CTIA: Vindigo goes shopping, acquires waymobile

SAN FRANCISCO—Consumer applications developer Vindigo announced here at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment event its acquisition of wireless content and commerce developer waymobile.com. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the acquisition, Vindigo will absorb into its portfolio such waymobile products as AwayAuction, which allows eBay users to wirelessly track the status of their online auctions. Another application, House of Blues ToneSession, enables subscribers to create their own ringtones.

The announcement comes a little less than three months following Vindigo’s own acquisition by Japanese mobile content provider For-Side. “This deal speaks clearly to the consolidation trend,” said Vindigo CEO Jason Devitt. “waymobile is a company with some very interesting applications, but with very little chance of building the momentum to establish carrier relationships.”

Vindigo, on the other hand, has enjoyed long relationships with Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, Alltel and U.S. Cellular. Its acquisition of waymobile furthers the company’s expansion the mobile entertainment space—Devitt said Vindigo is also collaborating with ringtone vendor Zingy, acquired by For-Side at the same time the Japanese carrier acquired Vindigo.

For much more about Vindigo, read the company profile from the May 2004 issue of Wireless Review.