Emdigo 3D: Spidey, Hello Kitty animate mobile screens

Thumb open an ordinary flip or slide phone and nothing happens, except maybe the triggering of a robotic greeting (Hello to you, too, Moto.) Do it again with a phone enriched with Emdigo's 3D offering and football players might rush by.

The carrier-partnered content distributor isn't one I'd normally cover, but the offering is an example of compelling 3D software coming our way. Similar third-party, carrier-agnostic downloads are sure to follow.

NFL Team Tailgate and Hello Kitty are two such examples of these enhanced animated skins that users can purchase through Verizon and Alltel. Flipping or sliding the phone activates the characters, and clicking the OK or center button animates them further. In one mode, Hello Kitty can shred the half pipe on her cute kitty-sized skateboard. For other apps like the Spider-Man skin, dialing a number pops open a skinned window with the Marvel character protectively overseeing your progress in the background.

Candy bar and brick phone users are out of luck. Animations become motionless wallpaper, which hardly justifies the download price--about $3 during my demo.

Check back to this space and CNET TV for a video demonstration with a certain webbed superhero.