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Twitter acquires Clutch.io, service essentially getting open sourced
Clutch.io is a service that allows iOS and mobile developers to easily and quickly do app testing, which helps them track just how customers use their apps. The service has been helpful in the past for a number of app developers and their products, but Clutch has now flipped over to just one client: The company has been acquired by Twitter. Clutch says it will work on the same type of work at Twitter, aiming to grow the company on a worldwide scale. As for developers using Clutch now, there's both good and bad news. The bad news is that the service is getting shut down -- it will be supported until November 1, and after that Clutch's servers will no longer work. But the good news is that Clutch is basically open sourcing the whole thing. The company says it will release all of the necessary documentation and software for devs to continue to run the testing service on their own servers. And any currently running tests are designed to "fail gracefully" should Clutch's servers go down, so there shouldn't be any issues with end users at all. All in all, it sounds like a good move for Clutch, and that developers who might be affected will at least have a way to deal with that. As for us Twitter users, I'm curious to see how this affects Twitter's mobile experience going forward. Twitter's one of my most-used services, so anything that makes it even better sounds good to me.
Dish Network rumored to have bought Clearwire's $400 million debt in secret transaction
We're not in the habit of entering the dry world of corporate debt notes, but Sprint's latest financial release might disguise a juicy bit of news. There's a rumor in the business press that Dish Network might have bought around $400 million of Clearwire's debt -- helping relieve the pressure on Sprint, which has been keeping its subsidiary alive on handouts. Unsurprisingly, no-one's commenting on the rumors, although Dish CEO Joseph Clayton did say he was open to a partnership (or acquisition) with Sprint / Clearwire late last year. If true, it could signal that it's getting ready for a fight against AT&T -- or maybe it just wanted to throw Dan Hesse a bone.
Digia buys Nokia's remaining Qt assets for 'fraction' of purchase price, eyes Windows, iOS, Android
Nokia's Qt project could be reinvigorated now that it's been bought out in its entirety by Finnish firm Digia, following a partial acquisition last year. Digia is eyeing porting the development platform, used to code applications for Symbian and Meego, to Windows 8 (the PR doesn't mention Windows Phone 8), Android and iOS in the near future. While a fee hasn't been mentioned, it's reportedly a "fraction" of the $150 million that Nokia originally paid when purchasing Trolltech in 2008 -- which probably won't improve matters on the handset maker's balance sheet.
Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away
Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an "on-the-go shopping list" app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it's taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based "touch scan." We'll admit that we're a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we've seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there's no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6's Passbook and Apple's ideas from four years ago -- even if Apple has regularly been a never-say-never sort of company.
Seagate completes purchase of LaCie in quest to become king of the hard drive hill
The final price may end up being more than the initially proposed $186 million, but Seagate has successfully acquired a controlling share of LaCie stocks. The provisional price of €4.05 per share could increase to €4.17 if Seagate manages to accumulate 95 percent of the company's stocks in the next six months. As of now, however, it hold just shy of 65 percent, enough to take control of the French manufacturer. With LaCie and its valuable consumer business under its belt and Samsung's SSD expertise, the move to reject a Western Digital take over is looking better and better. After all, consumer choice is the engine of capitalism and now Seagate has more than enough ammunition to take on WD and its Hitachi properties. Check out the PR after the break.
Google regulatory filings reveal Motorola's worth: IP is nearly half of the company's value
Google's most recent filing to the SEC has revealed how the company came to that $12.4 billion valuation of Motorola. Unsurprisingly, its intellectual property portfolio comprised the bulk of the price -- with Mountain View stumping up $5.5 billion for the "patents and developed technology" owned therein. Larry Page claimed that the deal would "supercharge" the Android ecosystem, which led to the company paying $2.6 billion for goodwill -- which was only expected to arise once the buyout was completed. The company spent $630 million on "net assets," $2.9 billion to buy the phone maker's cash reserves and $730 million on customer relationships. During its most recent earnings call, Google said it had nothing to announce regarding the newest member of the family -- but perhaps we can look forward to some more exciting hardware... pretty please?
Google hires designers from Cuban Council to work on Google+
The folks at Mountain View have worked with the well regarded designers at Cuban Council before, but now Google is taking the partnership one step further by hiring several of the firm's employees. The search giant has acquired the contracts of a number of the company's designers explicitly to work on Google+. The details of the deal haven't been revealed, so we have no idea how many members of the staff will be setting sail for the shores of Goog or how much the pseudo acquisition set the company back. But, we do know that at least some of the firm that once designed the Facebook logo, Evernote's website, Rdio's mobile apps and helped define the beautiful WebOS UI will now be dedicated to keeping Google+ ahead of the aesthetic curve.
