Only days after the Top 13 finalists were announced live on FOX, the “American Idol Season 8 Exclusive” application provides fans with in-depth contestant bios, pictures, news and exclusive video from behind-the-scenes of the on-air show. In total, 78 original videos of the remaining contestants will be released weekly between now and the Finale, giving fans the opportunity to get know their favorite contestants better.

“American Idol Season 8 Exclusive” also features daily news updates on the Top 13 contestants in the “Buzz” and “Bio” sections, and the “My Rankings” feature allows users to test their talent-picking power by predicting, customizing, and tracking the order of who stays and who gets voted off each week. As users track their favorite contestants’ progress, they are also one click away from the American Idol iTunes page where they can download music from recent performances.

The Pro Basketball also provides offensive and defensive leaders for points, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, and more. NBA fantasy enthusiasts can monitor their players and rosters with Pro Basketball’s custom “Favorites” team‑builder feature that creates a virtual team with stats galore. Part of The Zumobi Network, Pro Basketball is free to users, and iPhone and iPod touch users can download the app from the iPhone App Store

The unique design of the Zumobi application provides the user direct access to what they want, when they want it, with cached content for quicker retrieval of fresh information. This puts content at their fingertips, and allows for a more engaging and immersive experience for brands.  

This announcement follows closely on the heels of the release of an updated application for Windows Mobile announced in June. For a tour of the Zumobi mobile widget platform or to download the mobile widget platform for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, please visit http://www.zumobi.com or get.zumobi.com on the mobile Web.

With Qik’s free live video streaming service, users can stream live video to the Internet in just two clicks from their mobile phone, and join others as they watch online and engage in live interactive chat. Everyone from journalists to politicians use Qik to be transparent in their reporting and campaigning on a global Web platform. With a simple to use interface and site, any user is able to stream what they are seeing and interact with the world.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Microsoft and extending Qik’s live streaming service to Windows Mobile phones,” said Ramu Sunkara, co-founder and CEO of Qik. “We are also excited to partner with the Windows Mobile team to optimize Qik for the Windows Mobile platform.”

Currently in alpha, Motorola Q and Samsung BlackJack users can request an invitation for the service by signing up at http://qik.com/. The company is working closely with the Windows Mobile team to get the product offering into beta in the coming months, as well as expanding to additional Windows Mobile phones.

One of the most compelling features of the new release is a Tile Wizard, which allows users to easily create their own Zumobi mobile widgets. Users can choose the look and feel of these widgets, stream data from their choice of RSS feeds, and turn personal blogs and favorite Web content into Zumobi Tiles they can enjoy as well as share with friends. Another new feature accompanying this release is the on-phone Tile Gallery, which enables users to select and upload Tiles directly from their mobile handset, allowing Zumobi users to explore and swap new content in and out while on-the-go. Zumobi also has produced a streamlined client for faster downloads of the application and a smaller on-phone footprint.

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With the release, Zumobi will also unveil a series of 12 videos designed to show users everything they need to know to take advantage of the mobile widget platform, from how to navigate, make a Tile, share one and more. To view the Zumobi tour video and to find out 11 things you should know about the mobile widget platform, visit www.Zumobi.com/support.html.  

For more information, including Zumobi tour videos, or to download the latest version of the mobile widget platform optimized for Windows Mobile 6 or higher, visit www.Zumobi.com or get.zumobi.com on the mobile Web.