News Byte
Mike Isaac in Mobile on May 23 at 12:01 am PT
OtterBox, one of biggest names in protective products and cases for mobile devices, announced Wednesday it acquired LifeProof, a rival growing company with a “comprehensive product offering” and “impressive intellectual property,” OtterBox said in a release. LifeProof’s 250 employees will remain in San Diego, where the company is currently headquartered. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Jason Del Rey in Commerce on May 22 at 3:23 pm PT
Executive turnover continues at the high-profile online payments company.
Ina Fried in Dive Into Mobile on May 22 at 3:15 pm PT
Try texting, not email. That’s just one of many things the “chief old person” at DoSomething.org has learned about how to reach the next generation.
Arik Hesseldahl in News on May 22 at 1:49 pm PT
“We are fixing a lot of the problems that are keeping HP from being great.”
News Byte
Eric Johnson in News on May 22 at 1:46 pm PT
The Happy Cloud, one of a slew of “cloud gaming” startups trying to bring videogames to new and different platforms, announced Wednesday it had raised a $4.25 million Series A round of venture capital. The round was led by Avalon Ventures and joined by Jesselson Capital and Shaman Ventures.
The Happy Cloud has been in stealth mode since it launched in 2011, but claims that users who download games through its partnerships with publishers can start playing them almost instantly while the full game download finishes in the background. The company also announced the appointment of a new CEO, Tamir Buchler.
News Byte
John Paczkowski in News on May 22 at 1:05 pm PT
Veteran tech analyst
Michael Gartenberg is jumping the fence to work for a company he has spent decades covering during stints at Gartner, Altimeter and Jupiter Research.
Forbes reports, and
AllThingsD has independently confirmed, that Gartenberg has recently taken a job at Apple. Details on his role at the company are slim, though sources say he’ll be working for Apple’s marketing group, a division overseen by SVP Phil Schiller.
Mike Isaac in Social on May 22 at 12:35 pm PT
A new form of identity verification could help deter account hackers.
News Byte
Liz Gannes in News on May 22 at 12:12 pm PT
Google has acquired Makani Power, which makes wind turbines that fly like kites, for its Google X unit,
Bloomberg Businessweek reported and Makani
confirmed. Google had previously
invested directly in the company, which said it “completed the first ever autonomous all-modes flight with our Wing 7 prototype last week.”
Voices
Deborah Gage, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on May 22 at 12:07 pm PT
Microsoft has been quietly operating a group inside its Redmond, Wash., headquarters called Yammer North in an effort to integrate Yammer into its vast software business, Venture Capital Dispatch has learned.
Ina Fried in Mobile on May 22 at 11:26 am PT
Lopez serves as creative chief and majority owner of Viva Movil, which will offer its own stores but carry standard phones.
Voices
Lilly Vitorovich, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in Media on May 22 at 10:53 am PT
Pearson PLC’s book publishing business, Penguin Group, has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a dispute in the U.S. over the way it priced electronic books, drawing to a close an investigation into the publishing industry’s e-book pricing tactics.
John Paczkowski in News on May 22 at 10:32 am PT
Samsung becomes the third-largest shareholder in a South Korean smartphone rival.
