Movatwitter Has A New Owner: jig.jp Buys Twitter Client Operator Mindscope
Tokyo-based mobile tech company jig.jp today announced it acquired Mindscope, the startup behind popular Twitter client movatwitter.
movatwitter is Japanese-only, web-based and as such usable across various platforms, including smartphones, feature phones, the PC or handheld consoles like the Sony Vita or the Nintendo 3DS. Around 2009, Twitter’s official Japanese top page featured the app in its sidebar frequently (on the PC).
As a result, the service rapidly gained popularity in this country and now boasts 1.6 million users. Buyer jig.jp isn’t disclosing terms of the deal, but Cnet Japan says it learned that the company paid a few million dollars for Mindscope.
jig.jp’s core product is the so-called jig browser, one of the first in Japan that made it possible to view PC sites on feature phones. The company later followed up with a smartphone browser and also offers mobile video solutions, an RSS reader, a Facebook client, and two Twitter clients (dubbed “jig twi” and “twePUB”).
jig.jp was established in 2003, while MindScope was incorporated in January 2010 (movatwitter was available before the incorporation and is said to be Japan’s first mobile-friendly Twitter client that’s web-based).
Update:
On Facebook, movatwitter mastermind Shinichi Fujikawa says he will continue to work as Chief Technology Architect while looking for new challenges as well.
