Bellevue, Wash.-based UIEvolution, which has created a software platform that can run on mobile phones, TV set-top boxes and in cars, said it will be revamping the way people shop for mobile content on AT&T’s (NYSE: T) storefront deck. AT&T’s MEdia Mall will convert this month from being a WAP site to being an application, where consumers will be able to quickly browse through graphics, ringtones, games and videos. The application will allow them to preview content before buying it, and overtime it will get even smarter by being able to tap into a consumer’s location, camera functionality and other personal information. “In North America, this is pretty new and a sign of the times as everyone tries to find ways to kick content and content discovery to the next level,” said UIEvolution’s President & CEO Chris Ruff. “Everyone has been doing the same thing for awhile by have content on a WAP storefront.” Release.
AT&T is providing an online demo here. The site is obviously trying to get subscribers excited about the application and are offering people a chance to win free ringtones if they sign up now to be reminded to download the application when it comes out. Release. Current subscribers will have to request the upgrade, but new phones being shipped will automatically come with the application. Common sense would say that AT&T will get a sales lift with the upgrade since two of the biggest complaints in the industry are that consumers have a hard time finding content on the deck and they want to “try before they buy.” We’ll see if consumers agree, but it sounds logical given that MEdia Mall 2.0 will have more than 90,000 content choices from more than 115 different providers when it goes live.
UIEvolution has been around for about seven years, and got purchased early in its life by Square Enix, a Japanese company. More recently, UIEvolution spun off from them to become independent and private. All this time, the company has kept busy building a light weight application that can work on any device and any platform (or for example, all of AT&T’s phones). Until now, it held back from working with carriers, instead building applications on the content side for MySpace Mobile, Disney (NYSE: DIS), ESPN and others. Ruff said all of the platform fragmentation being created in the industry is good news for him. “It
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