Aeria Hires Android Team

SEPT. 20, 2011 • Within a week after DeNA Co., Ltd. acquired mobile developer Punch Ent. Co. Ltd. in Vietnam, Aeria Games swooped in and hired Punch’s Android development team. The latter will join Aeria’s mobile development studio. Aeria also acquired a yet-to-be-.....

Google Acquires Motorola

AUG. 15, 2011 • Google Inc. will pay nearly $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. Although Google has marketed its own Android phones with hardware sourced from partner electronics manufacturers, the acquisition of Motorola puts the company in direct competition with smartphone makers who use the Android OS. No change is expected in Google’s policy of giving rights to use Android to these hardware manufacturers for free in order to buil.....

HTC Invests in Beats Electronics

AUG. 11, 2011 • The Taiwan-based smartphone maker HTC Corp is buying a 51% controlling share in U.S. specialty headphone designer Beats Electronics for $309 million. Beats markets enhanced headphones that reproduce a fuller spectrum of audio, and was launched by music producer Jimmy Iovine, and rap artist Dr. Dre. The move is seen as a way to enhance HTC’s products against competition from Apple and Samsung. .....

ONOFF Stores Acquired

JULY 20, 2011 • Thirty of the 67 locations of bankrupt Swedish electronics retailer ONOFF are being acquired by the Norwegian competitor Expert International GmbH. The latter has a 9% market share currently, which will then increase to 12%-13% following the acquisition. Impact: ONOFF has been around since 1982 but the Swedish home electronics market has been brutal in recent years. Stiff comp.....

Owlient Goes to Ubisoft

JULY 12, 2011 • Another major publisher bent on acquiring free-to-play studio expertise is Ubisoft. The company acquired  Paris-based studio Owlient, which has been has been creating F2P content for six years, and has amassed over 25 million user registrations in that period. Owli.....