Orange and Netvibes  announced March 4 a partnership to bring a collection of mobile widgets to all types of mobile phone user across an extensive range of handsets. Netvibes' catalogue of nearly 200,000 real-time widgets will be available on Orange widgets, a service featuring on 80% of handsets shipped by Orange. It will also be available on djinngo mobile, an Orange service open to any mobile phone user in the world. Mobile widgets will also shortly be available to Orange customers in the recently launched Orange Application Shop.
 
The partnership will bring Netvibes' widget platform to millions of mobile users across Europe, Middle East and Africa and gives content providers access to Orange's 130 million mobile customers.

The widget collection, known as Netvibes Ecosystem, is a library of popular widgets created by content providers from around the world. Customers will access Orange widgets with one click from the Orange homescreen, the company said. The service features a carousel which allows users to choose their favourite widgets. Orange said  the service will work on phones from the majority of handset companies, from basic phones to the most sophisticated smartphones.
 
Orange widgets first launched in July 2009. By bringing a new, user-friendly widget service to the mobile mass market, Orange said it is also giving content developers access to an entirely new market of users. To facilitate this, Orange is creating a software developer kit to ensure a simple and efficient process for developers to create new and value-adding widgets.
 
While the partnership will focus initially on mobile widgets, the partners said they will draw on Orange's  experience in broadband internet and IPTV to extend the experience across other screens.
 
Lean more about the Orange Netvibes partnership by clicking on this video.