The 20 finalists to compete for the Mobile Peer Awards in Barcelona on February 16 have been selected by an international jury of industry experts, thanks to all of them for taking the time to review and make the final selection out of many great candidates. So here are the finalists, divided in two categories:

EARLY-STAGE STARTUPS

Addict Digital Media – Mobile Monday Buenos Aires
aka-aki networks GmbH – MobileMonday Berlin
Babajob.com – MobileMonday Bangalore
Big in Japan Inc. – MobileMonday Dallas
bioLocate – MobileMonday Jakarta
Dial2Do – MobileMonday Dublin
Fortumo – MobileMonday Estonia
Mob4Hire – MobileMonday Vancouver
Orbster GmbH – MobileMonday Munich
Oxynade – MobileMonday Brussels
Tellmewhere – MobileMonday Paris
Xumii – MobileMonday Sydney

EMERGING STARTUPS

Aradiom – MobileMonday Istanbul
fring – MobileMonday Tel Aviv
Getjar Networks – MobileMonday Lithuania
Keynetik – MobileMonday Washington DC
Mobintech A/S – MobileMonday Copenhagen
PopCatcher AB – MobileMonday Sweden
Soonr – MobileMonday Silicon Valley
Unkasoft Advergaming – MobileMonday Madrid

The registration to attend is now also open.

163 startups participated and 42 nominees were selected by their respective MobileMonday chapters. This week, an international Jury will select the 20 finalists to present at the Peer Awards event in Barcelona. The finalists will be announced on January 26.

The startups nominated by the MobileMonday chapters to compete for the Mobile Peer Awards in Barcelona are:

• 7syntax – MobileMonday Portugal
• Addict Digital Media – Mobile Monday Buenos Aires
• aka-aki networks GmbH – MobileMonday Berlin
• Anaeko – MobileMonday Belfast
• Aradiom – MobileMonday Istanbul
• Babajob.com – MobileMonday Bangalore
• Beabloo – MobileMonday Barcelona
• Big in Japan Inc. – MobileMonday Dallas
• bioLocate – MobileMonday Jakarta
• CIDWAY – MobileMonday Geneva
• Cirius Technologies, Inc. – MobileMonday Los Angeles
• Crave Mobile – MobileMonday Philadelphia
• Creador Estudio Interactivo C.A. – MobileMonday Caracas
• Dial2Do – MobileMonday Dublin
• Dialy – Mobile Monday Maroc
• DPGroup >> Product: SINDYK – MobileMonday Bogota
• Fortumo – MobileMonday Estonia
• fring – MobileMonday Tel Aviv
• Getjar Networks – MobileMonday Lithuania
• iKen Solutions – MobileMonday Mumbai
• Keynetik – MobileMonday Washington DC
• Liquid Air Lab GmbH / adplace.com – MobileMonday Frankfurt
• Mob4Hire – MobileMonday Vancouver
• Mobintech A/S – MobileMonday Copenhagen
• mobiSiteGalore – MobileMonday Chennai
• MocoSpace – Mobile Monday Boston
• Nimbuzz B.V. – Mobile Monday Amsterdam
• Orbster GmbH – MobileMonday Munich
• Oxynade – MobileMonday Brussels
• Palringo – MobileMonday London
• rmbrME – MobileMonday New York
• Secusmart GmbH – MobileMonday Dusseldorf
• Smaato Inc. – MobileMonday Hamburg
• Soonr – MobileMonday Silicon Valley
• Tellmewhere – MobileMonday Paris
• Unkasoft Advergaming – MobileMonday Madrid
• Wapalta – MobileMonday St. Petersburg
• Wapja.net – MobileMonday Sao Paulo
• WorldMate, Inc. – MobileMonday Atlanta
• Xumii – MobileMonday Sydney

* NOTE Helsinki and Stockholm nominations pending.

MobileMonday the global mobile networking community is opening its Mobile Peer Awards competition for 2009. Participation is free of charge and open to any startup willing to pay their way to the event. Innovative startups active in mobile technology or startups with a mobile product are invited to register at mobilepeerawards.com before the December 31 deadline.

MobileMonday Chapter organizers will look look at three criteria when making their decision:

• originality, creativity and innovativeness
• technical and operational feasibility
• economic and financial viability

Each of the 68 MobileMonday Chapters (cities) will select their local startup nominee which will be announced on January 19, 2009. An international jury of renowned industry experts, investors and entrepreneurs (to be announced soon) will select the 20 finalists that will present on stage in Barcelona on February 16, 2009. Last year’s jury included representatives from Telefónica, Vodafone, Google, Yahoo!, AdMob, MobHappy, GoMoNews, Nexit Ventures, and Xtract.

Check the “how to participate” page for further details on the participation and registration process.

Currently there are startups signed up from Buenos Aires, Boston, Berlin, Sweden, Belfast, Dublin, Jakarta, New York, Chennai. Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Madrid, Barcelona and other chapters are preparing their preselections now. Once again, the event will gather the best in Mobile Innovation to come.

Previous MobileMonday Peer Awards winners include Realeyes 3D, Mobile Complete (now Device Anywhere) and Plazes in 2007; Buzzd, Funambol, Taptu and Kimia in 2008 (Winners’ Circle page here).

Anyone can sign up to the Mobile Peer Awards website to view startups and follow the competition.

About
The MobileMonday Mobile Peer Awards Barcelona are among the most influential events in the mobile industry and, with over 1000 attendants, the point of reference in startup innovation during the Mobile World Congress. The MobileMonday Peer Awards are organized by MobileMonday Barcelona in collaboration with the entire MobileMonday Community.

Mobile Monday is a global community of mobile industry visionaries, developers and influentials fostering cooperation and cross-border business development through virtual and live networking events to share ideas, best practices and trends from global markets.

The previous editions of the Peer Awards have received wide support from the entire mobile ecosystem players, including Telefonica, Nokia, dotMobi, Xtract, Nexit Ventures, Acision, 22@Barcelona, Barcelona City Council, Mippin, Reitek, CIDEM – Generalitat de Catalunya, MSC Malaysia / WCIT2008, Barcelona Media.

If you’re interested to become a partner or a sponsor to the Mobile Peer Awards during Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, please contact info AT mobilemondaybarcelona DOT com.