Socialcam sells to Autodesk for $60 million
Autodesk has added yet another feather to its growing cap, buying mobile video sharing app Socialcam for a price of $60 million. Socialcam was launched only about 18 months ago, but it's been a big hit since then, attracting lots of high profile investors and a prestigious spot at the Y Combinator startup accelerator. Autodesk's purchase likely means Socialcam will continue to grow. There are only four employees at the moment (which in itself is pretty spectacular for a purchase like this), so of course there will be some more hires, and presumably Autodesk will look at integrating the company's technology in its own apps. Autodesk is slowly and quietly building a mobile software empire. The company is obviously most known for its popular drafting software AutoCAD, but I've seen Autodesk Scaleform pop up in quite a few mobile and PC games lately, and Autodesk has also picked up photo editing site Pixlr, and maker community Instructables as well. There are already more than 20 Autodesk iPad apps in the App Store, ranging from games and 3D art 'toys' to video effects (FluidFX) to engineering tools and simple alarm clocks. Socialcam is yet another sizable consumer pickup for the company.
WSJ: Sinking social news site Digg bought by NYC firm Betaworks (updated)
Digg, once one of the shining stars of the social media world, is now a sad shell of of its former self. The once mighty news-sharing service founded by Kevin Rose, has just been snatched up by a small New York City firm called Betaworks for a paltry $500,000, according to the Wall Street Journal. The site still draws roughly seven million visitors a month, but that's a far cry from the more than 30 million is was pulling in during its 2008 heyday. And the pocket change paid for the property pales in comparison to the over $45 million it raised from investors over its lifetime. The sale follows the departure of its most high profile exec, the aforementioned Rose, who is now in charge of Google Ventures. Betaworks plans to revitalize the brand involve folding it into News.me, another social news service, which launched in April of last year. The deal only includes the property itself and the brand -- none of Digg's remaining employees will be making the move to Betaworks. Of course, there were very few left once the Washington Post subsidiary Social Code hired 15 engineers from the floundering service, which accounted for more than half of its workforce. Update: As it turns out, that "$500,000" figure may not tell the whole story. TechCrunch and AllThingsD are both reporting that there's a lot more to consider besides the cash outlay.
Intel to buy 15 percent of silicon fab equipment maker ASML, wants manufacturing machines made faster
Chipzilla didn't get its position as the king of semiconductors by twiddling its thumbs, folks. It became a Valley behemoth by delivering us faster and better silicon, and its latest $4.1 billion purchase -- a 15 percent stake in silicon manufacturing equipment maker ASML Holding NV -- should help keep Intel atop the CPU heap. You see, Intel's in the process of retooling its chip manufacturing process to use bigger diameter silicon wafers, which'll make those Ivy Bridge, ValleyView and other future chips cheaper for all of us. Such retooling can take years to implement, which is likely why Intel was willing to plunk down so much cash to ensure nothing futzes with its manufacturing timetable. The company's investment will presumably give it the clout to get ASML's crucial lithography equipment on the fast track to completion. Hop to it, fellas, we want our CPUs at bargain-basement prices, and we want them now.
Telefonica partners with Facebook, Google, Microsoft and RIM for global carrier billing
Making a half dozen attempts to guess your login info or typing each digit of a credit card account certainly can get in the way of following through on impulse purchases, which is exactly how you'd categorize FarmVille cash or a featured flick that you know you may not have time to watch within the month. The solution is carrier billing, eliminating those precious seconds between impulse and reconsideration, and Telefonica has just signed on to offer the service to Facebook, Google, Microsoft and RIM account holders. The partnerships will enable O2 users in Germany or Movistar subscribers in Spain to charge purchases to their mobile phone accounts, for example -- in total, 14 Telefonica subsidiaries should be up and running with carrier billing by the end of the year, though some services, such as Google Play and Facebook, have already begun to roll out. Click through to the PR after the break for the full breakdown.
Microsoft buying Yammer to beef up enterprise social networking efforts
So, what exactly is a Yammer? Well, it's a simple social network designed not to connect you with family or college roommates, but with your coworkers. The platform has had some success, but its most high profile moment may be today's announcement that Microsoft had purchased the company. Rumors had been circulating for about a week, but now Redmond has made it official and issued a press release announcing its plan to purchase the startup for $1.2 billion in cash. Yammer will continue to live on as a stand alone service, which should make its 5 million users and countless Fortune 500 customers happy. But Microsoft will certainly be looking to fold its features into its own suite of enterprise offerings, like SharePoint and Office 365. For more info check out the PR after the break.
So, Tesco buys Peter Gabriel's WE7 music service for $16.7 million
British Supermarket behemoth Tesco has snapped up WE7, a streaming music service co-founded by Peter Gabriel that offers personalized radio stations to users, for £10.8 million ($16.7 million). The UK's biggest supermarket has purchased 91 percent of the company, with the remaining stake set to be transferred over shortly. It looks like the chain will use WE7's infrastructure and resources as the spine for a beefier music service as British supermarkets look to diversify into the entertainment market following its purchase of Blinkbox last year.
