Looks like Motorola is ready to give their MOTOBLUR proprietary User Interface some enhancements. It’s just been announced that the company has acquired Zecter, which is known for their ZumoDrive and ZumoCast cloud-based media streaming and content-syncing technology. Motorola is hoping that the acquisition, and subsequent usage of the technology, will give MOTOBLUR a significant upgrade in its media credentials.
Currently, ZumoCast is avaialble on iOS-based devices, and isn’t available for Android-based handsets. However, Motorola plans on using the new technology to implement desktop integration, wireless sync, and video transcoding to better help MOTOBLUR-based devices (as well as other individual devices) sync and stream their installed media. If that sounds great to you, you’ll have to be patient to sign up for now. While those using ZumoCast right now can still use it, new sign-ups have been frozen for the time being.
Motorola is focusing on making MOTOBLUR better, so theres’ no reason to think that the customized User Interface for Android is going anywhere, any time soon. For those who don’t like the BLUR UI, hopefully these enhancements will go a long way to make that usage better.
[via SlashGear]
Press Release
Motorola Mobility Acquires Zecter
Acquisition to Enhance Motorola Mobility with Personal Cloud Server and Synch Technologies
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., Dec. 22, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Motorola Mobility, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), today announced that it has acquired Zecter, Inc., a leading start-up with synchronization and streaming technologies for on-demand digital media consumption. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Zecter’s solutions connect users to their content seamlessly and instantaneously, giving them simple, on-the-go access to music, video, photos and documents from their smartphones, tablets, PCs and web-portals. Zecter currently has two products commercially available: ZumoDrive, for cloud-based content sync, access and sharing; and ZumoCast, for personal media streaming to any device. Both products use innovative virtual file system technologies to make any personal content instantly available even if it is not stored locally.
Zecter will further enhance Motorola Mobility’s mobile content experience and MOTOBLUR service offering by enabling consumers to enjoy their digital content across their mobile devices, wherever they are. Motorola Mobility will integrate Zecter’s wireless syncing, desktop integration, video transcoding and thin-file retrieval technologies across its device and MOTOBLUR offerings to provide consumers with real-time access to their content.
“Consumers want seamless access to their content and media from wherever they are, while content providers want to ensure that content remains protected and secure,” said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services, Motorola Mobility. “We believe that Zecter enables that seamless experience with the necessary security measures, and we are delighted to be able to work with this team.”
Wyatt added, “Zecter’s robust team brings multi-platform expertise along with compelling solutions for continuous digital media access across multiple platforms. Zecter is an exciting addition to our MOTOBLUR service platform and we welcome their highly skilled personnel to the Motorola Mobility team.”
As part of the transition, the distribution of Zecter’s ZumoCast software will be suspended while enhancements are made. Existing ZumoCast users may continue to enjoy the service without interruption. Motorola Mobility will provide regular updates for ZumoCast users as well as exciting future plans for this service. The ZumoDrive solution will be unaffected.
