WebProNews

Tag: Deals

  • Major Yahoo-Nokia Announcement Expected Monday

    Yahoo may soon announce a partnership with a very big mobile phone company.  Supposedly Nokia – which reported around $12.7 billion in sales for the first quarter of this year – is prepared to start integrating Yahoo’s services into its products.

    Carol BartzThis deal could be formally revealed Monday morning, when Yahoo’s holding a press conference at the Nasdaq Conference Center in New York.  An official invitation made known that Carol Bartz will be on hand, and the event is sure to be rather important since uninvited individuals will be kept out by security.

    Otherwise, the invitation just advertised "an exciting announcement about providing global consumers with rich online and mobile experiences, and bringing forward a new era in keeping consumers connected."

    Kara Swisher‘s sources were able to describe the partnership, though, and even attributed a codename to the arrangement: "Project Nike," a reference to the Greek goddess of victory.

    Presumptuous?  Maybe.  We all know how Yahoo’s doing compared to Google, and a report Millennial Media released this week put Nokia behind Apple, Samsung, RIM, LG, HTC, and Motorola.

    Still, if this deal is to be announced in such grand fashion just 47 hours before Yahoo’s Investor Day event begins, it’s likely something that Yahoo really believes will improve its standing with shareholders.

  • Google Announces Purchase Of Simplify Media

    Two months ago, a company called Simplify Media went off the radar, halting new account creations and disabling one feature of a service it kept alive.  Many users panicked.  Now, it turns out Simplify Media wasn’t so much crawling under a rock to die as getting swallowed up by Google.

    Simplify Media was known for offering people the option to "[a]ccess all your music and photos without the hassles of synching or uploading files right from your iPhone, netbook or remote computer," and it turns out that its technology is good enough to be integrated with Android.

    At Google I/O, Vic Gundotra, Google’s vice president of engineering, explained first that that his company had acquired Simplify Media, and then added that Android users should eventually be able to stream music straight from their PCs to their Android devices as a result.

    Nifty, eh?  Unfortunately, Gundotra didn’t discuss timelines, tech (3G, Wi-Fi, etc.), or prices.  Still, the follow-through on this promise should make Android a lot more appealing, and thereby help boost its market share.  So Google probably won’t drag its feet.

    As always, then, we’ll be sure to update you with regards to any further developments.

  • Yahoo Acquires Associated Content

    The extended Yahoo family just got a whole lot bigger.  Yahoo announced this afternoon that it’s acquired Associated Content, and Associated Content, which specializes in crowdsourced content, is in contact with around 380,000 contributors.

    Carol BartzIf you’re wondering how this purchase has anything to do with Yahoo’s core businesses – and/or whether it represents a wise decision – Carol Bartz is eager to voice her opinion.  In a statement, she addressed the second issue by saying, "Combining our world-class editorial team with Associated Content’s makes this a game-changer."

    Bartz also explained, "Together, we’ll create more content around what we know our users care about, and open up new and creative avenues for advertisers to engage with consumers across our network.  These are important aspects of building engaging consumer experiences on Yahoo!, and one of the reasons why we’re one of the most visited destinations online."

    Unfortunately, Yahoo’s CEO was less forthcoming when it came to the financial terms of the deal, but numerous whispers put Associated Content’s price in the neighborhood of $100 million.

    Anyway, this development looks to be a big deal for Yahoo.  Considering that Carol Bartz has been much more inclined to sell properties than buy them, the acquisition of Associated Content and her enthusiasm concerning the purchase would seem to signal that we’ll be hearing a lot more about it in the future.

  • Google Set To Make Big VoIP/Videoconferencing Buy

    A company that specializes in VoIP and videoconferencing technology should soon become a part of Google.  The search giant announced this morning that it is making an offer to buy Global IP Solutions for $68.2 million in cash.

    Global IP Solutions is a rather big deal in its niche.  Headquartered in San Francisco, it has offices in Boston, Hong Kong, and Stockholm, and its customers include internationally recognized corporations like AOL, Baidu, Brasil Telecom, Mail.ru, Samsung, and Yahoo.