Cher Wang: HTC will grab as many patents as it can
HTC co-founder and chair Cher Wang has said that her company plans to register and buy a host of patents in order to maintain parity with its competition. Speaking at the firm's 15th anniversary party, she said that despite being unable to use S3 Graphics' patents in ongoing litigation, the company will register and purchase patents in a variety of "different fields." It looks like we can expect to see a lot more filings at the USPTO in the future, and perhaps a few more buyouts along the way. [Image Credit: WSJ / Zuma Press]
Nokia to acquire Scalado, build a better Lumia (Updated)
Scalado has more than a few tricks squirreled away in its mobile imaging bag, tricks that have served the likes of HTC and RIM well. Now, Espoo want those tricks all to itself. After working with the Swedish firm for years, Nokia has decided to take its partnership with Scalado to the next level: acquisition. The imaging outfit will be turning over its developers, intellectual property, technology and moniker over to Nokia in the third quarter of 2012 -- although the terms of the deal are confidential. Finland's favorite smartphone manufacturer plans to use Scalado's technology to enhance "imaging experiences for Nokia Lumia devices." Sounds good to us. Check out the official (and brief) press release after the break. Update: Nokia has contacted us to amend its original statement somewhat. While it's acquiring the imaging company's developers, technologies and IP portfolio, it's not buying the company outright. We suspect that this is more a quirk of company law -- since Scalado still has obligations with HTC and RIM, it can't leave them in the lurch. We've included the follow-up statement after the jump.
Google brings in-app subscriptions to Android
Developers can never have too many options when it comes to ways to take your money. Google has opened the doors to In-app purchases, carrier billing and now, in-app subscriptions. Perhaps it wasn't enough that game creators be able to lure you in with perks and content you could purchase for a one-time fee, now devs can choose to hit you with a monthly charge for the privilege of using their wares. Of course, it's not all that bad. Subscription-based games aren't the only potential uses here. Customers can now buy monthly or annual subscriptions to services or publications as well. There's even a publisher API for extending the subscription beyond the walls of Google Play and your Android device. Glu Mobile will be first out the gate, turning on subscriptions in properties like Frontline Commando, but we're sure plenty of others will follow. Soon enough you might be able to get your New York Times subscription or Spotify Premium account without ever leaving the comfort of the Android app. Any handset with Google Play 3.5 or higher installed should have access to subscriptions starting today.
Google officially closes deal for Motorola Mobility
Months in the making -- the deal is finally done. Motorola Mobility is officially part of Google. After receiving blessings from Europe, the US and China, the Internet giant has put the finishing touches on its purchase of Moto's mobile division. Though the corporate marriage faced plenty of obstacles, Big G was able to put the manufacturer on its ledger for the price of $40 per share, or about $12.5 billion. As it stands, Motorola Mobility will continue to operate as a separate business entity and as a licensee of Android, but Mountain View is still claiming the purchase will allow it to "supercharge" its mobile ecosystem. The future of the new subsidiary's employees is a different matter, however. Rumors have been swirling for the last week or so that there could be significant layoffs at Moto following the merger, which would further enforce the perception that Google is more interested in the company's patents than in entering the hardware business. Of course, whether or not we'll see layoffs or perhaps a Moto-branded Nexus is still a mystery. For a bit more on Google's victory lap, check out the PR after the break. Update: Google has also settled on a replacement for Sanjay Jha as CEO of Motorola Mobility, Dennis Woodside. Woodside is a longtime Googler who got his start in sales, building out business in Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia, before becoming President of the Americas sales operation.
NTT DoCoMo hopes to expand content game with Buongiorno buyout
Japanese mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, is making a play at the Italian firm Buongiorno, a mobile content provider that boasts two billion customers across 57 countries. The €224 million offer must still be approved by Italian regulators, and would reflect a purchase price of €2 per share for the entirety of Buongiorno's outstanding stock. For its part, NTT DoCoMo hopes the buyout will help bolster its reach outside the home country of Japan, although the purchase is a bit of a gamble just the same. As it stands, Buongiorno's annual operating profit hovers in the neighborhood of €7 million, which means DoCoMo may be in for a bit of a wait before this deal bears fruit. You'll find the nitty gritty details in the PR after the break. [Raining money photo via Shutterstock]
Facebook paying Microsoft $550 million for 650 patents, Ballmer clicks 'like'
Microsoft has agreed to sell on around 650 patents to Facebook in a deal worth $550 million. The Haüs of Zuckerberg will stump up the cash in exchange for various social networking patents that were registered by AOL (disclaimer: Engadget's parent company) and sold to Redmond for $1 billion a fortnight ago. Microsoft will hold onto the remaining 275 in its portfolio and cross-license those that it's sold on, but not the 300 patents that AOL licensed but kept hold of. The social network will likely utilize the portfolio to better defend itself from litigation like the lawsuit brought by Yahoo back in March. If you're interested in reading the phrase "protect Facebook's interests over the long term," then head past the break for the official word from the men who invented poking.
What crisis? Sony Music buys EMI's back catalogue for $2.2 billion
While its parent company goes through a dramatic reinvention, Sony Music's scraped together $2.2 billion to lead a consortium that's just bought EMI's music publishing business. While it'll sell off the three Virgin and Famous Music labels to avoid competition concerns, the company will gain access to three million songs from artists like Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z and Adele. It won't affect the day-to-day running of EMI's record label, which is a separate entity, but it will make Sony the biggest music publisher in the world. It's hard not to envisage a future in which the company's influence in the way we buy and listen to music becomes even greater -- especially given that EMI led the charge in abandoning DRM all those years ago.
