Microsoft and Zumobi have announced a deal to distribute the Zumobi interface and widget platform with Windows Mobile. The move isn't particularly surprising, seeing as Zumobi is closely tied with Microsoft, and the zooming Windows Mobile interface was developed as part of Microsoft's IP Ventures Group.

The Zumobi platform aims to tackle one of the problems inherent with cellphone software: it's hard to display a lot of information on a small screen. The interface presents users with 16 easy to see tiles and the ability to zoom in on just 4, or to zoom into a single application. This makes it easy to deal with a large amount of information without using up much space.

The partnership doesn't necessarily mean that every Windows Mobile 5.0/6 device you see from now on will include the Zumobi interface. It will most likely be up to manufacturers and wireless providers to decide whether to use the software. But we're guessing the announcement means we'll be seeing Zumobi on a lot more devices in the future. Currently you need to download the software from Zumobi's site to install it, and we're guessing the vast majority of Windows Mobile users have yet to hear of Zumobi let alone install the platform.

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