Logitech's new acquisition to enhance video technology communication

Logitech International announced the acquisition of the assets of Paradial AS, a Norway-based leading provider of firewall and NAT (network address translation) traversal solutions for video communication.

Paradial’s technology addresses one of the most significant barriers to the widespread adoption of Internet-based video communication: challenges encountered when calling across protected networks. Traversing any firewall while maintaining a high level of security, the Paradial technology enables seamless video calling between people inside the walls of an enterprise and those inside other enterprises, in remote offices or telecommuting. While Logitech is already offering Paradial technology to LifeSize customers through an OEM agreement, the acquisition allows the company to closely integrate firewall and NAT traversal across its video communication product portfolio, enabling reliable, high-quality end-to-end HD video calling over highly protected networks.

With the acquisition of Paradial, Logitech is taking another step toward delivering seamless HD video communication to anyone and anywhere.

For the more information, click here.

Wal-Mart agrees to buy video company, Vudu

According to a New York Times article on Monday, Wal-Mart has agreed to buy Vudu, a movie service Silicon Valley start-up.

Vudu competes directly with the video-on-demand services of the cable companies, but they Vudu has tried to stand out from competitors with its large selection of HD movies, user friendly interface and social media integration via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Pandora.

For the full article, click here.

Google buys Admob for $750 million

Google took one step closer to digital media domination by snapping up the mobile advertising Admobfirm for a cool $750 million.

Admob helps firms advertise on mobile web sites, as well as providing the technology for serving said adverts on mobiles. It also works with applications for in-applications advertising.

The deal represents a bit of a bargain for Google, but it is counting on the mobile advertising market to grow.

Last month, Google announced that its mobile searches increased 30 per cent quarter over quarter in the third quarter. In August Admob sent out its 100 billionth mobile ad.

The deal is Google's third largest acquisition behind its 2008 purchase of Doubleclick for $3.1 billion and its 2006 buyout of YouTube for $1.65 billion.

For the full article, click here.

Cisco Announces Agreement to Acquire Starent Networks

Cisco and Starent Networks announced a definitive agreement for Cisco to acquire Starent Networks. Starent Networks is a leading supplier of IP-based mobile infrastructure solutions targeting mobile and converged carriers. The Mobile Internet is at an inflection point as IP-enabled Smartphones and other connected mobile devices gain rapid acceptance. Service Providers have been actively investing in this market as global mobile data traffic is expected to more than double every year through 2013, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index.

Starent Networks' mobile infrastructure solutions play an important role in enabling Service Providers to scale their mobile infrastructure and monetize their investments via differentiated experiences. The company provides the multimedia intelligence, core network functions and services to manage access from any 2.5G, 3G, and 4G radio network to a mobile operator's packet core network. Starent Networks' access-independent technology is deployed in CDMA2000 (1X, EV-DO), UMTS/HSPA and WiMax networks.

Prior to the close, Cisco and Starent Networks will continue to operate as separate companies. Upon completion of the transaction, Starent Networks will become the new Mobile Internet Technology Group.

Ikanos Communications Completes Acquisition of Broadband Access Product Line From Conexant Systems, Inc.

Ikanos Communications, Inc., a leading provider of advanced broadband semiconductor and software products for the digital home, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Broadband Access product line from Conexant Systems, Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ikanos purchased Conexant's Broadband Access product line for approximately $54 million in cash, excluding transaction costs, and the assumption of certain employee and facility related liabilities. Simultaneously, Ikanos received an investment of $42 million, excluding transaction-related expenses, from Tallwood Venture Capital, a leading investment firm focused on the semiconductor industry.

For the full press release, click here or visit http://www.ikanos.com/.

Facebook acquires FriendFeed

Facebook, the popular social networking website, announced on Monday that it has acquired social aggregator FriendFeed with no financial terms publicized.

Launched in October 2007, FriendFeed was created by four former Google employees. There were responsible for creating gmail and google maps. And, now they will be joining Facebook in senior engineering and product roles.

Among other differences, FriendFeed’s news feed design is in real-time, where users have to manually refresh on Facebook.

FriendFeed cant wait to start on new innovations for Facebook's 250 million global users.

Consona Corporation Announces Close on Acquisition of SupportSoft Enterprise Software Assets

Consona Corporation, a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes, announced that it has closed on its acquisition of the enterprise software related assets of SupportSoft, Inc., a leading support automation software company in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $20 million.

As of the close, SupportSoft’s enterprise products are now offerings from Consona, specifically under the management of the Consona CRM division headed by General Manager Tom Millay. Consona remains committed to supporting, maintaining and enhancing each of the SupportSoft products as they are today for existing customers.

For the full press release, click here.