Zumobi, a Seattle start-up incubated in Microsoft's IP Ventures program has forged a formal partnership with the software giant.

Under the deal, Microsoft has agreed to distribute Zumobi's Zooming User Interface and mobile widget platform with Windows Mobile. That's definitely a coup for Zumobi, but not too much of a surprise. More than 140 devices worldwide are based on the Windows Mobile platform.

With its unique zooming interface made up of several levels of tiles, Zumobi lets users "bounce" in and out of snack-sized bit of news, entertainment and other content they need or want throughout the day. Unlike other content aggregators, Zumobi caches the content on the device so it's accessible even when the phone is not connected to the Web.

The Zumobi application has been in beta since mid-December. Current content partners include MTV Networks, AccuWeather.com, Traffic.com and OTOlabs which developed Tiles for Vail Resorts and the Fox series "Family Guy."