Research In Motion has acquired JayCut, a Web-based video-editing software company, to bolster the multimedia capabilities of its PlayBook tablet.
RIM announced the acquisition on Friday without disclosing how much it paid for JayCut, which is privately held and based in Stockholm.
Founded in 2007, JayCut offers a free, Web-based video-editing platform and has also licensed its software to other companies and websites. RIM plans to add JayCut video editing to the PlayBook to complement its front and rear video cameras and high-definition video playback capability, according to a RIM blog entry.
JayCut has just seven employees, according to its website. The free editing tool on its site, which requires users to register, is not accepting new registrations. However, there are still login fields for existing users.
The PlayBook is one of several tablets trying to compete for attention and sales with Apple’s iPad, which is known for its multimedia features, including the iMovie video-editing application. For RIM, much rides on the PlayBook as the company struggles with weak sales and late products. Versions of the PlayBook equipped to use mobile data networks have been delayed from summer to fall.
RIM’s tablet runs a special operating system based on a platform RIM acquired along with mobile software vendor QNX. However, the company also plans to release a player for apps that use the more popular Android OS.
Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen’s e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com