Xtify and Intuit have announced the “Intuit/Xtify Application Contest” to showcase the potential of integrating location-based services into rich Internet applications built on Intuit’s Platform as a Service, the Intuit Partner Platform.

To reward innovation in the use of location technology, Intuit and Xtify are offering up to $12,500 in prize money to the top location applications for two prizes: one determined by a panel of judges and second based on user adoption of entrant applications.

To enter the contest, entrants must create and release a small-business-focused application built on the Intuit Partner Platform that leverages Xtify’s location-enabling platform. The Xtify API allows Web applications to utilize location data tracked by a thin client running on BlackBerry, Google Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian OS smartphones.

Xtify derives location from the handset by extracting GPS and cell ID data, and then transmitting that data to Xtify’s servers – thereby eliminating the need to request this information from wireless carriers. The Xtify API on the Intuit Partner Platform allows developers to query for a user’s location at any time and receive latitude and longitude, a reverse geo-coded address and an accuracy metric.

The Intuit Partner Platform not only gives developers the opportunity to build Web-based applications, but also build successful SaaS businesses by taking the complexity out of managing infrastructure, hosting, user management, integration and billing. Developers can focus on developing innovative on-demand software solutions that solve unique and important problems for the four million small and mid-market businesses across the U.S. that use QuickBooks and the 25 million employees that work in those companies.

Full contest details, including entry criteria, downloads, a sample application, publishing directions and official rules.

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