RIM has announced the winners of its annual EMEA Innovation Awards. Now in their fourth year, the awards take place at the BlackBeryy EMEA Alliance Summit, and recognise organisations from within the BlackBerry Alliance Programme in Europe, the Middle East and Africa that have delivered “compelling, value-added applications and services to customers using the BlackBerry platform”.

There are seven categories with a winner in each. This year sees the first award recognising apps for the PlayBook tablet. There is also a new Peoples choice award, which was vited for by fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter. This was for the best free app available on BlackBerry App World.

The seven winners are:

• Driving Innovation in Enterprise and the Public Sector: TechMobile
• Accelerating innovation for entrepreneurs – Starting & Growing a Small Business: QUALTEH JR
• Optimising the BlackBerry Experience: SystAG Systemhaus
• Entertainment on BlackBerry: DevelopIQ
• Going Social – Best BBM Connected App: Wikitude
• Most Innovative PlayBook Tablet Solution: HDS Digital SAS
• Peoples Choice Award:  Vanatur World Mobile Solutions

Apart from the Peoples Choice Award, winners were selected by an independent panel of eleven judges comprising of industry experts, journalists, and customers.

“In developing the tools that help our customers drive more value out of their investment in BlackBerry devices and services, our partners play a vital role in the continuing development of the BlackBerry ecosystem,” says Alec Saunders, VP Developer Relations at RIM. “The EMEA Innovation Awards were created to honour the exceptional achievements of those partners who have utilised the BlackBerry platform to create best-in-class apps with real benefits to businesses, the public sector and consumers. Its inspiring to see developers across a number of sectors and disciplines helping consumers make the most of their smartphones and helping organisations transform the way they do business. All winners have contributed significantly to the BlackBerry app landscape and are delivering high quality end user experiences.”