    Google’s acquisition of Global IP Solutions could have some significant ramifications for Google Voice and the future of voice and video over IP, then.  Emerick Woods, the CEO of Global IP Solutions, mentioned in a statement that the two companies have "a shared vision to transform and accelerate IP communications," and said that his organization will "continue to enhance and extend our products and technology at Google."

    There appears to be just one small hurdle standing in the way of the deal: Global IP Solutions is a publicly-traded firm, and Google needs the holders of at least 90 percent of its share capital to approve the transaction.

    Neither side expects that to be a problem, though (Google’s bid represents a premium of 27.5 percent over the closing share price on Friday, May 14th), and it doesn’t look like antitrust authorities will get involved.

    Expect the acquisition to go through before August 31st as a result (Google’s offer will lapse at that point), and don’t be surprised if Google makes some big strides in terms of real-time audio and video communication soon after.

  • Microsoft CFO Deems Large Acquisitions Unlikely

    Microsoft CFO Deems Large Acquisitions Unlikely

    If Microsoft makes any acquisitions in the next few months, don’t look for the term "billion" to be involved.  Even "___ hundred million" may be out of the question.  Microsoft’s CFO, Peter Klein, recently indicated that the corporation isn’t interested in spending lots of money.

    Microsoft LogoKlein hinted that most companies aren’t offering bargain-bin prices right now, and perhaps Microsoft’s still playing it safe following the recession, too.  "The stock market has clearly rebounded, so you sort of feel like you’re back to equilibrium," he said, according to Reuters.

    And whether Google’s purchase of AdMob goes through – or any other significant deals occur – Microsoft shouldn’t be baited into playing a game of catch-up.  Klein explained, "We try and think ahead, so that when things happen there is not this big fire drill – ‘Oh my God, somebody bought something."

    So Microsoft is likely to just focus on implementing its arrangement with Yahoo, then, while perhaps picking up a few small companies here and there until things have settled down.

    That seems like a wise approach.  Of course, to be fair to Microsoft’s detractors and competitors, Google’s buy-everything-in-sight method of conducting business has gotten it pretty far.

  • Apple Makes FTC Rethink Google-AdMob Deal

    Apple Makes FTC Rethink Google-AdMob Deal

    The bad news for Google is that the FTC still hasn’t approved its acquisition of AdMob, and according to a fresh report, has in fact decided to take even more time to think things over.  The good news is that the FTC was supposedly motivated to review the situation by a development that makes a Google monopoly look less probable.

    Brad Stone first touched on the new timeframe by writing late yesterday, "The Federal Trade Commission got a two-week extension from Google and AdMob for its review of Google’s $750 million acquisition, according to two people briefed on the review process."

    He then described the cause of the delay by stating, "The agency wants to use the additional time, in part, to better understand the competitive effects of Apple’s purchase of Quattro Wireless, an AdMob rival, and Apple’s impending introduction of its new iAds mobile advertising system, these people said."

    If the FTC determines that Apple can compete with Google, that may address most of its antitrust fears (at least as they pertain to this particular situation).  The iPhone doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, after all, and Apple has enough money to pursue almost anything it pleases.

    It’s still hard to judge how this will turn out, though, considering that many analysts believe Android’s multipronged and fast-moving approach more or less guarantees that it will keep the iPad in check.  Also, even if the FTC feels Apple can prevent Google from dominating the mobile ad market, it might not approve of a duopoly and just go after both corporations.

    It shouldn’t be much longer before the FTC finally lets the world in on its thought process, anyway.

  • eBay Announces New Joint Venture In Asia

    Any eBay shareholders who were less than thrilled about eBay’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Gmarket last June may feel better after hearing about a new plan that involves the property.  eBay announced late yesterday that it intends to work with Gmarket’s founder to expand Gmarket’s presence in Japan and Singapore.

    eBay

    This won’t be entirely eBay’s show; the effort will come in the form of a fresh joint venture in which eBay will have a 49 percent stake.  Young Bae Ku, the founder of Gmarket, will then control the other 51 percent.

