$13m for Idle Screens?

Taiwanese handset maker and Android maven HTC has bought French idle-screen specialists Abaxia for $13m (or so industry sources say). Abaxia says it increases ARPU

by putting services at a zero-click distance to the user and pushing services directly to the front screen.

Think push notifications to a J2ME feature phone. Abaxia works with carriers and OEM to optimize the interface across multiple devices from different suppliers, which seems an apparent benefit to carriers as it will allow them to make their on-device brand communication consistent throughout the handsets available through them. That an OEM should then buy the company could therefore surprise…

And as to the use of idle screens? Hm, I am not totally convinced: an idle screen is, well, idle. I may be tempted to jump to it if an app sends me something from a friend (because, hey, it’s a friend in need) but I am not sure if the same attention can be garnered from the latest and greatest service offer from your operator. This is however what Abaxia claims it excels in. According to its website, the company helps

to drive not only data revenue but […] to recover failing voice ARPU and secure advertising ARPU.

And here, well, show me the money. I have yet to see a convincing solution for this, and I am not sure if an attempt to capture the idle screen is the way to go.

However, when it comes to interface improvements, it might just work. So all might not be lost. And, in any event, congratulations to the teams at Abaxia and HTC!

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1 Comment

  1. I'm also not completely convinced, although it was interesting to hear the CEO of HipLogic talk about his company's 'idle screen' service in our podcast earlier this month (http://thefonecast.com/?item=417). HipLogic Live is being preloaded onto certain handsets by The Carphone Warehouse in the UK.

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