IXI Mobile Cuts 25 Percent of Staff

The San Francisco Business Times is reporting that IXI Mobile, maker of the oddball Ogo handheld, has cut 40 employees and is closing facilities to save money in the aftermath of poor second quarter earnings results. The article said that the company has also decided to stop competing in the United States and to focus on overseas sales instead.

IXI Mobile sales fell to just $2.2 million in the quarter ended June, down from $3.2 million a year earlier, according to the report. Worse, sales from just one customer made up nearly 70 percent of the company’s sales during the quarter.

The Ogo 2.0 basically lets youngsters IM their buddies over Wi-Fi with a dedicated, inexpensive handheld that doesn’t make voice calls. I spent a few days at DigitalLife last year showing it off to convention goers along with a slew of other cell phones. Most folks were pretty interested in the Ogo, but with so many other devices offering the same capability, it was hard for it to gain traction.

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