Google has just snapped up BufferBox, a Waterloo, Ontario-based startup that offers temporary lockers for online purchases much like the ones recently deployed by Amazon. Instead of 7-Elevens and RadioShacks however, the relatively young startup has only just started a deal to install parcel kiosks in Canada’s Metrolinx GO Transit stations. The Mountain View company hopes to keep BufferBox alive through the acquisition, with plans for 100 kiosks in Greater Toronto and Hamilton in the next year. Of course, we can’t help but think this could all be part of Google’s master plan for a rumored same-day delivery service that might make Amazon a touch nervous. Hopefully this means future Nexus deliveries will be a just little faster, eh?
Today, Google acquired coupon targeting company Incentive Targeting. The company is responsible for partnering with retail stores to provide targeted marketing and coupon services to manufacturers of groceries and other products. Details about the price of the acquisition hasn’t been disclosed, but Incentive Targeting raised $4.4 million in investment funding last year.
Mike Dudas, a member of Google’s mobile commerce team, tweeted about the acquisition earlier this afternoon, and says that the acquisition of Incentive Targeting will allow Google “to power highly targeted manufacturer and private label coupon programs” in the future. Furthermore, a Google spokesperson said that the company is looking forward to “working with Incentive Targeting in [Google’s] ongoing efforts to help consumers save time and money and enable retailers deliver relevant discounts to the right customers.”
It’s not exactly said what Google is planning to do with the acquisition, but they’ll most likely focus develop a commerce strategy that will center around delivering more personalized deals and coupons to users through one of their current services, like Wallet or maybe even Google Shopping.
We know that a new version of Google Wallet is on the way, and it looks like it will bring a lot of new features with it, including a new Wallet card, so it’s possible we may see the fruits of Google’s labor from the acquisition show up in the upcoming Wallet app release. Until then, it seems Google will stay mum about their plans.
Google is no stranger to the business of discounts and special offers, but it looks like it’s decided to reach outside the company to further bolster its offerings. The company confirmed today that it has acquired the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based marketing firm Incentive Targeting for an undisclosed sum. While not offering too much in the way of specifics, Google said in a statement that “we look forward to working with Incentive Targeting in our ongoing efforts to help consumers save time and money and enable retailers deliver relevant discounts to the right customers.” For its part, Incentive Targeting has said that it “set out to do for retail couponing what Google had done for online advertising: make it simple, relevant, measurable, and effective,” and to that end it has developed a variety of tools for retailers and manufacturers alike, all designed to deliver coupons and discounts in a more targeting manner. You can find the company’s full statement on its website.
Intel has signed a $50 million deal with Creative Technology to acquire ZiiLabs, a UK-based subsidiary responsible for Android-optimized chip designs like the ZMS-40 and the ZMS-20. Of that $50 million, $30m will be for asset sales and engineering resources while the remainder will be for patent licensing in regards to ZiiLabs GPU technology, which might indicate a move away from PowerVR. We’re not sure if this means Creative will soldier on with OEM-focused devices like the HanZPad, but at least now it’ll have more money in the bank to explore alternative endeavors.
Sure, we may see acquisitions from big-name players in tech from time to time, but it’s not every day that accessory makers announce new company purchases. Today, however, Otterbox has let it be known that it’s scooped up Wrapsol, a film wrap manufacturer that’s more commonly known for offering a slew of screen protectors for handsets, tablets and even laptops. Mum’s the word on how much cash the Defender creator shelled out, but the company’s CEO, Brian Thomas, appears to be quite content with its new property, saying that the addition of Wrapsol “enhances our ability to provide our customers and consumers an expanded variety of high-quality products.”
It looks like OtterBox is expanding their business to not only include cases for different mobile devices, but also to make screen protectors and protective wraps for gadgets. The company acquired screen protector maker Wrapsol for an undisclosed amount of money. Not a lot of details are known at this point yet.
Wrapsol is a Boston-based company that specializes in making of different kinds of screen protectors and protective wraps for mobile devices. They offer a large variety of protective film wraps, including smudge-resistant solutions, durable protectors, privacy shields, and non-slip products.
OtterBox President and CEO Brian Thomas says that “Wrapsol is a promising company with similar values and similar culture whose product aligns with the OtterBox mission of complete, premium device protection.” He continues by stating that acquiring Wrapsol will “significantly enhance” OtterBox’s ability to provide customers with even more top-tier protection products.
