Intel acquires appMobi for HTML5 developer tools

IDG News Service - Intel has acquired appMobi's HTML5 developer tools division and hired its tools-related technical staff, to likely boost its presence in the mobile apps developer market.

AppMobi in Lancaster, Penn., will now focus on its other business of delivering cloud services for mobile apps, it said on Thursday.

The company will position itself as a "pure play" cloud services company that is focused on delivering mobile app engagement and monetization services across native iOS, Android, Windows 8, and HTML5 on desktop and mobile.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Intel could not be immediately reached for comment.

Existing users of the development tools will be migrated to Intel's systems following a one-time re-registration with Intel, appMobi said. There are no usage or licensing fees for using the tools. Developers have to visit Intel's developer zone for HTML5 to access the appMobi tools which have been renamed, appMobi said. Users of cloud-based tools will be able to access their work files as well.

AppMobi claimed in October to have more than 130,000 active developers working on mobile and desktop apps using HTML5.

The company did not disclose how many of its staff would move to Intel, but said they would be based in Lancaster.

AppMobi's plans to continues to offer its cloud services, which are charged, to the developers. The post-deployment cloud services include user-authentication, in-app payments, rich-media push messaging, user analytics, and live app updates, it said on its website.