Tiger Telematics has acquired UK-based Integra SP, the company best known for its AltioLive technology. The parties expect closing to occur in the next month once formal approval is received from Integra SP’s shareholders.
The sale was finalised on 29 October 2004, the day that Tiger Telematics subsidiary company Gizmondo Europe Ltd launched a new mobile device in the UK. The new Bizmondo product will share much of the functionality of its entertainment-oriented cousin, the Gizmondo. Features including GPS, GPRS, MP3, MPEG4 movie player, and a TFT screen will all be combined in this handheld device. With the integration of the AltioLive software from Integra SP, the creators of the Bizmondo aim to become the “ultimate mobile trading tool and access point for the accomplished business user.”
The initial development, Bizmondo Smartphone, is an all-in-one device that aims to combine the flexibility and facility of a hand-held computer with the communications ability of a mobile phone.
“You get the best of a phone, plus the calendar and email capability of a PDA, and now the power of a desktop Altio interface,” says a spokesman.
This deal brings together two innovative organisations, combining mobile “This acquisition and creation of the Bizmondo device using the Altio platform is further evidence of our technology leadership position,” says Mike Carrender, CEO Tiger Telematics. “With Integra SP’s rapidly expanding sales and customers that include Deutsche Bank, HSBC, The NASDAQ Stock Market and Deutsche Brse we are adding a strong, established business entity in its own right to the Tiger Group.”
Sven Thiele, CEO Integra SP adds that “our banking and finance customers have been asking us to make information and sophisticated services such as price dissemination, analytics and trading available anywhere, anytime in real-time. AltioLive is a great thin client software platform to do this, however we needed a powerful mobile hardware device – Tiger Telematics had the most advanced technology available. Combining this unique hardware and software proposition provides us with the opportunity to extend our leadership into mobile real-time content and commerce.”
Carl Freer, Managing Director of Gizmondo, says Integra SP have been involved in some of the largest trading systems. “Altio makes what is traditionally inaccessible, such as Level 2 price distribution and trading on a mobile device possible,” he says. “Bizmondo will provide real-time remote access to multiple functions ranging from financial services information, corporate applications, email and messaging whilst on the move. Being such a powerful platform on which to build, the expansion possibilities are endless.”
Gizmondo Europe Ltd. is an owned subsidiary of Tiger Telematics Inc (TGTL) and is the maker of Gizmondo, a mobile entertainment device. Set to launch in 2004, the gaming device includes built-in music, video, messaging and picture functions and GPS.
Tiger Telematics is a designer, developer and marketer of mobile Telematics systems and services that combine global GPS functions and voice recognition technology to locate and track vehicles and people down to street level in countries throughout the world. The systems are designed to operate on GPS and are currently being marketed to GSM current and potential subscribers, primarily by the company’s United Kingdom based subsidiaries.
Integra SP provides software for process management and integration of real-time systems. Integra SP’s Altio software aims to enable businesses to provide integration to various financial services institutions supporting a wide range of formats and protocols. The AltioLive product comprises XML based tools for real-time thin client visualization, dynamic streaming and process connectivity.