AT&T Purchases Plusmo (Oh Noes!)
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]