The point made near the end of the article is really interesting. Is it better to go for grants/prizes or to try to raise traditional funding? Both are risky activities, both take time, but one of them costs you equity and the other one doesn't.
Quite surprising that other companies do not utilize this observation too much, investing in the ecosystem of their own products and, thus, increasing their value.
PS: Oh, and for what it's worth, we (woobius) are competing in this... if you want to help you can vote for us at http://www.vodafonemobileclicks.com/vote :-) Cheers! The mobile app we're building is described at http://woobius.com/scribbles/posts/0021-woobius-eye-beta.htm...