Yahoo! announced today that it will be acquiring mobile news start-up Summly. The deal, said to be worth around $30 million, is for both the app and the team, and is expected to close sometime in the next few months.
For those unfamiliar with the company, Summly created and maintains the popular news-summarizing iPhone app of the same name. It uses special algorithms to deliver ‘snapshots’ of stories that match a users’ interests… Read More
Big news out of Cupertino this evening. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has acquired indoor mobile location positioning firm WiFiSLAM, in a deal worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million.
Apple has confirmed the acquisition of the company, which possesses proprietary technology that allows mobile apps to detect a smartphone user’s location inside of buildings using preexisting ambient Wi-Fi signals… Read More
That didn’t take long. It’s only been a few months since we first heard about Mailbox, the fresh new iPhone email client. And it’s only been about about a month since it actually launched. But it looks like they’re going to be bought out.
Dropbox has announced this morning that it will be acquiring the Mailbox team. There’s no word on price yet, but it looks like all 13 team members will be joining Dropbox, and Mailbox will continue to operate as a standalone app… Read More
When word started spreading around yesterday that Pulse was about to be acquired by a “major platform” company, I would have guessed it was either Yahoo or Microsoft. The popular news reader app seems like it would be a great fit for either firm.
But according to the latest reports, the buyer is actually the social networking site for business professionals LinkedIn. The company has allegedly already sealed a deal with Alphonso Labs, the maker of Pulse, worth between $50-$100 million… Read More
The 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) officially kicked off in Barcelona this weekend, meaning you should prepare for an onslaught of device announcements and other mobile news over the next few days.
In fact, LG has kicked things off already by dropping a bombshell today. The South Korea-based electronics giant has apparently purchased WebOS from Hewlett Packard, and plans to use it in future products… Read More
This is kind of interesting. Maya-Systems, which describes itself as a knowledge management technology provider, announced today that a transaction took place between it and Apple in the third quarter of last year. It seems the Cupertino company acquired 18 patents from them “relating to innovative axis-based user interface technology.” Read More
AT&T announced this morning that it has reached an agreement with Atlantic Tele-Network to acquire its US retail wireless operations, operated under the Alltel brand, for $780 million. As part of the deal, AT&T will pick up wireless spectrum, licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 585,000 subscribers… Read More
Yesterday, news broke that Apple was looking into buying Israeli start-up Waze Mobile, creators of the popular GPS app. Obviously, with all of the trouble Apple’s had with its own mapping software, and the fact that the two companies are partners, the deal made sense.
But according to a new report today from the well-connected MG Siegler, there is no deal. The TechCrunch columnist wrote this morning that though there have likely been several meetings between Apple and Waze due to their partnership, there’s nothing more going on… Read More
Last month, word got out that a number of high-profile companies were in possible acquisition talks with the mysterious home automation startup R2 Studios. This included the likes of Microsoft, Google, and yes, even Apple.
Well it looks like Microsoft won the day, as a new report this evening claims that the Redmond company will be the one purchasing the popular startup to help beef up its Xbox unit and increase its living room presence… Read More
Facebook’s been on a bit of a buying spree this year. Of course we all know about the $1 billion Instagram deal. Then there was the Acrylic buyout. And now the word is that it’s in talks to acquire WhatsApp, the popular cross-platform messaging service that allows users to send and receive text, video and audio messages… Read More
Last month, it was reported that Apple was looking to purchase Color Labs, a struggling Palo Alto-based social startup that allows users to share photos and videos. The story was initially filed away as a rumor, as Apple never commented on it. But the acquisition was confirmed today in a lawsuit filing…
AuthenTec, the maker of NFC chips and smart sensors that Apple bought in the summer for $356 million, has sold off its division which makes encryption-based security hardware and software. The buyer is French NFC maker and contactless chip provider Inside Secure and the transaction is valued at $48 million.
That Apple decided to get rid of AuthenTec’s Embedded Security Solutions division is another tell-tale sign that the iPhone maker snapped up AuthenTec for its NFC solutions and smart sensors that are not part of the Inside Secure deal.