    Still, eBay feels the arrangement is more than satisfactory.  Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay Marketplaces, said in a statement that it should "enhance our long-term position and growth in the region."

    Norrington also argued, "This joint venture is a sign of our continued commitment to help grow and lead ecommerce across Asia by offering more opportunities for sellers and extraordinary buying experiences for consumers."

    (Another big sign came two months ago when PayPal decided to add 1,000 jobs in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan, if anyone’s interested in keeping score.)

    Anyway, it remains unknown when eBay will start benefiting from the new joint venture, as no target dates related to its launch have been shared.

  • FTC Possibly Set To Oppose Google-Admob Deal

    The Federal Trade Commission is not going to give Google’s acquisition of AdMob a thumbs up, according to new reports.  Indeed, the FTC seems likely to take the opposite approach and attempt to block the deal, with a formal show of opposition expected to occur in the near future.

    GoogleThree people "familiar with the matter" told Jeff Bliss and Dina Bass this weekend that the FTC "is urging the filing of an antitrust suit."  And Kara Swisher‘s heard similar things from "multiple sources," too, with next week looking like the time when something will transpire.

    Obviously, that would represent bad news for Google.  The fact that the search giant tried to buy AdMob for $750 million shows it very much values the idea of getting ahead in the mobile advertising market.  Losing the opportunity to do so could be damaging to both the company’s reputation and its bottom line.

    There’s a bit of good news for Google this morning, though, as investors don’t seem worried about the FTC-related reports.  Google’s stock is up 0.39 percent at the moment, which makes for a nice start to the week.

    We’ll see what happens.  The FTC has yet to drop any official hints about its take on the matter.

  • Google Picks Up 3D Desktop Maker BumpTop

    Google Picks Up 3D Desktop Maker BumpTop

    Google’s acquisition spree continues with its latest pickup – BumpTop, makers of the BumpTop desktop environment, which is designed to bring a more 3D and "visceral" user interface to the operating system. The product has been available for Windows and Mac, but Android is the likely destination for its technology in Google’s hands.

    Google has remained tight-lipped about what it actually plans to do with BumpTop, but as with some of the company’s other recent acquisitions, competition with Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices is likely the driving motivation behind the purchase, and Android is Google’s most significant weapon in that battle.

    Android is expected to make a big splash at Google I/O (the company’s developer conference) later this month, with Android-based TVs expected to be revealed. Given the new trend of 3D television, BumpTop could play an interesting role here.

    Financial details about the acquisition have not been revealed. Other recent acquisitions by Google include Agnilux, DocVerse, Plink, Episodic, and Aardvark.

    While not all of these are directly related to Apple competition, some of them clearly are. Apple has been on its own acquisition spree as well. Most recently, the company picked up Siri and Intrinsity.

    (Hat TIp to VentureBeat)

     

  • Opera Acquires Email Service Provider FastMail

    Opera announced today it has acquired web-based email provider FastMail.fm. Opera’s offered its own email client since 2000, and now it will use FastMail to expand its own messaging product across various devices from mobile to TVs and gaming consoles.

    "The newest generation of Web users will discover the Web through a mobile device," says Rolf Assev, Chief Strategy Officer, Opera Software. "Having world-class messaging capability alongside a rich and compelling Web experience is essential. By combining forces, Opera and FastMail.fm can offer messaging on any device. This will enhance the value Opera provides to consumers, while assisting our operator partners in reducing customer churn."

    Fastmail now a part of Opera

    "Following this acquisition, Opera will be able to offer a consistent e-mail experience across all products," the company says. "Opera currently has more than 50 million users of its desktop browser and more than 55 million users of Opera Mini, a mobile Web browser that works on almost all handsets available today."

    FastMail has been providing email services for a decade, and as its team "combines forces" with Opera’s technical teams, FastMail itself will continue to operate and grow, and they will also work on new products.

    For users of FastMail, the company has put together an FAQ to help make sense of the transition.

