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Handango develops and distributes mobile application software, operating as a pioneering online marketplace for early smartphone platforms. The company provided a comprehensive catalog of applications across diverse categories, including business, communication, and entertainment, supporting devices such as BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, and Symbian OS, and later extending to Android.
Randy Eisenman founded Handango in February 1999, identifying a nascent yet significant opportunity in the emerging mobile applications market. Leveraging his background, Eisenman envisioned a centralized platform for software distribution ahead of widespread smartphone adoption, addressing the need for accessible mobile content.
Handango served a broad base of individual consumers seeking to enhance the functionality of their personal digital assistants and early smartphones. The company's long-term vision centered on establishing itself as the premier global aggregator and distributor of diverse mobile applications, empowering users across various device ecosystems with essential digital tools.
Handango has raised $85.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Handango has raised $85.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Handango was a pioneering mobile app marketplace and online store that distributed software for early smartphones and PDAs, supporting platforms like BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Android.[1][2][3] It offered over 140,000 apps through a network of 23,000+ content partners, delivering games, business tools, entertainment, and productivity applications to millions of consumers via a vast distribution network, including its InHand mobile app store launched in 2003.[1][3] Headquartered in Irving, Texas, with around 27-200 employees and $22.9 million in revenue at its peak, Handango served mobile users seeking direct device downloads with reviews, ratings, and screenshots.[2][3]
Handango was founded in 1999 by Randy Eisenman as an online store for PDA and smartphone apps.[2][3] It quickly expanded with the 2003 launch of Handango InHand, enabling over-the-air purchases and installs starting with Symbian UIQ devices, followed by Windows Mobile (2004), BlackBerry (2005), and Symbian S60 (2006).[3] Early traction came from catering to the growing demand for mobile software amid the PDA and early smartphone boom, positioning it as a leading global provider.[1][3] The company evolved through platform expansions but was acquired by PocketGear in February 2010; PocketGear later rebranded to Appia in 2011 and shut down Handango's site in 2013.[3]
Handango rode the wave of the PDA-to-smartphone transition in the early 2000s, capitalizing on fragmented platforms like Symbian, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry before iOS and Android dominance.[3] Its timing aligned with rising mobile software demand, as devices gained processing power but lacked centralized stores, making Handango a key enabler for developers and users in a pre-app-store era.[1][3] Market forces like expanding wireless services and OEM needs favored its model, influencing the ecosystem by proving over-the-air distribution's viability and paving the way for modern stores like Amazon Appstore and BlackBerry World.[3] It shaped early mobile commerce, though its shutdown in 2013 reflected consolidation as giants like Apple centralized control.[3]
Handango's legacy as an early mobile app pioneer endures in today's app economy, but as a defunct entity since 2013, it has no active future—its InHand model directly inspired scalable platforms now standard across iOS, Android, and beyond.[3] Trends like cross-platform distribution and white-label stores (echoing Appia's pivot post-acquisition) highlight its influence, though modern players dominate with AI-driven discovery and cloud integration.[1][3] Its story underscores how nimble distributors shaped mobile's foundation, tying back to its role as the go-to for millions in the smartphone app dawn.
Handango has raised $85.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Handango's investors include John Moragne, Kevin Talbot, Eric Schmidt, IVP.
Handango has raised $85.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $15.0M Series B in August 2010.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2010 | $15.0M Series B | John Moragne | Kevin Talbot, Eric Schmidt |
| Mar 1, 2008 | $9.0M Series C | IVP | |
| Sep 1, 2006 | $61.0M Series B | IVP |