Blackboard to buy NTI

Blackboard has agreed to buy text-messaging company NTI Group for $182 million, says Bizjournals.

The educational-software maker said it will pay $132 million in cash and $50 million in stock. The price could rise to $199 million, or additional $17 million in stock, if the company reaches set financial targets in two years.

Blackboard said NTI Group will improve its ability to communicate with large groups as the online learning market grows.

Messaging International has signed a deal with Israeli mobile service provider Partner Communications to launch a service that enables Partner's Orange-brand users to send text and multimedia messages to any mobile phone, reports Hemscott.

The service, known as smsomms, also allows orange mobile subscribers to send text, pictures, music and video to mobile phones from their PCs.

No financial details were provided.

Vyke Communications has won Technology Marketing's Internet Telephony Product of the Year award 2007 for its Vyke Pro free mobile community messaging service, states ag-IP-news.

This service, launched on 19 June last year, enables mobile users worldwide to send free or low-cost text messages in addition to making low-cost international calls.

Vyke Pro is an easily downloadable mobile phone program that is compatible with all recent Java-enabled handsets.