  • Apple Buys 2 Companies For Edge in Competition with Google

    Apple and Google are becoming increasingly competitive, and it would seem that they’re even competing for who can acquire the most companies in the shortest amount of time. Apple has now acquired Siri and Intrinsity.

    Siri is a voice command-based personal assistant app that lets you tell it what you want to do, and it will do most of the work for you, whether that be find the right restaurant and book a reservation, get a cab, or whatever. Watch this clip to see how it works:

    Based on the clip, Siri does a pretty good job of interpreting your voice commands. One example shown is, "Take me drunk, I’m home." It interprets it how it was meant and finds a cab.

    Some in the geek community view this as a big gain for Apple. Robert Scoble, who broke the news of the acquisition calls Siri the "Future of the Web."

    "The value in unlocked is huge. This shows Apple is very willing to buy its way into the new mobile web and the new API-driven web," he says. "This also could be a major cornerstone in how it competes with Google."

    Intrinsity, the other company Apple acquired, is a chip-maker, and is reported to make particularly fast ones. The New York Times calls the acquisition a way for Apple to "gain an edge over its competitors." You may recall that Google also just bought a chip maker, run by former Apple employees.

  • PayPal Lands Alibaba Deal

    PayPal Lands Alibaba Deal

    Earlier this week, Alibaba.com launched a new business-to-business platform, and now, it looks like eBay and PayPal will get a boost from it, too.  It’s been decided that AliExpress will offer PayPal as a payment option.

    This may turn out to be a significant moment for both sides.  Alibaba is a successful ecommerce platform based in Asia, with about 47 million registered users, but of course AliExpress is brand new.  And PayPal is a big moneymaker for eBay, with roughly 84 million active accounts in existence, but Asia isn’t its home market.

    Together, then, it’s possible that they’ll achieve quite a lot.

    David Wei, the CEO of Alibaba, even said in a statement, "Our work with companies such as PayPal is crucial, because we want to make sure we are meeting the needs of our customers by making payment as fast, safe and easy as possible."

    PayPal’s also happy about the move – and looking forward to future developments – as Farhad Irani, Vice President of PayPal Asia Pacific, wrote in a blog post, "We’re very excited to have this fantastic new merchant join the PayPal franchise and I look forward to letting you know about other news out of Asia as it happens."

  • Google Acquires Widget Developer Labpixies

    Google has acquired widget developer Labpixies, which developed some of the first gadgets for Google’s personalized homepage iGoogle. It also develops apps for Android and iPhone.

    "Over the years, we worked closely together on a variety of projects, including the launch of a number of global OpenSocial based gadgets. Recently, we decided that we could do more if we were part of the same team…" says Don Loeb of Google’s iGoogle team.

    "We are looking forward to working with Labpixies to develop great web apps and leverage their knowledge and expertise to help developers and improve the ecosystem overall," he adds.

    Labpixies - Top iGoogle Gadgets - Company acquired by Google

    "We both felt the time was right to come together," says Labpixies in its announcement. "We started LabPixies to create a truly personalized online experience and develop fun widgets that people find useful every day. Working at Google will help us scale to more users as well as giving our team greater opportunities. Google and LabPixies teams have worked on many projects together including the launch of global OpenSocial based gadgets. The acquisition is an opportunity to learn from each other to bring more apps to users, help developers and improve the overall developer ecosystem."

    The Labpixies team will be based out of Google’s Tel Aviv office, and will anchor the company’s iGoogle efforts across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

    This is only the latest in a string of acquisitions from Google. Other recent acquisitions include Agnilux, Plink, Aardvark, and Episodic.

  • Yahoo and Samsung Announce New Global Partnership

    Yahoo announced a global partnership with Samsung today, which will see Yahoo services coming pre-installed on a variety of mobile devices from the manufacturer. The two companies have partnered since 2007, but that relationship is now being greatly expanded.

