Focusing more on apps and less on mobile games.
Mobile firm Handmark has launched its new TweetCaster Twitter app for Android handsets, while also announcing that it has spun off its mobile games studio Astraware.
TweetCaster is being offered for free to any user who tweets about it, while a premium ad-free version is being sold for $4.99 on Google's Android Market.
"TweetCaster delivers a fantastic experience for Twitter users looking to fully extend their experience to their Android smartphone," says EVP of marketing Evan Conway.
The app hit a launch snag last night, though, with Handmark tweeting that it had encountered a 'protocol issue', forcing it to be removed from the Android Market temporarily.
However, Handmark has also announced plans to separate from its UK-based mobile games studio Astraware, which it acquired in January 2008.
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The company says the decision is part of its strategy of streamlining its business to focus more on apps and mobile publishing.
"We saw a great opportunity to join forces with Astraware to help create and extend a collection of fun, well-designed mobile games titles to a new audience, and we did just that," says CEO Paul Reddick.
"I still see a great opportunity for their team to continue proving their leadership as a major player in mobile games and we will continue to work alongside them."
Astraware is now back under the control of original founders Howard Tomlinson and David Oakley, who say the developer will continue to be one of Handmark's preferred partners.
"We look forward to continuing to deliver the very best in mobile games, focusing on the core of our business which is making your mobile experience fun and exciting across new platforms and technologies," says Tomlinson.
