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Google needs Android to be a player in crazy-popular world of creating cool photos, and what better way to jump in then to buy Apple’s favorite iPad photo editing app. According to The Verge, that is just what the Mountain View company did.
Apparently, sources have reported the Google paid an undisclosed sum to acquire the German developer Nik Software, creator of several photography apps including Snapseed, which won Apple’s coveted 2011 iPad App of the Year. Snapseed was clearly the crown jewel of the purchase, which gives Google the potential to compete with Facebook and Instagram.
In a blog post this morning titled Welcome Nik Software, Google’s senior vice president of engineering, Vic Gundotra, explained that “We want to help our users create photos they absolutely love” and that “in our experience Nik does this better than anyone.”
Prior to the acquisition, Nik Software had been reportedly working on a Snapseed app for Android. Even though Google demonstrated a version of the app in January of this year, Android users were still waiting for Snapseed to be released for their devices.
Developers can be a quirky bunch; Google deployed a proven tactic to motivate Nik Software to finish the Android app — they just bought them.
