Six Apart Ltd., a company that specializes in blogging software and services, bolstered its position in the mobile blogging arena with the acquisition of SplashData Inc.’s SplashBlog mobile photo blogging application and service. Terms of the deal were not released. The SplashBlog service allows users to publish photos from a camera phone to a blog. The service supports several mobile platforms including Palm OS, Windows Mobile and Symbian, and is designed to work with all carrier networks, said the companies. Six Apart said its users already can send posts to their blogs using their cellular phones.
GPS chipset provider SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. said it acquired TrueSpan, a two-year-old company that is developing chips for mobile TV. The acquisition is part of SiRF’s plans to develop chips for a variety of wireless technologies. True-Span’s platform is based on OFDM technology. The company has development teams in Long Beach, Calif., and Bangalore, India. “We believe that the mobile video broadcast market fits that criteria and is very synergistic with our target markets for GPS,”said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. “The sophisticated OFDM technology developed by TrueSpan not only addresses the needs of the emerging mobile digital television market, but also has the potential to become a major anchor for our overall multifunction strategy.” SiRF did not release details on the purchase price for the company, but it did say the transaction included cash and stock considerations. As part of the acquisition, Sanjai Kohli, founder and chief technology officer of True-Span, will become CTO for SiRF. Kohli also was a co-founder of SiRF. Earlier this year, SiRF acquired Impulsesoft, a Bluetooth stereo solutions and embedded software company.
