Mobile widget platform Zumobi launched its latest release for the Windows Mobile operating system to give users more flexibility on the content they choose.

Among the new features are a make-your-own Tile Wizard, on-phone Tile Gallery, new content and more advertising options. Zumobi tiles currently work on mobile phones with Windows Mobile.

"We want to make it easier for developers and users to create their own content," said Ken Willner, vice president of market development at Zumobi, Seattle. "The Tile Wizard takes us a long way to personalize that experience."

Using Tile Wizard, consumers can choose the look and feel of Zumobi mobile widgets, stream data from various RSS feeds and turn personal blogs and Web content into Zumobi tiles to share with friends.

The on-phone Tile Gallery will let users select and upload tiles from their mobile phone, letting them explore and swap new content in and out while on the move.

Zumobi has also launched a streamlined client for faster downloads of the application and a smaller on-phone footprint.

"One of the challenges of any mobile application developer is getting downloads," Mr. Willner said. "What this does is it essentially cuts the time by two-thirds -- it's a dramatic improvement, not an incremental improvement."

The company has become the first to offer mobile content from the First30Days, a New York media firm whose mission is to guide people through changes.

Zumobi will this month debut new tiles for Twitter, Facebook and "This Week in Baseball." It will also launch tiles for Laptop and Smartphone & PC magazines, along with individual baseball team tiles for all the major professional teams.

One of the key players in the mobile widget industry, Zumobi claims its users spend an average of 22 minutes a day on its widgets.

Widgets are applications used by brands such as Amazon.com, MTV Networks, Comedy Central and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew soft drink.

For example, Zumobi developed the mobile widget for "Willy the Hillbilly" game tile that was created by interactive ad agency Tribal DDB for client Mountain Dew (see story). The beverage brand wants to engage mobile consumers with its Mountain Dew mobile game.

"The longer we can keep users engaged in the application, the better for the advertiser," Mr. Willner said. "We're looking for ways to keeping users coming back and stay more engaged."