    "By making our most popular Yahoo! services available on Samsung mobile devices around the world, we’re providing consumers with personally relevant mobile Internet experiences that make it easy for them to stay connected to what’s important to them and explore the full potential of their device," said David Ko, senior vice president, Audience, Mobile and Local for Yahoo!. "We’re thrilled to deepen our relationship with Samsung and look forward to continuing to drive the global adoption of mobile Internet services."

    Dr. Ho Soo Lee, EVP, Media Solution Center, Samsung Electronics (L) and David Ko, SVP, Audience, Mobile and Local, North America, Yahoo! (R), sign strategic global partnership to pre-load Yahoo! services on tens of millions of Samsung devices. (Photo: Business Wire)

    Dr. Ho Soo Lee, EVP, Media Solution Center, Samsung Electronics (L) and David Ko, SVP, Audience, Mobile and Local, North America, Yahoo! (R), sign strategic global partnership to pre-load Yahoo! services on tens of millions of Samsung devices. (Photo: Business Wire)

    Yahoo services that purchasers of Samsung devices may find include:

    – Yahoo Mail
    – Yahoo Messenger
    – Yahoo Contacts and Calendar
    – Yahoo Mobile Front Page
    – Yahoo Search
    – Flickr
    – Yahoo News
    – Yahoo finance
    – Yahoo Weather

    "We want to provide our customers with the best possible services designed to enhance their mobile experience," said Kenny Lee, vice president of content planning at Samsung. "Our relationship with Yahoo! continues to grow and benefit our global consumer base, who wants access popular Yahoo! services from their Samsung phone."

    While the announcement did not reveal specifically what devices that will come loaded with Yahoo services, it did say that it will include those running the Samsung bada and Android platforms.

  • Twitter Acquires SMS Specialist Cloudhopper

    Life is good – and rather Twitter-centric – for Joe Lauer and Kristin Kanaar.  Not only did they get to see Twitter hero Conan O’Brien perform last night, but today, Twitter announced that it’s acquired their messaging infrastructure company, Cloudhopper.

    The Twitter-Cloudhopper relationship apparently goes back quite a ways.  Kevin Thau, Twitter’s director of mobile business development, explained on the Twitter Blog this afternoon that they’ve been working together for about eight months.

    As for what, precisely, everyone’s been up to all this time, Thau wrote that Cloudhopper "enables Twitter to connect directly to mobile carrier networks in countries all over the planet."  And, post-acquisition, Cloudhopper is supposed to "help us further grow and scale our SMS service."

    Not many other details are available at this point.  Terms of the purchase weren’t disclosed, and no one’s discussed specific projects or growth goals.  (Thau just said Twitter’s currently processing close to one billion SMS tweets per month.)

    Cloudhopper’s site states that it was founded in 2008 by Lauer, at least, and a little LinkedIn research shows that both Lauer and Kanaar used to work for one other organization – an SMS aggregator that’s been called both Simplewire and OpenMarket at different times in its history.

  • Yahoo Enters Partnership To Help Users Find Apps

    The market for apps seems to grow bigger every month, and one way for a company to get its name out there is to develop some apps of its own.  A different – and much easier – way is to just partner with a business that points people towards apps, and this is the approach Yahoo took today, partnering with Appolicious.

    Appolicious, which was only founded last year, allows individuals to review and rate apps for Android devices, the iPhone, and the iPad.  It offers curated lists of recommended apps, too, along with personalized recommendations.  All of which will now be easier for Yahoo users to access.

    A formal announcement revealed, "[L]inks to Appolicious’ original articles about the latest apps will be featured in relevant content on Yahoo!’s media properties.  Users who click on an Appolicious link will be directed to a co-branded site . . . .  In addition, Yahoo! users will be able to automatically join the Appolicious site using their Yahoo! ID and password."

    This is sort of a big deal, considering that it involves Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Sports.  Unfortunately, if any money’s involved, both sides have chosen to stay mum about it.

    Alan Warms, the founder and CEO of Appolicious, just hinted that everyone should benefit by stating, "By linking to our content throughout Yahoo!’s media sites, we will be able to bring a best-in-class experience to consumers and advertisers."

