Thought a less likely suitor than others – namely Facebook – LG may be seeking to acquire live stream service, and periscope rival Meerkat.
LG filed a patent for Meerkat, which was spotted by the sleuths over at Phandroid. Considering the language in the patent application, it appears that Meerkat could be the very same platform that shot out to remarkable success on iOS earlier this year.
Here the patent application's description:
"IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: IP camera; Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras; Cameras for surveillance; Photographic apparatus and instruments; Cameras; Webcams; Mobile phones; Smart phones; Application software for smart phones; Application software for smart phone cameras."
If the above description doesn't describe Meerkat, then maybe someone should tell Lucky Goldstar the name has already been taken and applied to a popular live streaming service.
What makes an LG bid for Meerkat intriguing is Facebook's alleged courtship of the live streaming service. After Twitter snapped up Periscope, Facebook began making Meerkat at home by allowing the service direct access to Facebook news feeds.
Facebook and Meerkat began working together as Twitter acquired Periscope and shut down access to its social graph for the rival platform. So with Meerkat unable to tap into Twitter's social graph, the company behind the app turned to Facebook.
While it's unclear how LG intends to use Meerkat or even if it truly is looking to acquire the platform, Twitter's Periscope has been expanding rapidly and is now available on any Android device powerful enough to run it.
"The reception has been overwhelming in the most positive way just by the sheer magnitude of users," said Kayvon Beykpour, founder of Periscope. "We're seeing people using in ways we never thought of, it's been actually quite mind blowing."
Meerkat gained traction in March when the live-streaming service started to go viral and gained millions of users in a matter of days. In May, Twitter shunned the app from its feed in favor of Periscope. Meerkat users, however, shifted their attention to Facebook and posted live broadcasts on their news feeds.
