Ericsson has kicked off its Application Awards 2013 competition for developers to build Android apps around the theme of Apps for City Life.

There will be several regional competitions as well as a global contest with a first prize of EUR25,000, second prize of EUR10,000 and a third prize of EUR5,000. There is a category for students and another for small or medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 100 employees.

The theme for the competition chimes with Ericsson’s Networked Society vision of a connected world through mobility, broadband, cloud computing, apps and services.

The 2012 edition of the Ericsson Application Awards saw 143 teams from more than 50 countries take part. The winner of the company category was a mobile healthcare app developed in Kenya, with the student category award going to a painting and chatting app from China.

In addition a Technology for Good prize went to an app built by developers in Egypt that provides access to medical information.