23
Apr
wavii

Google Supposedly Snaps Up Aggregator Wavii In $30 Million+ Acquisition

Posted by in Google, News, Rumors

Wavii, a service that promises to help you "keep up with everything you care about" has been snapped up by Google, according to Tech Crunch, for a sum totaling over $30 Million.

The deal, which signals an end to an apparent acquisition battle between Google and Apple, likely means that Wavii's language processing prowess will be integrated with Google services from the Knowledge Graph all the way down to (perhaps) Google Now. It also means that Wavii will not be joining forces with Apple's Siri.

For those unfamiliar with Wavii, the service  is basically an aggregator of news it thinks is both interesting and relevant to you, the user.

19
Apr
image

Report: Twitter In Talks To Buy TweetDeck For $50 Million

Posted by in Applications, News

I know the subject of Twitter buying another company is not directly related to Android, but considering the importance of the social service in our day-to-day operations and the target of the rumor being TweetDeck, a crowd favorite when it comes to Twitter clients, I thought I'd give this one a mention.

According to a report published today by The Wall Street Journal, Twitter is reportedly in talks to buy TweetDeck for $50 million. This comes after relatively recent news of UberMedia's $30 million bid in cash and stock. As we've seen, UberMedia and Twitter don't have the best rapport, so keeping TweetDeck out of UberMedia's hands may well be in the best interest of Twitter itself.

06
Jan
skype-eats-qik

Skype To Buy Qik For A Cool $150 Million

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Word around the web is that Skype is in the process of purchasing Qik for a cool $150 million. While not expected, the deal isn't exactly surprising, either: Skype is already a major player in the internet phone business, and in 2010, Qik substantially expanded its presence in mobile video calling and streaming. In fact, 2010 was huge for Qik: they expanded their customer base from 600,000 to 5 million users - roughly an eight-fold increase.

Clearly, the two businesses are extremely similar: Skype users can already make voice/video calls using Skype on various platforms, and again, Qik now has a substantial footprint in mobile video.

02
May
image

Google Acquires BumpTop, Will The Ingenious UI Make It To Android?

Posted by in News

It was announced today that BumpTop has just been purchased by Google, following a statement made on April 30th that the application was being discontinued.

Dear BumpTop fans,

More than three years ago, we set out to completely change the way people use their desktops. We're very grateful for all your support over that time — not just financially but also through all the encouraging messages from people who found BumpTop inspiring, useful, and just downright fun.

Today, we have a big announcement to make: we're excited to announce that we've been acquired by Google! This means that BumpTop (for both Windows and Mac) will no longer be available for sale.