EXCLUSIVE: The GSMA has announced the shortlist for its 2011 Rich Communications Suite (RCS) DevChallenge, which is intended to recognise developers of “the most useable and attractive” RCS client that can be embedded in a device or used on a PC. Announcing the shortlist, Alex Sinclair, GSMA Chief Technology & Strategy Officer (pictured), told the participating developers: “We’ve seen some pretty amazing stuff. We’ve certainly had some very interesting discussions and we think we’ve reached a pretty reasonable result.”

The competition is split into three categories, for handset app, PC client, and “innovation.” Shortlisted in the Best RCS Mobile client category were Comneon, Jibe Mobile and Neusoft Mobile Solutions; shortlisted in the Best RCS PC client category were Ecrio, Movial Applications and WIT Software; and shortlisted for the best RCS innovation were: Jibe Mobile, Movial Applications and Solaiemes. The final winners will be announced at the Mobile World Congress during February 2011.

RCS is intended to provide subscribers with access to enhanced communication services, such as an enhanced address book, with presence and capability indications; rich calls, allowing users to share different types of content including video and images during a session; rich messaging, building on traditional instant messaging to simplify and unify multiple messaging types; and support for seamless services across mobile phones and PCs. It is also designed to support interoperability across operators.

The shortlist was drawn up from submissions from 14 companies, after a series of product demonstrations. Criteria adopted in the assessment included how products would appeal to end users, and the potential benefits that could be derived by operators. Sponsors of the Challenge are Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, Orange and Telefonica.