HTC acquires Mobile Portal developer Abaxia

Deal should strengthen in-house development and Sense user interface.

HTC has announced plans to acquire French developer Abaxia in deal reported to be worth US$13.2 million ($16.06 million).

Abaxia develops an embedded application called Mobile Portal, which allows carriers to add services and information to a phone's idle screen, and Mobile Finder, which brings device and web search to the screen.

The Abaxia Open Platform, meanwhile, is a server solution that pushes content, search and advertising to handsets.

HTC said in a statement that Abaxia is a "leader in custom software for mobile operators and handset manufacturers around the world".

"The addition of Abaxia deepens and broadens our software development capabilities so that we can innovate at an even faster pace," said HTC chief executive Peter Chou.

Pete Cunningham, a senior analyst at Canalys, pointed out that Abaxia has experience developing across several different platforms, and has had a long working relationship with HTC.

"In a market where Android is gaining traction, it is becoming difficult for companies to differentiate their products. HTC will use Abaxia's skills to expand features such as its Sense user interface," he said.

Cunningham also believes that the acquisition will strengthen HTC's in-house development team.

If the deal goes ahead, Abaxia's days of working with Nokia, Motorola and LG are numbered.