Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cloud

    Google Acquires Bitspin, Maker of the Timely Alarm Clock App

    By
    Todd R. Weiss
    -
    January 6, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Google has acquired Bitspin, the Swiss maker of the free Timely alarm clock app for Android, according to a post by Bitspin on the company’s Website.

      “Good news. Bitspin is joining Google,” the post reports. “We’re thrilled to announce that Bitspin is joining Google, where we’ll continue to do what we love: building great products that are delightful to use. For new and existing users, Timely will continue to work as it always has. Thanks to everyone who has downloaded our app and provided feedback along the way; we truly appreciate all your support.” Bitspin did not announce the price of the acquisition.

      Timely, which is available for free on Google Play, allows users to customize many features that they want to use in the alarm clock app, according to the company. One of the most useful features of Timely is that it uses the cloud to back up and synchronize a user’s alarms with multiple devices. The app also features what Bitspin calls “hand-crafted, high quality sounds” and a Smart Rise feature to make waking up by the alarm sounds a pleasant experience. Users can choose the colors of the app as well as its appearance and more, including Google Now integration, recurring alarms, screen animations and adaptive snooze features.

      “The Bitspin team has shown they can build great, user-friendly applications and we’re excited to welcome them to Google,” a Google spokesperson told eWEEK, but said beyond that the company isn’t disclosing any terms of the deal or other details.

      The Bitspin deal is just the latest in a progression of acquisitions made by Google in the last year.

      In September 2013, Google bought Bump, which created the Bump app that lets users move files from smartphones to computers and vice versa by “bumping” the spacebar with the device to make the transfer. The company was acquired for a reported $40 million.

      On Dec. 31, 2013, however, just four months after the Bump acquisition, Bump’s CEO David Lieb announced that Google is discontinuing Bump on Jan. 31. “Back in September, we announced that the Bump team was joining Google to continue our work of helping people share and interact with one another using mobile devices,” wrote Lieb. “We are now deeply focused on our new projects within Google, and we’ve decided to discontinue Bump and Flock [a photo-sharing app]. On January 31, 2014, Bump and Flock will be removed from the App Store and Google Play. After this date, neither app will work, and all user data will be deleted.”

      The Bump app allows users to move files from smartphones to computers and vice versa by “bumping” the spacebar with the device to make the transfer, or by bumping their smartphones together. Flock is an app that lets users easily share photos with friends on their devices.

      Bump users will have until Jan. 31 to save and download all of their data that they have in the app, according to the company.

      In June, Google made another intriguing mobile app acquisition when it bought Waze, a crowd-based traffic and navigation app for mobile devices. The transaction was rumored in various reports on June 10, but Google unveiled the finished deal on June 11. Waze collects and communicates user-generated reports on traffic and navigation information to help drivers ease their commuting stresses. Google paid about $1.3 billion to acquire the Israel-based Waze to add to Google’s growing portfolio of popular and revenue-enhancing mapping tools.

      Google’s discussions with Waze began after previous talks between Waze and Facebook failed to reach a similar agreement. Those discussions came after yet another rumored deal arose in late 2012 when Apple purportedly was about to purchase Waze. At the time, the rumors called for Apple to acquire Waze to bolster its own mapping services, which had suffered after Apple tried to build a Google Maps replacement for its iOS 6 operating system in September 2012.

      Todd R. Weiss
      As a technology journalist covering enterprise IT for more than 15 years, I joined eWEEK.com in September 2014 as the site's senior writer covering all things mobile. I write about smartphones, tablets, laptops, assorted mobile gadgets and services,mobile carriers and much more. I formerly was a staff writer for Computerworld.com from 2000 to 2008 and previously wrote for daily newspapers in eastern Pennsylvania. I'm an avid traveler, motorcyclist, technology lover, cook, reader, tinkerer and mechanic. I drove a yellow taxicab in college and collect toy taxis and taxi business cards from around the world.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Careers

      SThree’s Sunny Ackerman on Tech Hiring Trends

      James Maguire - June 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Sunny Ackerman, President/Americas for tech recruiter SThree, about the tight labor market in the tech sector, and much needed efforts to...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×