Yes Mr. Schiller, I know “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today”, but Apple did drop $356 million on an NFC tech maker and obviously your next iPhone is going to have NFC… Read More
The embattled handset maker Nokia introduced at today’s press conference in San Francisco today some interesting news related to maps. In an attempt to beat Google and Apple to the mapping punch, Nokia tapped 20 years of location expertise and its data sets spanning 200 countries to map out a new strategy which involves a re-branding effort, cool new features and a good ol’ acquisition. Nokia Maps is no more. Henceforth, the new mapping service shall be known as Here.
The new cloud-based map service works across multiple devices and operating systems, it does directions and location, lets people save favorite locations and supports crowd-sourcing by allowing users to report errors and make changes themselves.
The service is based on HTML5 and an iOS app is in the works, pending Apple’s approval. The iOS app will have voice-guided walk navigation, public transport directions and will cache data for offline use. And taking page from Apple’s book, Nokia spent an undisclosed sum to snap up California-based 3D mapping company Earthmine, with aim to use its technology to help index the world in 3D… Read More
You may have heard that Color Labs, a Palo Alto-based startup that raised $41 million on the concept of a media sharing app called Color, has collapsed as its shareholders and board last week voted to shut the company down. There’s a chance you also felt excited about the prospect of Apple acquiring Color Labs for “high double-digits” millions and breathing new life into the company, per Ken Yeung and Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web.
Looks like the authors got it wrong because what Apple has really paid a couple million bucks for is its handful of engineers because the company itself is worthless. A new report by a blog owned by well-informed The Wall Street Journal has it that Apple is reportedly paying something to the tune of $2 to $5 million for Color Labs’s engineering team comprised of about 20 people… Read More
It was reported that the nation’s third-largest telco Sprint Nextel is looking to buy a controlling stake in Clearwire without an acquisition. Sure enough, Sprint instead opted to buy out one of Clearwire’s other shareholders to increase its 48 percent stake to a controlling 50.8 percent stake. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Sprint acknowledged as much in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday… Read More
It seems like Apple’s on a bit of a shopping spree this week. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s revelation that the company acquired web app firm Particle, comes another scoop about an acquisition.
A new report is out tonight claiming that Apple is about to buyout Color Labs, a Palo Alto-based social startup that allows users to share photos and videos through its Android and iOS apps… Read More
It’s been a busy year for Apple acquisitions. The company has picked up Chomp, an app discovery startup, AuthenTec, who makes NFC chips and smart sensors, and there was even talk of it buying The Fancy.
Well it looks like we might be able to add another one to that list. Reports are coming in tonight that Apple has acquired Particle, a San Francisco-based creative consulting firm that specializes in HTML5 web apps… Read More
There were reports last week that Softbank was interested in making a major investment in Sprint. Well those rumors materialized today, as the Japanese carrier is said to have purchased a 70% stake in the company.
The deal isn’t exactly official yet, but the two parties are expected to make an announcement tomorrow morning. The purchase will give Softbank the controlling interest in the third largest carrier in the US…
Google is always on an acquisition spree but if their recent deals are anything to go by, it’s hard to escape the notion that the search Goliath is specifically going after very successful iOS developers.
It snapped up mobile productivity maker Quickoffice earlier in the summer and in July bought the Sparrow team and merged it with the Gmail team while saying ‘no’ to new features for the popular iOS and Mac email client of the same name, much to the horror of die hard fans.
If you use Snapseed, a popular photography and image editing app for the Mac and iPhone/iPad, you probably won’t like this: Google just bought them for an undisclosed sum… Read More
Social networking giant announced intentions to acquire Facebook for a staggering $1 billion back in April, pending customary regulatory approval. Following its careful and thorough review, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cleared the way for the transaction last month.
The deal was subsequently valued at around $747.1 million, $300 million in cash and 22,999,412 shares of Facebook common stock. As the deal is now closed, the Instagram team will relocate to the Facebook offices. Don’t worry, they will continue to develop and enhance the Instagram app we’ve all grown to love… Read More
