Acquisitions

iPhone and Mac Gmail app, Sparrow, acquired by Google

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jul 20, 2012 a 12:32 pm

Sparrow, the elegant, delightful Gmail -- and general mail -- created for the Mac and brought over to the iPhone, has announced they've been acquired by Google. Sparrow CEO Dom Leca announced the deal on the Sparrow blog, saying in part:

Now we're joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.

Which is, to say the least, bitter sweet from a user's perspective, and immediately brings a few thoughts to mind:

Apple rumored to have acquired music editing software developer Redmatica

By Simon Sage, Wednesday, May 30, 2012 a 6:22 pm

Word has it that Apple has picked up an Italian developer called Redmatica, which makes Mac music editing software called Keymap Pro, among other products. Last night, Tim Cook mentioned that Apple doesn't tend to be particularly public with its acquisitions, so there's no official confirmation about the buy, but there are some pretty solid documents backing up the rumor from the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority.

Twitter rumored have talked about acquiring iOS app Camera+

By Simon Sage, Thursday, May 3, 2012 a 1:46 pm

Two anonymous sources are claiming that Twitter was looking to acquire Camera+, one of the top iOS photography apps available. Unfortunately, the folks that make Camera+ are all over the world, and few were willing to move to San Francisco as a part of the deal.

Zynga buys Draw Something creator, OMGPOP

By Simon Sage, Wednesday, Mar 21, 2012 a 3:24 pm

Zynga, the undisputed behemoth in social gaming, has just acquired OMGPOP, the developer of a hugely successful game called Draw Something.

Are Apple and Google both trying to acquire BOKU?

By Brian Tufo, Tuesday, Nov 2, 2010 a 10:07 am

TechCrunch is reporting that both Apple and Google may be interested in acquiring start-up company BOKU, which allows users to purchase goods on their mobile phones.

All users would have to do is simply enter in their mobile phone number and your product would be ordered and put onto your mobile bill. As of now BOKU is partnering with major carriers all over the world and they claim they are already capable of servicing over 1.6 billion users. They also claim that all major US carriers are supported already.

Apple in talks to buy ARM?

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010 a 11:48 pm

ARM chips, including the current Cortex A8, power the iPhone 3GS, iPod touch G3, and form part of the A4 system-on-chip for the iPad -- add that to some whispers and we get the full on rumor that Apple is in talks to buy them out.

Here's where it gets really interesting -- ARM chips power a slew of other devices as well, including those running Android and Palm.

Boom Town: Apple Buying AdMob Competitor Quatro Wireless

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010 a 12:10 am

Boom Town claims several sources have confirmed that Apple is getting into the in-app advertising business by buying AdMob competitor Quattro Wireless for $275 million.

Since Apple currently dominates the mobile app space, bolstering their cut of profits with a cut of in-app advertising is likely good business for them. It's all about the eyeballs, and if those eyeballs are locked on iPhones and iPod touches, why let Google gobble it all up?