Samsung Electronics took a step into Apple’s backyard this week, buying Palo Alto-based mSpot to add a digital content hub with cloud storage to its mobile devices. Samsung says it will integrate mSpot’s movies and music into upcoming mobile devices, meaning that Samsung will no longer have to rely on third parties like Dropbox for cloud storage of songs and videos. Apple, of course, offers iTunes as a place for users to keep their content, and Amazon offers video streaming and storage on the Kindle Fire.
The companies did not disclose terms of the deal, but earlier this week a Korean news source reported that Samsung paid about $8.8 million for mSpot. Samsung did say that the acquisition includes all of mSpot’s assets, technology and human resources. The companies did not say whether or not mSpot would continue to support iOS and/or BlackBerry devices.
Although Samsung made news at CTIA this week with the launch of a new Windows Phone, most of its upcoming mobile devices will probably run Google’s Android operating system. Users of those devices will have a choice between mSpot and Google Play for streaming and storing entertainment. Samsung will of course have the power to make mSpot a prominent part of the user interface, but customers who are using other Android devices already may prefer to use Google Play so that all their devices can access their content.
The mSpot purchase could fit nicely with Samsung’s visual display business, particularly the Samsung Smart TV. The company says this year it is integrating its mobile devices with its Smart TV, so that smartphones and tablets can share content with the TV and can be used to control it.
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