Handango rings up distribution deal with Carphone Warehouse

Mobile content vendor Handango Inc. announced it landed a major distribution deal with The Carphone Warehouse, the largest independent mobile-phone dealer in Europe.
Calling the partnership the first of its kind for mobile content distribution, Handango CEO Bill Stone said the company will be expanding its already deep distribution channels by reaching out to customers at the place where they actually purchase phones.
Carphone Warehouse shoppers will receive a welcome packet at the store referring them to the content and applications available for their new device at Handango.com, and will also receive a welcome e-mail about a week later to the same effect. There’s also room for retail store representatives to help new customers download Handango’s client to their device at the cash register.
Per the contract, the first device Handango will target is Research in Motion Ltd.’s pink BlackBerry Pearl.
At least 60% of all content delivered to smartphones worldwide comes from Handango, Stone said. The company is focused on building partnerships with big-box retailers and handset manufacturers to expand that reach.
Handango has developed a unique Web site for its suite of applications and content available through the Carphone Warehouse deal. The company is also offering a 20%-off promotion through the end of April for ringtones, mobile games, HTML e-mail viewers, instant messaging applications and more.
“With this deal, we are redefining the way smartphone content is distributed to the customer by working directly with retailers to effectively market and merchandise the content at the point of device purchase,” Stone said. “Our partnership with The Carphone Warehouse not only serves as an incredible opportunity to expand our retail distribution in Europe but also provides a platform for us to create new initiatives that educate and add value to their customers on the endless capabilities of their devices.”
About half of the visitors to Handango’s Web site come from outside the United States, Stone said.