Malaysia-based Mobile9 reinvents itself

You would think that old-school mobile downloads company Mobile9, in existence way before the dominance of smartphones, would be crushed like a cockroach when the likes of the Apple App Store and Android Marketplace came to the fore. But today, the Malaysian company still thrives, backed by a huge Facebook following of over 100,000 strong.

On August 3, they even launched a new version of their website to make it more relevant to the iPhone and iPad totting hipsters. Started in 2003 by Patrick Ooi, Mobile9 began its life selling wallpapers, ringtones, and games to feature phone users (the term probably wasn’t even used then).

While the new website certainly doesn’t ditch its original roots, the facelift certainly puts more emphasis on smartphone and tablet apps.

With the explosion of new apps on the market, Mobile9 also offers developers new tools to promote their stuff. For instance, apps in Mobile9 that have been shared on Twitter or Facebook will get picked up and pushed to even more Mobile9 users. Developers can also opt to pay for sponsored listings that give their apps more visibility — and they pay only when someone clicks on the ad.

The social element features strongly in the revamp too. Consumers can create profiles in Mobile9 and find out what their friends are downloading. They can also “follow” their favourite downloads on the website, similar to Twitter.

Despite the changes and redesign, the core attraction of the website remains the same: It is still an all-encompassing marketplace for mobile downloads that isn’t limited to a particular phone or brand.

Update (6th June): Mobile9 will be having a booth at Echelon 2012, held from 11th to 12th June. Organized by tech blog e27 for the third year running, Echelon 2012 is a key startup launchpad in Asia with over 1,100 delegates in attendance and 50 startups exhibiting in the Marketplace. Check out SGE’s coverage of Echelon 2012.