Chances are if you bought software directly from a wireless carrier or a mobile device vendor, you did so through Handango AMPP, the provisioning arm of Handango, the largest online store for mobile applications.

Nokia, Motorola, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile, Orange SA, Sony Ericsson, palmOne, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Sega Mobile, and AOL are just a few of the better-known companies that have setup brand-specific software shops using Handango technology. Handango enables purchases and downloads to happen over-the-air or via a desktop.

Today, Handango announced an update to its application-provisioning platform. According to the company, the update simplifies content discovery for wireless subscribers, speeds deployment of content offerings for mobile operators and streamlines m-commerce.

Handango President and CEO Randy Eisenman exclaimed "after five years of licensing Handango AMPP to the biggest brands in the mobile industry, we have learned volumes about what operators and handset manufacturers need to deliver a compelling mobile downloads offering."

The most noticeable change to Handango AMPP for end-users is a new discovery engine, which helps find content matching their PDA, smartphone, cell phone or mail phone, as well as interests and needs.

Handango AMPP achieves this through automatic handheld detection, so only content relevant to a particular mobile handset, for example, is displayed; a personalized home page; improved search; the ability to conduct micro-payments as a new member; and the delivery of software recommendations as well as featured titles.

New WAP and Web-based templates help streamline the launch of storefronts and content for new mobile handsets and smartphones for mobile operators. Handango claims the templates enable wireless carriers to deploy a new application store or an individual storefront for a mobile handset in a matter of days. The quicker a storefront is deployed, the faster downloads can generate revenue.

While Handango AMPP has supported operator-integrated billing since 2002, this update expands the capability with the addition of Premium SMS (Short Message Service)support in the United States as well as direct billing integration with several major operators. So instead of paying for a download right away, customers can pay for all their software purchases for the month at once.