Snaptu
Encyclopedia
Snaptu is a free mobile application platform that runs on virtually every type of Internet-enabled mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

. It allows the user to access popular services, varying from social networks like Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

, Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

, Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...

 and Picasa
Picasa
Picasa is an image organizer and image viewer for organizing and editing digital photos, plus an integrated photo-sharing website, originally created by Idealab in 2002 and owned by Google since 2004. "Picasa" is a blend of the name of Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, the phrase mi casa for "my...

 to entertainment news, blogs, sports and local guides.

Overview

Snaptu’s focus is its ability to connect users with even a rudimentary phone to the mobile web. The product’s cross-platform capabilities stem from its methodology, in which the applications do not run on the mobile phone itself, but on Internet servers.

Snaptu is a collection of apps including Twitter, LinkedIn, Picasa, Flickr and others, available from its own app store.. Snaptu bundles more than 30 free applications and more than 25 web links as of September 23, 2010.

As of January 2011, the Snaptu application has over 78 million users worldwide.

Acquisition by Facebook

Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 and Snaptu had been working on a Facebook application and had released it on 19 January, 2011. According to the company blog it works on 80% of mobile phones available in the market.

A press release in March 2011 at the company blog confirmed that the company has agreed to be acquired by Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

. Company stated in its blog that the reason for being acquired by Facebook was that "it offered the best opportunity to keep accelerating the pace of our product development." It also stated that the acquisition will end in few weeks and in the transition period Snaptu will continue to operate normally. According to Israeli publication Globes, the deal is worth US$60–US$70 million.
At the end of October Snaptu announced to all its users that on the 11th of November 2011 they would end most of their apps. This includes the discontinuation of their Twitter, Cricinfo and LinkedIn apps. Instead of continuing development on these applications, the focus would turn to their standalone Facebook app.

External links

  • Snaptu - http://www.snaptu.com
  • Lifehacker - http://lifehacker.com/5345234/snaptu-packs-dozens-of-social-and-information-apps-into-a-phone+friendly-platform
  • CNET UK - http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49300577,00.htm
  • Walla! Tech - http://tech.walla.co.il/?w=/4008/1543707
  • TheMarker - http://www.themarker.com/tmc/article.jhtml?ElementId=az20090125_864523
  • GigaOm - http://gigaom.com/2008/09/09/moblica-no-more-eating-soup-with-a-fork/
  • Complete list of applications bunched together in SnapTu - http://blog.quiqinq.com/2010/09/complete-list-of-applications-bunched.html
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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