Hackers to Compete for $20K Purse at AT&T/Facebook Hackathon

AT&T and Facebook are hosting a hackathon tonight and Saturday.

The hackathon for HTML5 mobile app developers will focus on social networking and be held at AT&T’s new Foundry in Downtown Palo Alto.

"Mobile devices are designed for social experiences, and some of today's most successful apps use the Facebook Platform to bring those experiences to life. We're excited to collaborate with AT&T on this Hackathon, to roll up our sleeves, and to help developers explore these great opportunities," said James Pearce, Facebook's Head of Mobile Developer Relations. "And there's no better place to start that creative process than the AT&T Foundry, which was designed for just this - to help developers communicate with each other and innovate as fast as possible."

About 150 developers are expected to attend the sold-out event, and will compete for prize money in addition to learning new tools and gaining business contacts.

The event is open to both seasoned hackers and newbies.

AT&T and Facebook will have veteran developers on hand to introduce participants to cutting-edge tools and APIs around areas such as carrier billing and SMS.

“The goal is to make it possible for developers to easily deploy their own HTML5 apps with a website backend, fully hosted in the cloud,” according to a release Friday by AT&T.

"One of the goals of this hackathon is to make life easier for programmers by giving them access to senior developers from Facebook, AT&T, and others," said Alex Donn, Senior Marketing Manager with the AT&T Developer Program. "We help attendees put together a finished product in 24 hours and give them relevant skills they can take with them when they leave."

The event kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. with beverages, networking and team information and continues until Saturday at 7 p.m., when submissions are due.

Speakers at the event include Alex Donn, James Pearce, Max Katz, head head of Community and Developer Relations for Tiggzi, a cloud-based mobile app builder, and Curtiss Pope, founder and chief executive officer of AisleFinder, an app that maps your favorite items in a grocery store.

The first place winner will receive a $20,000 cash prize and be featured in the AT&T HTML5 AppCenter. The first 150 attendees will also get a pair of Giants tickets.

More information about the hackathon is available here.