NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 19 December
19-12-2008
by Emmet Cole
Apple gets a little Imagination | Vodafone and An Post launch MVNO
Wireless hotspot provider Bitbuzz has announced an exclusive three-year contract with the Fitzwilliam Hotel Group. The contract will see Bitbuzz provide Fitzwilliam hotel customers with complimentary wired broadband and Wi-FI access at its Dublin and Belfast hotels. The Fitzwilliam Belfast hotel is due to open in March 2009. Earlier this year, Bitbuzz announced that it had won a contract to supply nine Travelodge hotels and the Tower Hotel in Derry with Bitbuzz Wi-Fi coverage.
The European Commission has confirmed Solaris Mobile as an ‘admissible candidate’ for the two-stage application process for the provision of mobile satellite services across Europe. The Dublin-based company submitted an application to the European Commission in October for the rollout of S-Band Spectrum mobile satellite services. Solaris Mobile -- a joint venture between Eutelsat and SES Astra -- was established earlier this year to develop next generation mobile TV services via satellite.
Apple has bought a STG3 million stake in Imagination Technologies, the maker of Pure digital radios and the developer of the Digital Audio Broadcasting standard, it was announced Friday. Apple purchased 8.2 million shares in the Hertfordshire-based company, equating to a 3.6 percent stake. Apple already licenses other Imagination technology to enhance onscreen graphics in its portable devices. The deal has sparked speculation that Apple is considering adding a digital radio function to the iPod.
Vodafone Ireland and An Post have announced the launch of a partnership that will offer prepaid mobile services across An Post outlets nationwide. The partnership will create a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that piggy-backs on Vodafone's network to provide An Post branded mobile products and services through its retail channels from summer 2009.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the team at Google's Gmail Labs launched an experimental feature that allows users to create Google Docs documents directly from e-mails. To use the new feature, just open the e-mail message you wish to convert and click the "Create a document" link on the right side of the page. It's that simple.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 