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Apple bolsters iBooks with $10m BookLamp analytics group purchase

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By John McCarthy | Opinion Editor

July 28, 2014 | 2 min read

Apple has acquired text analytics company BookLamp, a company whose software scans books and suggests suitable titles for users based on their reading history for a fee over $10m, according to TechCrunch.

The 'DNA Genome' beta will no longer be available to the public

BookLamp created the ‘Book Genome’ technology to analyse literary works, similar to Pandora's 'Music Genome Project'. Each work is rated on how suitable it woud be to an individual, based on their unique preferences.

The program then suggests titles, accounting for favoured genres, length and other factors. The software will optimise Apple’s iBooks service, which provides access to over two million books on iOS devices, by boosting its book discovery and suggestion capabilities.

Apple did not announce the acquisition until Friday. A spokesperson said: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

The Idaho start-up’s website has closed down, it issued the statement: “As of today, the site will no longer be available as our company evolves its mission. Our love of books inspires us day in and day out.”

This comes after Apple reached a settlement of over $400m with several US states over allegations it was fixing the price of ebooks.

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