TechCrunch has covered the release of a new mobile widget platform, ZenZui, who launched their mobile widget browser this morning. The browser has lets users search through a grid of 36 widget tiles by panning and zooming around the grid by touchscreen or keypad. Each of the widgets in the browser serves as a mobile optimized interface to a website like Zillow or Amazon. It’s essentially a way to grow deck placement.
Widgets are created by developers and monetized on the service via “well-established advertising principles like CPA and CPM (we call it CPZ – Cost Per Zoom)”. ZenZui will split revenue with widget developers, as well as offer an ad-free version that displays messages from non-profits instead.
ZenZui’s zooming user interface was initially developed by Microsoft’s Redmond Research lab, and was spun off into it’s own company. In partnership with Microsoft IP Ventures, the company received $12 million in Series A funding from SeaPoint Ventures and other investors, with Microsoft retaining a stake in the company.
MobileCrunch has also covered other widget platforms such as Bluepulse and Nokia’s Widset.
These guys need a better consumer facing website. Nothing on the current site demonstrates why I would want zenzui. A video with zooming in and out of small icons is not compelling.
mojax.mfoundry.com does it better from startup mfoundry does it better.
Banking…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpxpAPEgrQg
And a host of widgets on their 1.x platform as well as the new 2.x (mojax) platform.
Disclosure: I use to be a Lead Technology Architect with the company.
Some additional examples of the platform in action.
http://mojax.mfoundry.com/display/mojax/Moblets
I would also say that Widsets is the most direct competitor and well, there is just no reason really give to try this thing !
Alltel’s Celltop (http://www.mycelltop.com/) is the one to beat. I just wish it was available with other carriers.