IXI Mobile (Redwood City, Calif.), whose investors include Texas Instruments and Intel and which has connections with Romania, is rolling out its "Ogo" device in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, Uruguay, Ghana and Turkey, while planning an IPO of shares on NASDAQ in the first half of 2007.

IXI's Ogo devices deliver instant messaging, email, news via RSS feeds, SMS, mobile voice and web browsing. They include a screen, QWERTY keyboard (QWERTZ in Germany) and clamshell design. The devices are based on Texas Instruments' OMAP application processor and manufactured for IXI in Taiwan.

"A BlackBerry costs between $200 and $400 plus a monthly charge of $40 to $50 and is targeted at organizations. Ogo is almost free of charge, while the monthly charge is around $15," said Amit Heller, president and chief executive officer of IXI.

IXI gets paid by both the end-user and the service provider. While a customer typically pays around $360 for the use of an Ogo over two years, the cellular company typically pays IXI Mobile about $170 for the hardware and a monthly charge of $2.50. "Our devices are targeted at young consumers and small business owners," said Heller. "We expect an IPO in the first half of 2007 in NASDAQ," Heller added.

Prior to joining IXI Heller had led TI's short distance wireless development unit and prior to that sold RF development startup Butterfly VLSI to TI for $50 million in 1998.

IXI Mobile employs 120 workers across California, Israel and Romania. The company's investors include, among others, Intel Capital, Texas Instruments Ventures, Concord and Gemini Israel.