Google snaps up Quickoffice and Meebo

Google has bought the mobile productivity firm Quickoffice in a bid to make its Google Apps product suite more compatible with various file formats, the search giant said on Tuesday.

Quickoffice provides word processing and other office task functions for smartphones and tablets, including those running Google's Android operating system, and iOS-based devices such as the iPad and iPhone.

In a blog post, Google engineering director Alan Warren said the attraction of the suite was its "established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats".

"We'll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite," Warren wrote. "Quickoffice has a strong base of users, and we look forward to supporting them while we work on an even more seamless, intuitive and integrated experience."

In March, Quickoffice made an enterprise push by releasing a new app called ProSelect HD, which let iPad and Android tablet users access and edit Microsoft Office documents securely.

On Monday, the social platform company Meebo, which offers in-browser instant messaging services, also said that it was being acquired by Google. That deal is reported to be worth $100m (£65m), although no figure is yet available for the Quickoffice acquisition.