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May

[Report] Twitter Purchases TweetDeck For Between $40 and $50 Million

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

Twitter has been pushing its own official clients onto more and more devices - including Android - for some time now, and the idea of them buying out another popular Twitter client is certainly not a new one. That's why it won't come as too much of a surprise to hear that Twitter has reportedly acquired TweetDeck for the sum of around $40 - 50 million, a purchase that includes cash and Twitter stock.

UberMedia, who also owns Twitter clients such as Twidroyd, was also in talks to purchase TweetDeck for $25 - $30 million, but Twitter ultimately beat them with a counteroffer.

Apr

FCC Is Open To Comments On The AT&T/T-Mobile Deal - Grab Your Pitchfork!

Posted by Zak Stinson in AT&T, Carriers, News, T-Mobile

It's no secret that the acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T is largely unpopular in the Android community. T-Mobile was the first carrier to offer an Android phone and has been very supportive of the development community as of late. It would be a real shame to let an Android-friendly carrier fall under the control of a company that has the absolute worst track record in regards to Android devices, and mobile service in general.

Well, why don't you get off your duff (not actually, you can stay seated) and do something about it? The FCC is considering the matter currently, and has just opened up to the public, asking for opinions.

Mar

Roundup Of The Latest From The Wake Of The AT&T/T-Mobile Deal

Posted by Will Shanklin in AT&T, News, Sprint, T-Mobile

Now that the dust has settled a little bit on the proposed deal that, if approved, will shake up the US wireless landscape, what more is there to know about AT&T's buyout of T-Mobile? Several stories (reported by All Things D) caught our attention regarding the aftermath of the deal:

Sprint Scoffs At Deal, Says The Wireless Market Would Be Altered Dramatically

While most experts seem to agree that the deal will most likely get FCC and Department of Justice approval, Sprint (not surprisingly) doesn't have a lot of nice things to say about the buyout. The rumors had previously been swirling that Sprint would be the one gobbling up T-Mobile and, whether those talks actually happened or not, that deal most definitely won't be happening now.

Jan

Skype To Buy Qik For A Cool $150 Million

Posted by Aaron Gingrich 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.

Apr

Foursquare May Walk Away From $100 Million - Are They Crazy Or Thinking Big?

Posted by Andrew Huff in Applications, News

Foursquare, whose check-in software has become widely popular by Android users all over and is only second to Gowalla, may very well be turning down a buyout offer by Yahoo Inc. for a rumored $100 million dollars. Are they holding out for more money or being gun-ho developers protecting their baby?

Is $100 Million A Lot?

When you compare $100 million to the previous offers other up-and-coming websites with explosive growth have gotten in regards to buyouts, it is actually on the low side. Facebook turned down an offer of $1 billion by Yahoo Inc. back in 2007. Facebook ironically got their offer of $500 million to buyout Twitter rejected in 2008.