Samsung acquires mSpot to gives its phones a cloud media boost
How do you make your smartphones stand out in 2012? Well, you could try constantly cramming the latest hardware into your handsets, but everyone else is doing that, too. You can’t rely on the operating system to set your phones apart, either, unless you’re Apple or RIM and no one else can use the OS.
It’s all down to software, then, and that’s one of the contributing factors behind Samsung’s decision to purchase mSpot. Launched back in 2005, mSpot was an early player in the cloud media game. They brought their apps to smartphones back in 2009, though it’s been a struggle to compete with competitors like Spotify, Rdio, and MOG. Who wants to go through the hassle of uploading their private music library and still have to pay a monthly fee to stream when you can skip the uploads and get instant access to millions of tracks you don’t own, too?
Struggles or no, Samsung will benefit from bringing mSpot’s apps and programming talent into the fold. They’ll provide an instant boost for the new S Cloud platform and help Samsung deliver a more cohesive media experience across all their connected devices. As an added bonus, mSpot also had deals in place with Disney, Lion’s Gate, Sony, Warner, NBC/Universal, Paramount, and other major studios to stream movies and TV shows to mobile devices.
Even though Samsung is in the somewhat unique position of having their own chips to power their smartphones, it’s the on-phone experience that really wins users over. It was clear at the Galaxy S3 reveal — with those new social photo sharing features, file beaming, and rich voice command support — that powerful, compelling software is now the cornerstone of Samsung’s smartphone experience.
(Source: geek.com)
