Lycos Internet to acquire TriTelA Gmbh

Digital Marketing Firm Lycos Internet Ltd will acquire 100% stake in Austria based mobile solutions provider TriTelA Gmbh in an all-stock transaction giving it access to cloud based technology that can help broaden its consumer services.

The deal will give Lycos access to TriTelA ‘mysms’ messenger that synchronizes test messages (SMS) and instant messages across different devices (mobile phones, tablets and desktops) through a cloud based account MySMS, available on Android Play and Apple store, has 3 million users worldwide and synchronizes 100 Million messages a day.

MySMS cloud based framework can tie multiple nodes such as SMS, instant messaging, wearable technology, connected ear and smart appliances with the consumer through multiple devices, smartphones, tablets, laptops and over-the-top (OTT) content. Lycos owns community and social sites in 120 languages in 177 countries including search engine Lycos.com. Last year, it launched two fitness bands under its newly launched Internet of Things based division called Lycos Life.

In the instant messenger space, it competes with the likes of Whatsapp, WeChat, Line, KakaoTalk, and Facebook Messenger that have millions of users. Lycos will also get to own two other assets of TriTelA as a result of this acquisition. SPH Wien is a content management and analytics platform for Video. Kika Social is a unified platform for social media listening, engagement and measurement. 

Fitbit enters Indian Market

Fitbit has formally entered the Indian Market by launching its complete range of fitness bands both online and offline and is aiming to become the No. 1 player in local market in the near future. The company expects India to be among its top 5 markets in next couple of years. The Indian market is currently led by Chinese company Xiaomi with its Mi Band.

Founded by James Park and Eric Friedman in 2007, San Francisco based Fitbit claims to lead the US Fitness tracker market with an 85 percent share as of March 2015, up from 67 percent a year earlier. Its revenue more than tripled from a year earlier in the quarter through March 2015. Fitbit product can be synchronized with more than 200 smartphones running on iOS, Android and Windows operating systems, as well as Apple Mac OS.

In India, the market of wearable is embryonic, selling a handful of products like smart watches and fitness brands launched by handset makers such as Samsung, Sony, Motorola, and Alcatel One touch. The fitness band segment has lately seen some action with players like Xiaomi, Micromax, Goqii making their products available at competitive price points. Fitbit too soft launched its bands in June, offering them on Amazon India.

The company will now offer its products through partnerships with Reliance Digital, Croma and Helios, which sell Fitbit seven products. There are several cheaper products available in Indian Market from rival companies. Sales of wearable devices such as smart watches and fitness bands in India totaled one lakh units in 2014 and are expected to grow to a million in 2015. Indian market reached three lakh units by the end of the second quarter of 2015.