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As Google outlines a smartphone strategy that puts the search giant in direct competition with Apple, the iPhone maker has struck a deal that may tread on Google’s turf. Apple has acquired Quattro Wireless, according to a blog posting on Quattro’s web site Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\nThe Wall Street Journal’s D:All Things Digital blog valued the acquisition at $275 million. The move positions Apple as another hurdle in Google’s moves to become the dominant player in mobile advertising.<\/p>\n
\nQuattro Wireless is a global mobile-advertising company with a proprietary technology called Q Elevation. Built by a team of mobile and behavioral experts, the technology works to optimize every impression. This ad-serving, tracking and analytics platform has attracted a Fortune 500 client list that includes Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, Viacom, BP and Disney.<\/p>\n
Apple’s Motive<\/p>\n
\nIndeed, Quattro shows plenty of promise, raising nearly $30 million in venture capital from Highland Capital Partners and Globespace Capital Partners. The company’s CEO, Andrew Miller, was named the Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year 2009 in the emerging-company category in New England. In Tuesday’s blog posting, Miller identified himself as a vice president of mobile advertising for Apple.<\/p>\n
\nMiller reported that 2009 was a breakout year for the mobile-ad space and for Quattro. The company surpassed the four billion-impressions-per-month mark and revenue grew more than three times from 2008 as the publisher base swelled to thousands of mobile web sites and applications.<\/p>\n
\n“With the forthcoming tablet and the iPhone becoming a larger part of Apple’s business and the growing app ecosystem, the company may feel it needs to have some advertising apparatus to help support its developer network,” said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. “Apple may want to provide a monetization option for developers who provide apps for the iPhone or the tablet.”<\/p>\n
Will Apple Compete with Google?<\/p>\n
\nApple’s acquisition comes about… <\/p>\n
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