A French startup behind email applications for
Apple gadgets has been bought by Google as the Internet titan
increasingly tailors hit software to run on its rival's hardware.
Sparrow co-founder and chief executive
Dominique Leca announced on Friday that the Paris-based startup's team
will go to work on Gmail, Google's free Web-based email service.
"We're joining the Gmail team to accomplish a
bigger vision," Leca said. "While we'll be working on new things at
Google, we will continue to make Sparrow available and provide support
for our users."
A Sparrow email application for iPhones
became available for purchase in Apple's online App Store in March, and a
version of the software for Macintosh computers has been available
since early last year.
"The Sparrow team has always put their users
first by focusing on building a seamlessly simple and intuitive
interface for their email client," a Google spokesperson said.
"We look forward to bringing them aboard the Gmail team, where they'll be working on new projects."
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition came as Google ramped up
software offerings that compete with custom programs that Apple builds
into its iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices.
Google last month took the Web browser battle
to iPads and iPhones with the release of Chrome software for popular
Apple devices built with Safari online surfing programs at heart.
Safari remains the default browser used in
Apple gadgets and the "engine" that Chrome or other Web-surfing
applications rely on to function.
© 2012 AFP
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© 2012 AFP
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