Credit where it's due: eBay recognized that the online auction train wouldn't keep chugging along at a breakneck rate, so it's snapping up complementary companies in order to better bolster its portfolio. A few years, PayPal; today, Decide. The three-year old company was engineered to give overwhelmed consumers a way to more easily see what products were worthwhile and which weren't -- from there, it helped to find the best deal, completing the process. (In the effort of full disclosure, gdgt -- now under the same umbrella as Engadget -- competed with Decide and was acquired in February of this year.)
eBay's evidently hoping that Decide's predictive analytics will "help over 25 million eBay sellers make smarter decisions and be more successful," while the Decide team will be headed to eBay's Seattle offices. As these things tend to go, Decide's services, website and mobile apps will no longer be available after September 30th, which is pretty awful news for those of you who dug it. For those curious, paying members will be reimbursed for their subscriptions, but you're on your own for any tissues required to sop up the tears.
Filed under: Internet
Via: GeekWire
Source: Decide (1), (2)
Remember that time Apple launched a new iteration of iOS with a godawful mapping app? Shortly after that, it also recommended that users in major metropolitan areas lean on third-party apps for mass transit navigation, given that iOS Maps had no such functionality. As it turns out, Embark was one of those app makers, and it has very much enjoyed the influx of attention that has arrived thanks to Apple's gaffe. Now, however, the small team will likely not be toiling on future Android apps, as Jessica Lessin is reporting that Embark has been acquired by Apple itself. It's unclear how much money changed hands, but one could surmise that Apple will be using Embark's technology to bolster its own mass transit routing -- an area where Google currently rules the roost. Will proper integration happen prior to iOS 7's release this autumn? It's doubtful, but we've sure seen crazier things happen.
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: Jessica Lessin
