Last week mobile browser manufacturer Opera has announced the acquisition of Handster Inc., a mobile application store platform company.
Handster’s storefront supports Windows Mobile, Google Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Java applications. Apart from their branded app store, they also provide a white-label platform for handset manufacturers, distributors and carriers. The service includes the customization of looks, content, language and currency localization. Among current partners of Hamster are e.g. Ericsson, Huawei and LG.
Opera’s mobile store has been launched this year in March. According to Opera Software CEO Lars Boilesen, acquiring Handster is an important step in ”evolving from being a browser company into a fully integrated mobile services company.”
Borbala Bakonyi