The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google and Apple are not only increasingly in each others’ space, but getting into each others faces in a battle to acquire — and prevent each other from acquiring — strategic startups. Google was in “serious discussions” to buy online music streaming service Lala before Apple swooped in and nabbed it for $85 million. Likewise, Apple was interested in picking up Admob to protect information about its App Store before Google grabbed it for $750.
Google, which has nearly $22 billion in cash, has been particularly active. In addition to AdMob, Google bought display-ad company Teracent Corp. and Internet-phone provider Gizmo5 Technologies Inc. in November. Last week it purchased AppJet Inc., a maker of online collaboration software.
Apple, which has $34 billion in cash, has been exploring buying iPhone-related technologies that it doesn’t yet have, say people familiar with the matter. Its moves are generating particular attention because Apple has made fewer acquisitions than other companies of its size.
All this follows Google’s launch of Android OS for Smartphones, Chrome OS for netbooks, CEO, Eric Schmidt, leaving Apple’s board of directors, and Apple denying Google Voice and Google Latitude entry into the iPhone App Store.
Again, TiPb just wants to make sure users are the ones that benefit from great smartphones and services in the end. In a battle between King Kong and Godzilla, it’s important we’re the audience enjoying a great experience, and not the city folk fleeing as the monsters stomp all over us.
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
Apple vs. Google in Battle of the Startup Acquisitions!
Cellar [$2.99 - iTunes link], the raise-a-glass gorgeous way to keep track of your wine collection on an iPhone or iPod touch, has submitted version 2.0 to the App Store. We’ve been taste-testing it for a few days, and — well, more on that in another post. To celebrate the immanent arrival, however, Airsource Ltd and Glasshouse Apps are teaming with TiPb to give away 10 FREE COPIES of the current version.
Want one? Just head on over to the TiPb iPhone Forums and tell us which wine is on your holiday wish-list!
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb Give Away: Cellar Digital Wine Showcase for iPhone
Apple’s new iPhone Developer RSS Feed brings world that iTunes Connect now supports Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Swedish language localizations:
With over 50 million users of iPhone and iPod touch in 81 countries around the world, it’s more important than ever to make your app available in a user’s language of choice. You can, and should, create localized versions of your app for each market you sell to. In iTunes Connect, you can customize your app’s metadata, keywords and screenshots for each localized version.
So if you’re in one of those countries, head on over and give your local App Store some linguistic love.
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
iTunes Connect Now Supports Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Swedish Language Localizations
After a series of high profile complaints, it seems that Apple is making efforts to improve the App Store experience for their developers. After taking a hard line against the use of Private application programming interfaces (APIs), iPhone develope...
Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store
Want to check the charge on your electric car? There's going to be an app for that --
our friends at Engadget report that the upcoming
Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid electric car will
have an iPhone app that goes along with it. Features aren't firmed up yet, but ideas being passed around after a demo at last week's LA Auto Show include both setting up functions inside the car like scheduling when a charge happens (to take advantage of late-night power rates) and receiving notifications from the car, including when it's charged and/or when you forgot to plug it in for the night or other worrying situations like that. I'd love to even see an app that can track mileage from the car, or give you diagnostic information when something is wrong.
Obviously, this is pretty pie-in-the-sky at this point (and implementation is obviously tougher than coming up with ideas for it), but I'm all for it. With the advent of the iPhone and all of the things it can do, it's quickly becoming a one-stop shop for communication between all your various networks and appliances. Why not have your car text you when it needs something? Oh wait, I've got to go -- my car just texted me that it's lonely out there in the parking lot. Back in a bit.
Chevy Volt to get an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Chevy Volt to get an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
A small startup company called Pixel Qi recently announced that they will start production of the first batch of their new LCD screens shortly. These new screens promise low power, easy readability in direct sunlight as well support for full...
