Studio Ghibli made some of the most memorably anime movies in history - and their streaming rights have just been acquired by HBO Max. This is different from the regular old HBO, and does not necessarily mean that people with subscriptions to HBO Now or access to HBO GO will have access to the full Studio Ghibli collection of media. Let's take a peek at what they've made public so far.
The marriage of T-Mobile and Sprint has been years in the making and, depending on who you ask, it's either happening soon or not at all. The merger of the two carriers has been swaying this way and that but the latest rumors suggest that there is just one hurdle left and it's a big one: convincing the US Department of Justice. Fortunately for the carriers, help seems to be on the way but from the most unlikely of sources: Amazon.
Apple has reportedly acquired Tueo Health, a startup that was developing an asthma monitoring system intended for use with sleeping children. The alleged business move may have happened in late 2018, at least based on a new report citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the matter. The acquisition may hint at a future addition to Apple's own health efforts.
As a game developer and publisher itself, it's really not unusual for Epic Games to acquire smaller companies. It does become a bit curious, however, when it buys up a developer well-known for a hit title, like Psyonix, who made the unexpected wonder that is Rocket League. Things definitely take an even more interesting turn, however, when set in the frame of the buyer's bigger strategy, which includes making certain titles exclusively available on its own Epic Games Store.
Twitter has acquired Highly, a service that enables users to easily share quotes from articles on social media. In light of the acquisition, Highly plans to shut down its Slack and iOS apps later this month, though existing highlights from users will remain live. Highly was founded in 2014 and has proven fairly popular in the years it has operated.
Switzerland-based smart home company NEEO has been acquired by Control4 as part of its plan to offer next-gen interactive smart home tech, the company has announced. Control4 plans to use NEEO's expertise for its latest touch panels, remote controls, keypads, and similar devices. The acquisition follows the launch of NEEO's smart home remote control four years ago.
In the last several years, AT&T has made two huge acquisitions: DirecTV in 2015, and Time Warner in 2018. With these mergers — which were clearly anti-consumer — AT&T thought it turn itself from a telecom giant into a cable TV giant, with a near monopoly on the US's media industry. But instead of just buying itself an undeniable advantage, the company has given customers more reason to leave by attempting to cover its immense debt with price increases.
Usable features in a smartphone component are important - and nowhere more universally important to consumers than in the device's camera. The camera hardware and software must work together to bring the magic - at all points, in all conditions. As such, Samsung's acquired the company called Corephotonics, a company that suggests it's able to create in-focus and sharp photos no matter the amount of zoom.
Viacom has just announced plans to acquire cable-cutters' best free, live television option: Pluto TV. The service has proven popular among users seeking television content without the price tag accompanying cable and other streaming TV services. At this point in time, the service boasts more than 12 million active users every month and more than 100 channels.
This morning Adobe acquired Allegorithmic, the makers of the application family called Substance. With this buy, Adobe just became a big name in 3D textures and material creation in both video game and major motion picture video post-production. This is in essence the most major power move of the year (so far) with respect to gaming from the tools end of the industry.
With the holiday season now in full-swing, it looks like Logitech has been doing a little shopping of its own. In what's likely a bid to diversify its products, Logitech, widely known for making computer accessories like keyboards and mice, is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to acquire Plantronics, a manufacturer of Bluetooth earpieces and headsets.
IBM is the granddaddy in computing. Some might even call it the last surviving dinosaur. It has more or less survived lately on the server business but the rise of the cloud and cloud providers has seen its name overshadowed and almost forgotten. Now it’s adopting a strategy that may make it more enticing for those who want to move to the cloud without being locked in. The company has just announced a bid to acquire a fellow granddaddy, this time in the Linux space: Red Hat.