HTC Corp (宏達電), the world’s No. 5 mobile phone maker, yesterday announced it was buying a US software company for US$13 million in an effort to boost the strength of its software offerings.
The acquisition of Inquisitive Minds Inc, which creates applications for children on mobile devices such as tablets, is the fourth deal HTC has clinched since the beginning of this year, as the company attempts to improve its product lineup.
It came two months ago after the firm unveiled a US$309 million deal to purchase a 51 percent stake in US headphones brand Beats Electronics LLC.
The Mountain View, California-based Inquisitive Minds owns Zoodles, which created a platform dubbed Kid Mode that creates a children’s version of the operating system on PCs and mobile devices.
“It’s important that they [children] are protected while exploring and learning. We want to create a wholesome, family-oriented environment for our HTC devices, which makes Zoodles a perfect fit,” HTC chief executive officer Peter Chou (周永明) said in a statement.
Zoodles is to work together with HTC to create vertically-integrated software, content, services and hardware experiences to be delivered only on HTC smartphones and tablet devices running on the Android or Windows operating systems.
So far, Zoodles, which was established in 2008, has 2 million users worldwide. The company said it transforms devices into a mode that allows kids aged eight and below to safely play educational games and videos that are tailored to their age, skill levels and the desired parental controls.
The transaction would be conducted through HTC’s subsidiaries High Tech Computer Asia Pacific PTE Ltd and HTC America Holding Inc, the firm said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
As of June 30, HTC had accumulated NT$116.44 billion (US$3.86 billion) in cash and cash-equivalent assets, up 47.6 percent compared with the previous year, according to the company’s financial statement.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS