Facebook acquires Spool team and shuts down legacy apps

Facebook has acquired the team behind Spool, a company that offers free iOS and Android apps that allow users to bookmark web content and view it later offline. This is just the latest in Facebook's line of mobile and social acquisitions as it attempts to cash in on the increasing number of Facebook users who are accessing the site through smartphones and tablets. The price Facebook paid for the Spool team was not disclosed during the announcement of the acquisition.

It's still unclear what the Spool team will be doing at Facebook, as the social giant only purchased the team and not the company or its assets. Spool announced over the weekend that its apps for Android and iOS will soon shut down, and since Facebook is leaving the company itself behind, it doesn't sound like the apps will come to life again anytime soon. Still, the Spool team should be doing something similar while working for the world's largest social network, with Facebook telling the Wall Street Journal that this acquisition will give the team a chance to "accelerate their vision."

With the Spool apps going dark soon, it seems highly likely that Facebook wants the Spool team to bring their ideas (or something similar) to its own mobile apps for iOS and Android. If that ends up being the case, we'll likely see the Facebook apps become easier to use pretty quickly. After all, making it easier to enjoy the web on a smartphone or tablet was Spool's mission statement, so we can't see Facebook wanting to put that to waste. Stay tuned.