

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about 12 years ago

From WeDraw to the MOVL Connect Platform: What we've been up to this year

By Juan Pablo Gnecco, Founder and CEO of MOVL

Exactly one year ago, Alan, Daniel, and I went out to the heart of Silicon Valley to see exactly what Samsung was up to in the Smart TV world. We had a blast, and it didn’t take much to realize we were at the start of something great. Along with an opportunity to get trained on the SDK, it was a great networking event for us. We were lucky enough to talk tech and get advice from Pandora founder Tim Westergren, as well as Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder. Truly, it…

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about 12 years ago

Announcing the 2011 Samsung Free the TV Challenge

  By: Eva B.

In 2010, Samsung introduced the first-ever TV Apps SDK and launched the first Free the TV Challenge for our industry-leading line of Smart TVs. We were thrilled to see so many great, original ideas coming from the developer community.

Since then, Samsung Apps has become the most popular TV app platform in the industry, with more than 900 apps available in the Samsung Apps Store and nearly 10 million downloads to date.

This year I am happy to announce the second Free the TV Challenge — with a twist! We're challenging developers to build a new era…

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