Nokia just announced a competition looking for hackers and modders in the US to submit ideas to transform the Nokia N900 into something else. The top three ideas will be chosen from the ideas submitted by a panel of judges, after which the finalist teams will be provided with a Nokia N900 and some support to actually build their mod. Cash prizes range from USD 3,000 to USD 10,000.

Here’s a video of some example hacks to get you started.

Examples from a previous competition held in October resulted in some cool mods, including a skateboard that tracks your tricks and lets you compete against friends with their own Nokia N900s, an N900-equipped kite that lets you control the camera from the ground, a spray can that brings light graffiti to the N900, a Nokia N900-outfitted belt that vibrates to navigate you in the right direction, and a Nokia N900 with arms that will draw what you photograph on an Etch-a-Sketch.

The final date for submissions is Noon ET, February 15, 2010. You can follow the progress of the project at blogs.nokia.com/pushn900/usa/