nSphere takes a peek at mobile discount apps

Peekaboo Mobile is the most recent mobile coupon and daily deal app to go flying off the shelves, having been scooped up by online content aggregator nSphere for an undisclosed sum.

Peekaboo developed a hyperlocal app that uses location services to find immediate, close-by deals on everything from shoes to food to events. The company claims more than 50 million users of its Android and iPhone applications and partner network. Peekaboo Mobile’s partner network includes location-based discovery app Where and membership card management service CardStar.

In October 2010 announced a seed funding round from Apricot Capital. No word on how that firm’s investment or involvement to date plays in the acquisition by nSphere.

The Peekaboo app is simple for both consumers and merchants: Discounts are redeemed by showing the mobile coupon to a cashier. Peekaboo’s offers to date—which it seals through a network of local merchants—have been simple, with no movement yet in games, group buying or check-in apps. Peekaboo charges businesses a monthly fee of $19.95 for an unlimited number of deals for a business’ first location and $14.95 for each additional location.

The deal should perk up the ears of members of the mobile development community—particularly those developing similar (or, better yet, differentiated) mobile discount and location-based apps. The daily deal and mobile discount spaces are among the hottest right now in terms of consumer awareness, and though the head might last—and there is a lot of competition—there clearly is still room for innovation and, potentially, a payoff for developers.