Widgets are a mystery to some, not to Zumobi, whose whole business model is predicated on the widespread use of ad-supported mobile applications with games, news and entertainment content.

Zumobi claims 22 minutes of engagement per user each day and between four to six sessions daily. Ken Willner, Zumobi vice president of business development, and Cindy Spodek Dickey, vice president of marketing, spoke at length about the widget maker's plans and market trends. Zumobi's latest development is its widget availability on BlackBerrys. Mobile Marketer's Mickey Alam Khan interviewed the duo. Excerpts:

The expansion from widget availability on Windows Mobile phones to BlackBerrys -- how significant is that?
Ken Willner: From the beginning, our strategy has been to provide mobile users on multiple platforms with an intuitive, lush, high-frame-rate interface that allows them to easily bounce in and out of snack-sized bits information and entertainment they need and want throughout the day.

Media Metrix expects predicts that more than 5 million of these phones -- Pearl, 8000 series or later -- will be on the market.

Zumobi's expansion to high-end J2ME phones is the next step in delivering on that strategy and it will enable us to significantly increase our market penetration. These newer BlackBerry phones cater to a significant number of business and casual mobile power-users, a population that we feel will really enjoy and find value in Zumobi.

What's Zumobi's strategy here with this latest development?
Mr. Willner: It has always been our plan to make Zumobi available across multiple platforms and devices. This development expands our user base, and enables us to reach a broader base of consumers, something that will make us even more attractive to our advertising and marketing partners.

Why the BlackBerry? Who's the typical BlackBerry user and will he or she use widgets?
Cindy Spodek Dickey: It's no surprise that BlackBerry users make up a large portion of the techno-savvy mobile users out there.

This population is typically very comfortable with the mobile Web and we feel that they will be big fans of Zumobi's mobile widgets. BlackBerry users have come to expect back-end synchronization and quick access to email on the handset. Zumobi delivers that same quick and easy access to a variety of news and entertainment content.

Will these widgets work the same way on the BlackBerry platform as they do on Windows Mobile?
Mr. Willner: Yes. Zumobi users will experience the same user interface and content across all platforms and devices that we serve. The zoom space, Tile widgets, action keys and advertising placement will be consistent across both Windows Mobile and J2ME phones.

What services does Zumobi offer?
Mr. Willner: For consumers, Zumobi offers a free, easy and fun way to enjoy entertainment and information content on the mobile phone.

The service is free, though we do recommend having an all-you-can-eat data plan.

For advertisers and marketers, Zumobi offers a unique service to provide a branded mobile experience and content to connect with consumers in an innovative, measurable, actionable and highly targeted way.

Who's the target?
Mr. Willner: Zumobi's target audience is an ecosystem of consumers, marketers and business partners.

Zumobi's advertising offering is comprised of fully branded Tiles and split Tiles. Full Tiles provide branded content and interactive experiences, while Split Tiles provide advertising in the form of a banner on the bottom of the Tile.

Zumobi users choose the Tiles in their zoom space -- their set of 16 Tiles -- and marketers have the ability to deliver mobile interaction in a more targeted, compelling way.

For the consumer, Zumobi provides a better way for people to access, retrieve and share Web-based content on their mobile phones.

Through an intuitive user interface, Zumobi allows people to easily bounce in and out of snack-sized bits of the entertainment they want and to stay on top of the information they need throughout the day without the long latency of browser delays or sub-optimized Web content.

We team up with business partners such as carriers, content providers, brands and online retailers for Tile distribution in exchange for a share of advertising revenue.

How do the widgets work?
Mr. Willner: Zumobi is a mobile widget platform that runs small applications on a variety of mobile devices and includes an entire infrastructure for building, deploying and providing content to these applications.

Zumobi is designed from the ground up to handle the challenges inherent to many mobile devices today: their slow Internet connection, small screens and variations in input mechanisms and device orientation. The result is a product which delivers a mobile experience that is creative, flexible and easy to use.

What kind of widgets does Zumobi offer?
Mr. Willner: Zumobi offers a wide range of news, games, information and entertainment content from a variety of providers.

What are the distribution channels?
Mr. Willner: Zumobi is distributed three ways.

First, direct to consumer. People can download Zumobi on their mobile phones by going to get.zumobi.com or from Zumobi.com.

Second, Zumobi will be available through our business partners -- operators, content providers and brand partners.

Third, virally from one user to another, phone-to-phone among Zumobi users and from the Zumobi Web site to your own phone.

How does Zumobi monetize?
Mr. Willner: Zumobi is an advertising-based business model. Costs are based on CPM and CPA.

Where does advertising fit in?
Ms. Spodek Dickey: Advertising is a natural part of the mobile ecosystem and provides a means of delivering premium content at no additional cost to the mobile user, similar to the way it has supported content in other media, including print, radio, broadcast and online.

Zumobi is unique among mobile applications in that it provides brands a measurable way to connect with consumers and provide them a rich, interactive, privacy-protected experience that communicates the brand attributes and provides value to the mobile user.

Which key brands have advertised on Zumobi widgets?
Mr. Willner: Content will be available from more than 100 mobile widgets or Tiles, including many from Zumobi launch partners such as Amazon.com, Capital One, Delta Air Lines, MTV Networks, The Associated Press, AccuWeather.com, Traffic.com, FlightStats.com and OTOlabs, who developed Tiles for Vail Resorts, and Fox Television's "Family Guy."

What's next for Zumobi?
Ms. Spodek Dickey: Lot's of exciting stuff. We're posting new Tiles all the time, and we'll have some very cool product news around our Microsoft efforts and other business relationships in the upcoming weeks.

So what challenge do these widgets address for consumers? And for marketers?
Mr. Willner: For consumers, Zumobi provides a much better way to access, retrieve and share news and entertainment content on their mobile devices.

For advertisers, Zumobi provides a[n] interactive and measurable means to monetize mobile content.