After having just launched over a month ago, Mailbox for iOS has garnered enough praise and attention that it has already been bought and given a new home.
Dropbox has announced that it is buying Orchestra Inc., the company behind the popular mail app. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed; however, Dropbox has said that all of Orchestra’s 13 employees will transition over to work at Dropbox. The company also announced that it will be keeping Mailbox a separate app and entity from the Dropbox app, and that it doesn’t plan to merge the two together.
Dropbox co-founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi posted a blog about the acquisition: “…it became clear that their[Mailbox’s] calling was the same as ours at Dropbox—to solve life’s hidden problems and reimagine the things we do every day. We all quickly realized that together we could save millions of people a lot of pain…Whether it’s your Dropbox or your Mailbox, we want to find ways to simplify your life.”
The deal sounds like a win-win for both companies, with each having something to add to the other, as elements and ideas from both services will be able to transition smoothly across the two. Hopefully Dropbox is also able to help Mailbox roll out to users more quickly, as currently the app has been rolling out on a reservation system. The way it works now for people trying to get Mailbox is you reserve your spot and once everyone who reserved their spot before you has gotten the app, you are then able to get it.
Currently there are roughly 530,000 waiting in the virtual line to get their hands on Mailbox.