  • Visa Buys CyberSource For $2 Billion

    Visa Buys CyberSource For $2 Billion

    Visa said today it has agreed to buy online payment processing firm CyberSource in an effort to strengthen its ecommerce business.

    Visa said it will pay $26 a share or about $2 billion for CyberSource. The deal is expected to close in Visa’s fiscal fourth quarter. The transaction will dilute Visa’s earning for that quarter by about 4 or 5 cents a share.

    CyberSource processes about 25 percent of all ecommerce transactions in the United States. The company serves more than 295,000 merchants through its CyberSource and Authorize.Net brands. Its clients include British Airways, Home Depot, Facebook, Google and many small businesses.

    Joseph-Saunders-Visa “Online commerce continues to grow rapidly, and this acquisition will enable Visa to offer new and enhanced services that will better meet the growing demand among merchants globally for robust, secure online payment processing capabilities which in turn will grow the entire eCommerce category," said Joseph W. Saunders, Chairman and CEO of   Visa Inc. 

    "With CyberSource, we are adding a new suite of leading eCommerce capabilities and experience in addressing eCommerce merchant needs. And, as eCommerce increasingly migrates to mobile devices, we believe the combination of Visa and CyberSource technology and services will position Visa to lead in mobile eCommerce."

    Visa and CyberSource have been partners since 1999. Visa says the deal will help merchants increase revenue through global growth and by connecting them to multiple payment networks.
     

  • Report: Google Discussing $1B Travel Acquisition

    Even as news of Google’s acquisition of Agnilux is still making its way around the Web, another Google acquisition may be in the works, and this one would be pretty huge, according to a new report.  Google’s supposedly in talks to buy travel software specialist ITA Software for $1 billion.

    A little background information: ITA Software has supplied technology to important companies like American Airlines, Bing, Continental Airlines, Kayak, Orbitz, Southwest Airlines, US Airways.  Also, it just so happens to count Sequoia Capital, which once helped fund Google, as an investor.

    You can imagine how Google might be interested, then, and see that the search giant has something of an "in," as well.

    So here’s the exact rumor: Bloomberg reported this morning, "Google Inc. is in talks to acquire ITA Software Inc., a maker of travel programs . . . three people familiar with the matter said. . . .  ITA Software, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, may seek about $1 billion, said two of the people . . ."

    And since Google admits that it had $26.5 billion in "cash, cash equivalents, and short-term marketable securities" as of March 31st, it’s perhaps quite plausible that the company would spend $1 billion to improve its travel-related offerings.

  • Demand Media’s Strategy of Penetrating Major Media Outlets

    Late last week, reports surfaced of Demand Media and USA Today reaching a deal in which Demand would contribute content to USA Today’s website. This is interesting because it’s an example of the controversial Demand Media penetrating mainstream news media. I spoke with Demand about the partnership and the prospect of similar partnerships in the future.

    Would you like to see more online news publications offering content like what Demand Media offers? Share your thoughts.

    It’s Not News Content

    Now, Demand is not contributing actual news content to USA Today, and this is an important fact to note. Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt has made it clear in the past that Demand’s content is not journalism. "Only the journalists call us journalists," he said on a SXSW panel I attended last month.

    However, that does not mean that a news organization can’ find room for the kind of content that Demand offers. USA Today clearly sees some value there, without jeopardizing its actual news content. Demand is contributing content for a new section on USA Today’s site called Travel Tips, and Demand tells us this creates additional revenue opportunities for both parties.

    "Travel Tips serves as a resource for travelers to provide functional tips and guidance on realistic situations," Demand Media Chief Marketing Officer Dave Panos tells WebProNews. "Readers who want practical advice, such as how to find low airfare and hotel rates, tips for traveling with kids on a business trip, etc.  The Travel Tips section is initially launching with more than 4,000 unique articles from Demand Media and a new video series featuring Rolf Potts, the well-known travel expert, to attract audiences who will be engaged around the relevant and useful travel-related content that they seek."

