Breathing some fresh air into the cell phone space, mobile software and tech player Emdigo is looking to put an end to motionless images on handsets by bringing a new dimension (literally) of interactivity and licensed characters to mobile devices.

About a year ago, the Campbell, California-based company pioneered advanced technology for streaming 3-D animation comparable to that found in today’s popular console games (think Halo) on cell phones. This capability is at the heart of Emdigo’s ActionScreens concept featuring branded character ‘skins’ that come to life on mobile screens via interactive wallpaper, themed background and random animated sequences. There’s constant action on mobile devices souped up with the product – so imagine Spider-Man spraying his web at you as you navigate from screen to screen, or watching the digits as you dial a phone number.

Marvel signed on with Emdigo and its partner Hands-On Mobile as the first licensor for the launch phase of ActionScreens, and Spider-Man is currently the line’s best-selling license. More than half a million ActionScreens have sold through to date, with a clear consumer sweet spot forming around the 11 to 19 demo. Emdigo is expanding its roster of licenses to feed into that demand and refresh its range, inking a deal with Lego at the end of the summer and prepping a girl-skewing Hello Kitty ActionScreen in time for the holidays.Company president Steve Glickmann is in talks with licensors about additional properties that work well on a small screen, with a focus on kid-skewing IPs.

ActionScreens are currently available in the US for download from Verizon’s VZW, Alltel and Metro PCS wireless carrier decks (US$2.99 per download, US$6.99 for three and US$10.99 for five). Emdigo plans to expand the technology to live on other mobile platforms in the near future.