[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Today marks the launch of the Tizen App Challenge, a skills-based contest that calls on application developers to build the best new apps that redefine mobile experiences.

A total of $4.04 million will be awarded to more than 50 developers in nine categories, providing an incredible opportunity to tap a new mobile ecosystem while reaping unprecedented reward.

The Tizen App Challenge is open today with all submissions due by November 1, 2013. Judging will take place November 4 - November 25, 2013, and winners will be announced in December. An award ceremony recognizing the grand prize winners will be held in 2014.

Entrants can submit multiple times at the following link: http://www.tizenappchallenge.com.

Tizen is an open source, standards-based software platform supported by leading mobile operators, device manufacturers, and silicon suppliers for multiple device categories such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, in-vehicle infotainment devices and smart TVs.

Tizen offers a best-in-class HTML5 environment for creating native apps on the platform. This offers robust capabilities and cross platform flexibility that allow developers to write applications that run across multiple device segments. The platform offers a fast, simple and affordable path to creating and supporting new offerings and is designed to make it easy to develop for a range of devices.

The new Tizen Software Development Kit 2.2 (SDK 2.2) can now be used for Tizen app developers who want to take full advantage of the improved APIs and new, powerful features of the release.

“As a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project, Tizen and the growing community can focus on building software, apps and the ecosystem that supports the platform,” said Mike Woster, chief operating officer and vice president at The Linux Foundation “The Tizen App Challenge will help surface the very best apps for Tizen users and will give developers an opportunity to get in early on developing for this important platform.”