    USA Today gets content from Demand Media for Travel Tips section

    "To enable this kind of partnership, Demand Media has built a fully scalable platform to commission, create and deliver high value content our partners’ websites," he adds. "It leverages the sum of Demand Media’s capabilities to predict valuable content topics, commission and manage the production of unique articles and videos, syndicate the content through the publisher’s website, and optimize the traffic and financial performance.

    Dave Panos - Chief marketing officer - Demand Media talks future strategy Demand Media Content to Penetrate More Mainstream News Publications?

    Part of Demand Media’s strategy moving forward is to look for partnerships with major media outlets. "This is the type of situation where everyone – the consumers, creators, media outlets, and us – all win," says Panos. "There is an interesting opportunity to incrementally grow the audience and increase revenue at mainstream media companies – in a way that doesn’t compete with what they currently do."

    "Best of all, we can do it in a way that doesn’t require any investment from the media company – and that’s a welcome prospect in this economic environment," he concludes. "And on our end – we benefit from the expanded distribution and reach that these partnerships provide."

    It will be quite interesting to see if more major media organizations take advantage of what Demand Media content has to offer. It may allow them to capitalize on more search engine traffic, while not having to compromise their own journalistic resources. Demand and USA Today split ad revenue from the content, and USA Today doesn’t have to pay for the content itself.

    Is offering content such as Demand Media’s a good way for news companies to bring in some extra revenue? Tell us what you think.

  • Twitter Acquires Tweetie For iPhone Move

    Twitter Acquires Tweetie For iPhone Move

    Twitter’s made another acquisition, and although this was a small move in some respects – just one man’s responsible for Tweetie – it’s had some significant effects, with an app called Twitter for iPhone coming into being and members of the developer community getting rather upset.

    Twitter LogoLet’s start at the beginning.  Late Friday, Evan Williams announced that Twitter was buying Tweetie, an iPhone client, from Loren Brichter (and bringing Brichter aboard).  Williams said that Tweetie would be renamed Twitter for iPhone and made free in the iTunes App Store, too.

    The problem is that these changes, in combination with the release of the Twitter for BlackBerry app, made some third-party developers feel like they’re getting squeezed out by official apps.  So Twitter’s backtracked a bit, pulling the "official" label off the BlackBerry client and swearing not to label any other clients in that manner.

    Ryan Sarver, Twitter’s Director of Platform, also told the Twitter Development Talk group, "To be clear, we are going to work hard to improve our product, add new functionality, make acquisitions when it’s in the best interest of users and the whole ecosystem at large.  Each one of those things has the potential to upset a company or developer that may have been building in that space . . . .  My promise is that we will be consistent in always focusing on what’s best for the user and the ecosystem as a whole and we will be sincere and honest in our communication with you."

    Chirp, the official Twitter developer conference that begins on Wednesday, may prove to be extremely interesting due to these incidents.

  • Yahoo Lands Exclusive Mobile Deal With Telefonica

    Here are a few facts about Telefonica: it’s a huge telecommunications company.  It’s based in Spain.  And it’s a good friend of Yahoo’s, considering that Telefonica has named Yahoo the exclusive search and search advertising provider on its mobile portal in Spain.

    Yahoo LogoThe Telefonica-Yahoo relationship actually goes back a couple of years, since in late 2007, Telefonica made Yahoo oneSearch the main search service on 15 other mobile portals.  This is just a big step forward in terms of people affected and money at stake.

    Scott Ellison, IDC’s Vice President of Mobile and Wireless, explained in a statement, "The expansion of Yahoo!’s mobile search partnership with Telefonica into Spain continues to demonstrate Yahoo!’s ability to provide highly personalized and localized mobile search experiences and further establishes its position as a leading mobile customer experience provider.  Building a significant European market presence is essential toward executing a successful mobile strategy."

    Strengthening its relationship with Telefonica might be essential to keeping Yahoo out of court, too.  Telefonica’s CEO has expressed an interest in getting money from Google – "search engines use our network, without paying anything for it," he said about a month ago – but the expansion of this partnership increases the odds that he’ll leave Yahoo alone.

    Unfortunately, the terms of this deal haven’t been disclosed.