HP has announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase 3Com, said to be "a leading provider of networking switching, routing and security solutions".

HP will pay $2.7 billion for the company with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2010.

In a press release, HP says the acquisition "will transform the networking industry and underscore HP's next-generation data center strategy built on the convergence of servers, storage, networking, management, facilities and services".

3Com is big in China, giving HP an in to a rapidly growing IT market, while the buy-out as a whole will mean HP will threaten Cisco's dominance in the networking market.

Tags: Hardware HP 3Com Acquisitions Biz

HP to acquire 3Com for $2.7 billion originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:23:20 +0000

Logitech has announced that it has agreed to acquire privately held, Austin, Texas-based LifeSize Communications for $405 million in cash.

LifeSize specialises in "high definition video communication solutions", boasting more than 9000 video conferencing customers across 80 countries in the business sector.

"We expect this acquisition to enable Logitech to extend our leadership in video communication beyond the desktop", said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer.

"Together we can make life-like, HD-quality video communication as mainstream and seamless as a telephone, for meeting participants in the boardroom, at their office desk, in a remote-location meeting room, telecommuting from home or on the go with a laptop".

LifeSize will continue to operate as a separate division in Austin reporting to Logitech.

Tags: Hardware Logitech Lifesize Biz Acquisitions

Logitech to buy LifeSize Communications for $405 million originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:33:25 +0000

Google has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire AdMob, a mobile display advertising company based in California, in an attempt to cash in on the rapidly growing number of people who access the Internet as well as connected services and widgets on their phones.

In a blog post, the internet giant says: "AdMob is a great Silicon Valley story - founded in 2006 by Omar Hamoui when he couldn't find good ways to generate traffic for his mobile site. Over the past few years, Omar and his talented team have built a thriving company with great mobile advertising products, and we are looking forward to having them join the Google team and work with us on the future of mobile advertising".

Stating that "despite the tremendous growth in mobile usage and the substantial investment by many businesses in the space, the mobile web is still in its early stages", Google says it thinks that "great mobile advertising products can encourage even more growth in the mobile ecosystem".

Although Google currently offers mobile advertising solutions it says its focus to date has been on mobile versions of its search ads. This differs from AdMob's focus that has been mobile display ads and in-application ads, the potential of which for the Android platform will be lost on no-one.

In honour of the deal, Google has set-up a site that explains the $750 million acquisition and the types of mobile advertising available.

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Tags: Phones Mobile phone industry Google Advertising AdMob Biz Acquisitions Android

Google acquires AdMob for $750 million originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:07:32 +0000

Electronic Arts has confirmed it is to acquire social games giant Playfish. Playfish will be incorporated into EA Interactive, a division of EA that produces games for the Web and mobile devices.

EA will purchase the company that specialises in Facebook and casual games for approximately $275 million in cash and $25 million in an equity retention arrangement.

"Social gaming, with its emphasis on friends and community, is seeing tremendous growth and this is the right time to invest to strengthen our participation in this space", said Barry Cottle, senior vice president and general manager of EA Interactive.

Meanwhile Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and co-founder of Playfish added: "The industry is undergoing dramatic transformation and joining EA is the ideal opportunity for us to push forward our goals to lead in the social entertainment evolution on a faster and much larger scale".

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Tags: Gaming EA Playfish Acquisitions Biz Online Software

EA acquires Playfish originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:29:22 +0000

The deal that will see Orange and T-Mobile merged in the UK to form the biggest mobile phone operator has been finalised.

Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have now signed the final agreement to combine their respective UK operations into a 50:50 joint venture company.

The companies say that completion is conditional on relevant authorities approval and is expected in the first half of 2010.

Timotheus Hottges, the CFO of Deutsche Telekom says the joint venture "will set new standards as the number one in the UK mobile market".

Tags: Phones Mobile phone industry Orange T-Mobile Mergers Acquisitions Deutsche Telekom France Telecom

T-Mobile and Orange 50:50 joint venture finalised originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:28:24 +0000

The mysterious, unnamed Asian company that saved Polymer Vision from closing completely after in went bankrupt earlier this year has been named as Taiwanese ODM Wistron.

Polymer Vision was closed down by its Dutch parent company for financial reasons, back in July.

The company's consumer offering that never made it to market was the Readius, a fully-functioning 3G mobile phone with a 13cm fold-out black and white E-Ink-type display for reading documents, newspapers, books, etc.

DigiTimes now reveals that Wistron's board of directors has officially approved the company's 12 million euro acquisition of Polymer Vision.

The Polymer Vision team have stated they will "continue to focus on research and development of rollable display with the goal of taking the technology to mass production", but it's unclear whether the Readius itself will survive.

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Tags: Phones Wistron Polymer Vision Acquisitions Biz eBook readers

Wistron named as Polymer Vision purchaser originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:34:26 +0000

Nokia has announced that it has acquired Dopplr, a privately-held mobile service provider for international travelers.

Dopplr - described as a "social atlas" - has a team of just seven people with offices in London and Helsinki. Dopplr is "thrilled" at the news.

In a statement Nokia says: "The Dopplr team brings to Nokia's Services unit unique know-how in creating internet-based communities and showing their journeys, experiences and tastes collectively on the web".

The acquisition will not affect the current Dopplr service, available at Dopplr.com, or where it is available via other platforms such as Flickr and Twitter as well as Nokia rival Apple's iPhone as an app.

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Tags: Phones Nokia Dopplr Mobile phone apps iPhone apps Acquisitions Biz

Nokia buys "social atlas" Dopplr originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:50:31 +0100