Apple reportedly acquires video discovery service Matcha.tv

Apple reportedly acquires video discovery service Matchatv

It's time to add another entry on our "Apple television rumors" timeline, as reports tonight indicate the company has acquired the team behind the second screen web / iPad app Matcha.tv. VentureBeat initially posted news of the acquisition at a price of between $1 and $1.5 million, which would appear to explain the aggregator's sudden disappearance back in May. If you weren't familiar with it before now, Matcha.tv was one of a number of efforts seeking to enable content discovery from mobile devices. By the time it closed its doors, it included TV listings of what's on cable / satellite, queues for online streaming from services like Netflix and Hulu, personalized recommendations and social network tie-ins. CEO Guy Piekarz told TechCrunch in May that the company has a "plan to provide something better in the future." We'll wait and see if speculation leans towards an IR blaster tie-in for the iPhone similar to the Galaxy S 4 and HTC One, controls for an integrated living room TV experience or something else entirely.

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Source: VentureBeat, AllThingsD, Matcha.tv

Dropbox continues media buying spree with photo aggregator Snapjoy

Dropbox continues media acquisition binge with photo aggregator Snapjoy

Dropbox is further framing up its media ambitions with the acquisition of photo service Snapjoy, coming hot on the heels of its Audiogalaxy purchase and photo-centric Dropbox 2.0 iOS launch. Snapjoy lets you archive and view all your photos from one place, whether they're stocked on your camera, smartphone, PC or sites like Flickr and Instagram. The terms of the purchase weren't disclosed, but the two companies know each other well, having each scored seed money, advice and connections from the co-called Y Combinator venture capital program. In a blog post, Snapjoy said it's stopped accepting any new signups as part of the deal, though it assured current users that they "can continue to use Snapjoy to share and enjoy photos just as you do now." It added that the sale will bring its service to more than 100 million Dropbox users at some point, and it looks to give its new owner options in the photo space. That might see Dropbox butting heads with the likes of Flickr, Picasa and new partner Facebook -- who recently launched its own Photo Sync service.

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Via: Techcrunch

Source: Snapjoy Blog

Verizon’s Viewdini for Android hunts streaming video on Comcast Xfinity, Hulu and Netflix, strains our 4G

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Verizon is clearly looking to make itself the front door for Internet video this year. Bolstering its tie-ins with Color and Redbox, it's now kicking off Viewdini, a carrier-specific Android app that will help you find video across multiple services: along with Internet-only providers like Hulu Plus, mSpot and Netflix, it will sift through the online component of Comcast's Xfinity brand, taking a little bit more advantage of that cross-sales deal coming out of the proposed spectrum handover. Even Verizon's own FiOS video will be late to its own party, coming "soon." Viewdini will only be available for 4G LTE-equipped Android phones and tablets later this month, with "other operating systems" and services due in the future -- given the currently very short list of non-Android 4G devices, we have a few ideas as to where the app might go next. Either way, get ready to collide with bandwidth caps faster than usual if you love what Verizon plans to offer.

[Image credit: AllThingsD]

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Verizon's Viewdini for Android hunts streaming video on Comcast Xfinity, Hulu and Netflix, strains our 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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