Opera has announced, that it has acquired BeMobi, a subscription-based service for mobile apps focused on Latin American market. In simpler terms, you can take BeMobi like a Netflix sort of service, albeit in the mobile app market. Opera says that the acquisition is expected to close by the end of this year.
So how exactly does a Netflix like service in mobile app segment work ?
Well, the concept is pretty simple. Bemobi’s Apps Club platform brings together all paid mobile apps under one roof. Once you subscribe to its service, you get access to all paid mobile apps for a minimal weekly fee. In that way, you get to use paid mobile apps and not pay much for the same. Individually, the apps cost much higher on the respective app stores.
Opera is known largely for its web and desktop browsers (it also offers its own app store, a video streaming platform and an ad discover platform, all lesser known though), and with this acquisition, the company is aiming to “bring innovative app-discovery and monetization services across the globe and position Opera as the global leader in this space.”
Opera CEO Lars Boilesen in today’s announcement,
Opera has expanded rapidly in the mobile-app ecosystem, and our goal is to innovate within this space in a manner that benefits everyone. Bemobi is a natural fit for Opera in this direction. This acquisition brings an added dimension to our app-discovery services, with a new monetization model that has proven to work well in our core markets.
Bemobi’s distribution partners include the likes of Claro, Telefonica, América Móvil, Telcel and Oi. To help developers in getting their apps discovered, BeMobi’s app catalog is limited to 500 apps, making sure that every app gets its due share of recognition. Also, there is no change required in the apps from developer’s end, BeMobi simply puts a cover letter of sorts around these apps, and presents them on its app store.
Under the terms of this acquisition, the over a decade old (15 years to be precise) BeMobi will continue to hold its brand name and have its own CEO, which is largely the case with acquisitions these days. It will be more of a subsidiary of Opera, working under its own unique brand identity.
