Facebook buys Strobe;shore up smartphone offerings

Strobe develops technology which help developers create, distribute applications that work on devices like smartphones, tablet PCs

PTI | November 11, 2011



With an aim to expand its services on smartphones, social networking giant Facebook has acquired mobile application developer Strobe for an undisclosed amount.

Strobe develops technology which help developers create and distribute applications that work on devices like smartphones and tablet PCs.

The deal will help Facebook, which has over 800 million user globally, to further shore up its offerings on mobile devices.

"We are happy to announce that, as of this week, the Strobe team is joining Facebook," Strobe Founder and CEO Charles Jolley said in a blog post.

However, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Some reports suggested that the Strobe acquisition was a talent hire, as Facebook was mainly interested in the company's founder Charles Jolley.

He is also the creator of the SproutCore open source framework. Before founding Strobe, Charles was responsible for mobile application development at technology giant Apple Inc.

"Now we are joining the talented people at Facebook to help develop innovative mobile experiences for their users around the world," Jolley added.

For now, the Strobe service would continue to be available to existing users in its existing beta form and SproutCore would continue as an independent project.

The US-based Strobe website lists 15 employees including management, while Facebook has more than 3,000 employees.

Comments

 

Other News

The 7% growth problem: Why the next 7% will be harder

India has become accustomed to hearing the 7% growth number. It is now less a milestone than an expectation. Yet the paradox is becoming clearer: maintaining 7% growth may be considerably harder than achieving it once. India’s real GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025–26, following growth of 6.5% in FY202

The Constitution cannot be altered: Justice Abhay Oka

Justice Abhay Oka, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2025, has said that the Constitution of India cannot be altered. Explaining the landmark Kesavananda Bharati judgment (1973) on the basic structure of the Constitution, he said, “This is one judgment that has saved democracy in India.&rdq

How the flora and fauna evolved in the Indian subcontinent

Mammals of India  By A.J.T. Johnsingh and P.O. Nameer HarperCollins India in association with Bombay Natural History Society  

India`s renewable race is moving beyond megawatts

When Shell bought Sprng Energy in 2022, India`s renewable energy market appeared to offer precisely what global energy majors were seeking: scale, growth and a place in one of the world`s largest energy transitions. Four years later, Shell is selling the same business to Aditya Birla Group for an enterpris

Nepal Floods: India keeps close watch on the situation

India`s central government has been keeping a close watch on the situation arising out of the flash flood in Nepal on Wednesday. Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the two states that share the border with Nepal, regarding the disaster

UPI completes 10 years of digital payments revolution

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India. UPI has emerged as the backbone of India’s digi

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter