Motorola Buys 280 North To Expand Android Apps

Motorola has acquired 280 North to expand its ecosystem of Android apps. Founded by former Apple engineers, 280 North is the creator of Cappuccino, a framework for developers to create web applications. Motorola makes the Droid, the top-selling Android smartphone. An analyst said 280 North could help Motorola expand to other devices.
Motorola, maker of the top-selling Android-based smartphone, Droid, is investing in the Google Relevant Products/Services operating system's future by buying a company that will make it easier to develop Android applications. Schaumberg, Ill.-based Motorola is believed to have paid $20 million to buy 280 North.

The two-year-old venture has three founders. Francisco Tolmasky and Ross Boucherformer are former Apple engineers who worked on maps for the iPhone, on the mobile Relevant Products/Services version of Safari, and on the iTunes store. The third founder is Tom Robinson. The trio were students together at the University of Southern California.

Cappuccino Maker

The company is best known for creating Cappuccino, an open-source framework for developers to create applications for web browsers that look and operate like desktop applications. Cappuccino uses a programming language called Objective-J, which, according to 280 North, is "modeled after Objective-C and built entirely on top of JavaScript. Programs written in Objective-J are interpreted in the client, so no compilation or plug-ins are required."

The acquisition took place earlier this summer, a Motorola spokesperson told the tech blog that broke the story. The spokesperson said the deal "provides Motorola with specialized web-app engineering talent and technology Relevant Products/Services that will help facilitate the continued expansion of Motorola's application ecosystem." The spokesperson added that "280 North will be instrumental in helping us continue to foster the Android ecosystem with innovative web-based technologies and applications."

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