It seems both parties are happy and excited about the acquisition. Wrapsol Vice President of Sales Brett Webster says that “joining the OtterBox family is a great opportunity for Wrapsol and its employees.” The company is “excited” to bring their products over to OtterBox and to give their employees “a chance to join another world-class team.”
Beleaguered social and mobile games maker Zynga announced today that it has acquired November Software. With less-than-stellar quarterly reports and the recent reveal that it would be laying off a large number of workers, you might be wondering why Zynga is spending the money to acquire other companies. As it turns out, Zynga actually bought November back in the spring, but is only revealing the buyout today.
This acquisition is another step in Zynga’s transition to focus on mid-core gamers – players who have decent machines as opposed to high-end machines or low-end computers that can only run social and indie games. Mid-core gamers tend to stick with games longer, which means that Zynga could potentially make more money than it can from the social and mobile crowd. It sounds like a good idea, and the team at November is already hard at work on a new game under Zynga’s watch.
That game is called Battlestone, but other than that, the details are pretty slim. We’ll have to wait until the game is further along in development to find out more, but if Battlestone works out, we might see Zynga begin to climb out of this rut it’s worked itself into. Zynga’s player base has slowly been abandoning the company’s social titles as they graduate to mobile games, which has left Zynga is something of a sticky situation.
We’ll see if it works soon enough, but one thing is for sure: Zynga needs to change up its strategy or it risks losing everything. The switch the mid-core gaming might just be the thing that saves Zynga in the long run. What do you think? Will the mid-core gaming crowd bring Zynga back from the brink?
Looks like we can kiss goodbye to any lingering politeness in the rivalry between these two UK chip houses, because the smaller one has just embarked on a cheeky expansion. Having been known mainly for its PowerVR graphics processors, not least in many Apple products, Imagination Tech could potentially push into the CPU arena too, through its $60 million acquisition of MIPS Technologies. Just Like ARM, MIPS designs low-power RISC processors for consumer electronics, but it has generally focused on smaller chips for devices like routers and TVs rather than smartphones and tablets. In addition to a portfolio of 82 exclusive patents, a squad of 160 MIPS engineers will now be transplanted to Imagination, where they’ll no doubt be debriefed and reassigned to conquering the world. Meanwhile, in some sort of flanking move, ARM has paid a far higher sum of $170 million to gain access to a number of other MIPS patents.
The merger of China’s video giants Youku and Tudou this August must have struck a nerve over at Baidu: the search engine just bought out equity firm Providence’s controlling stake in iQiyi, an already large video service built solely around streaming professional movies and TV shows. Should the deal wrap up as planned in the fall, Baidu plans to keep its new partner as a separate badge but weave its content throughout mobile sites and search results. The company is unsurprisingly taking a Google-like strategy to make sure it isn’t left on the sidelines as searchers go elsewhere for video. Pragmatism aside, its deal could represent more for China as a whole — when hundreds of millions of people are exposed to commercially-oriented video as a matter of course, it could tip the balance in a way that we didn’t see with YouTube rentals.
What a day for Star Wars fans – not only was it revealed that Disney had purchased LucasFilm Limited, but we also found out that Star Wars Episode VII is currently in the works for release in 2015. Those are both major announcements, especially the one about Episode VII since George Lucas said constantly that he was done making movies in the series after Episode III was released. It turns out that he was telling the truth, as he won’t be making Star Wars Episode VII, instead only acting as a consultant.
So, what now? What’s in store for the Star Wars franchise now that it’s part of Disney‘s portfolio? There are undoubtedly a ton of questions bouncing around in the heads of Star Wars fans after today, but luckily, we’re getting some explanation from the man himself, George Lucas. He and Kathleen Kennedy, who has been named the new president of LucasFilm, have taken some time to talk about the future of the franchise in a brand new YouTube video, which you can check out below.
Concerning the buyout, Lucas says, “There’s lots and lots of opportunities at Disney we wouldn’t have at any other studio.” Kennedy agreed with that notion, pointing to Disney’s success with Marvel and Pixar and adding, “In many ways, it’s the best company possible to take Star Wars into the future.” Lucas is turning over the Star Wars universe to Kennedy, saying that he’s already got treatments of the seventh, eighth, and ninth movies ready to be turned into films.
It sounds like there’s more beyond another trilogy in the pipeline too, as Lucas says there are even more movie ideas in the LucasFilm vault. Kennedy seems eager to get right to work on these new Star Wars movies, saying that LucasFilm is in the beginning stages of developing Episode VII. We have to say that we’re pretty excited to see what Disney can do with the Star Wars franchise – are you?
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