Here is the announcement from Esendex:

The SMS Developer Challenge invited talented developers form across the globe to submit their ideas for innovative use of 2-way SMS.

With fellow judges Mike Short, Chairman of the Mobile Data Association, Ewan MacLeod, Editor of SMS
Text News, we awarded first place – a cash prize of £1,000 – to TextQube. Developed by UK-based Reynardine Software, TextQube makes it very easy for companies to mobilise their existing data by simply querying database information on a PC by SMS.

We all agreed that TextQube has real potential to drive more innovation in 2-way SMS as it allows businesses to trial a service to assess the business case before committing to further development and enhancements.

Mike Thompson of Reynardine Software said, “It’s terrific to win this competition and a big thanks to Esendex for the opportunity to demonstrate the product and Reynardine’s passion for efficient 2-way communication by mobile. TextQube is fantastic for SMEs that want to mobilise and control information on a new level.”

Two runners-up have been awarded £500 each, CotralisSMSGPS from the Netherlands, and CallMeBack from Singapore. CotralisSMSGPS, chosen because it uses SMS to augment a blog post with a location, enables blog postings to be made from anywhere. Conference call service, CallMeBack was chosen due to its ability to use SMS to put the user in control of a conference call.

Mike Short commented, “All entries to the challenge have shown extraordinary levels of creativity and innovation. Dedicated to the mobile industry, I’m always eager to know about new developments so it was interesting for me to see the ideas that people have for the use of 2-way SMS.”

“As a mobile fanatic, I’ve really enjoyed judging this competition” said Ewan MacLeod. “The high quality of entrants reflected the interest in technology for the future of SMS as a communication and business service.”

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I’m delighted for all concerned. We’ll do a follow-up on the winner and each runner-up!