By You’ve probably seen a Plusmo Android Application when browsing the Android Market at sometime or another. The company has a long list of sports applications and widgets that provide you instant access to your favorite teams and leagues. Let me refresh your memory:
I used to have Pro Football Live! as a homescreen application but now all I can get it to do is close so I’ve moved onto Google Scoreboard. I was hoping that the NFL Live! application on the Sprint HTC Hero would kick butt and I’ll tell you about that in the full review posted tomorrow. In any case, Plusmo has a portfolio of apps not only on Android but also across iPhone, BlackBerry, Symbian and others.
And now AT&T has purchased them. Here is one quote from the full press release:
The Plusmo platform dramatically reduces development time and costs by enabling developers to create widgets and applications using common web development standards that enable easy deployment across multiple mobile operating systems and devices. Plusmo has formed successful relationships with leading carriers, handset manufacturers and well known publishers. It has also developed a number of popular sports widgets that average more than 100 million monthly mobile page views.
“Plusmo’s technology will help us build upon the success and momentum we’re experiencing in mobile local search, which continues to see strong growth,” said David Krantz, president and CEO, AT&T Interactive. “The addition of Plusmo adds a new dimension to our technology prowess through its multi-platform approach. It highlights our commitment to invest in mobile application innovation and search leadership.”
I bring this up for a couple of reasons found in the below questions:
- What will the fate of the Plusmo Android applications become, especially considering AT&T doesn’t even HAVE an Android Phone?
- Will Plusmo’s assets and team be used to build applications unrelated to their current specialty which, from an Android perspective, seemed to be sports?
- Will AT&T use carrier filtering to ONLY allow Plusmo apps to be found on devices using their service?
Questions we’ll find out in time but until then, AT&T will you please tell your new employees to fix the force close on Pro Football LIVE?
[Via MobileRoar]
sucks for the ppl still using those apps…as for me i think sports tap is a better app
though it may suck for many people, it also gives hope to the many others (including me) that are waiting for an android phone to show up on the AT&T network. It finally might be happening.
That gives me as an app developer some hope:). Anyone wanna buy fartdroid :)
I’ve been waiting for this. I think it marks the beginning of what could turn out to be a major trend: cell phone carriers (that’s ‘mobile operators’, to you Europeans) buying or building in-house dev teams, with the goal of producing ‘exclusive’ apps. Or maybe apps with exclusive features.
Think of it – what a great way to differentiate your programs and your phones? And this is especially valuable for marketing in Europe & Asia, where the ‘mobile lifestyle’ conceit (phone as personality extension, style indicator and/or fashion accessory) is presumed to be the #1 issue for customers.
Of course, I suspect any such exclusivity would likely be only temporary; their own customers get the apps first, with multi-platform rollout following a few weeks or months, later. But either way, Latest!/Greatest!/Exclusive! makes for a great selling-point…at least, I’d bet the suits see it that way.
My understanding is these are simple widgets (easy enough to write using android API) consuming webservices (An open standard) to show you information.
Any android developer worth his salt could write this in an evening…
Why worry.
@stormrider81 – seconded. Sports Tap is handsdown the best sports app on Android. Better than Google’s own resource and bandwidth hog.
Sports Tap does it right.
Hey makes developing novel and useful apps even more exciting! There are no free lunches just peanutbutter and jelly on white and mozarella tomato fresh basil basalmic/olive oil on Foccacia bread. If its really useful and runs well it is worth paying for..even if you have an annoying add to get past. I hope we have a lot of exclusive apps as long as they don’t come with a monthly fee. AT&T can’t wait to tag you an addition 5 to 10 bucks a month for apps. I was paying for Family Map until Google offered us Latitude which is faster, cooler and…free! Sort of like location facebook!
Still the Beer App made some loser college kid a millionaire at a 4.99 a download!! Go figure!