Google Me is still just a rumour but the search giant continues to snap up firms that could help power it. It’s already grabbed social app firm Slide, social payments company Jambool and social address book creator Angstro this month. Now it’s completed its August shopping spree by snapping up mobile social app maker Social Deck. It looks like those Google Me plans are starting to take shape…
SocialDeck confirmed that Google has gobbled it up in a blog post last night. It didn’t disclose any details about the deal but Google has confirmed that it bought the firm for its mobile smarts. A spokesperson says: “We’re pleased to welcome them to Google…we think they’ll be great contributors with the Google Waterloo team as we continue to innovate in the mobile space.”
Google Waterloo in Canada is home to some of Google’s mobile search and advertising, Chrome and Chrome OS teams. With a Google Chrome web store in the works, SocialDeck could be very handy: it distributes gaming apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Facebook, flogs virtual goods and enables cross-platform play.
SocialDeck could fit into the Google Me plan as a way of making apps and games on the platform work with other devices. Its tech also includes clever ways of discovering relevant apps – a feature that’s badly needed by both the Android Market and the iTunes App Store.
Eric Schmidt seemed to tease us about Google Me back in July and a major Facebook update is rumoured to be on the cards to counteract the new service. But so far we haven’t had any solid news on the search giant’s social plans. ??Recent Google acquisitions like SocialDeck may offer some clues to its thinking but it doesn’t always make good use of the firms it swallows up – just look at Dodgeball, the forerunner to Foursquare.
Speculate with us! Hit the comments and let us know what you think Google is planning with Google Me or even if a new social network from the search giant is on the cards.
Out TBC | £TBC | Google (via Information Week)
