NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 6 January
06-01-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
R&D investment rose in 2008: IDA | Moto to unveil plastic bottle handset
There was a 22 percent jump in the number of research, development and innovation projects during 2008, according to IDA Ireland's end-of-year statement, which showed that new RD&I investments planned during 2008 reached EUR420 million. Just under 33 percent of RD&I investments during the year involved collaboration with Irish third-level institutions and research institutes, a large number of which were supported by Science Foundation Ireland. IDA Ireland won 130 foreign direct investment projects in 2008. On the flip side, there were 10,044 job losses at IDA Ireland-supported companies last year, accounting for 7.4 percent of the total employee base. However, 8,837 jobs were created, resulting in an overall decline of 1,207 jobs or 0.8 percent of the employee base during the year.
Dublin-based MicksGarage, an online car parts and accessories retailer, has announced that it has secured EUR560,000 in funding from AIB Seed Capital Fund, Enterprise Ireland and private investors. The firm, which was founded by brothers Ciaran and Michael Crean in 2004, will use the investment to expand into the UK through its MicksGarage.co.uk website, as well as developing its operation in the Irish market. The company plans to recruit in the areas of IT and customer service. "There is significant growth potential for MicksGarage in Ireland and the increase in motorists holding onto their vehicles should bring further growth in the parts and accessories market here. The UK car parts market is worth about STG6.7 billion and having expanded into the UK late last year, we are excited about the opportunities that exist there," said Ciaran Crean, in a statement.
Another Dublin-based firm, pTools, which provides content management software, has worked with the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) to set up a content management system for the new Giveblood.ie website and donor clinic service. The Giveblood.ie project provides detailed blood donor clinic listings nationwide as well as blood availability information and an online questionnaire that helps people understand if they are eligible to give blood. pTools' main task was to define the key requirements around donor clinics and map this process successfully to the new site. "We're seeing a trend toward mapping and other context group features that we expect to grow as people use online maps more to find information," said managing director of pTools Software, Tom Skinner.
IBM has announced it has completed the acquisition of French firm ILOG for approximately EUR215 million. ILOG provides technologies for business managers, analysts, architects and developers to use in order to analyse, plan, track and improve business processes. ILOG will become part of the IBM WebSphere software portfolio. IBM said the acquisition will strengthen its positions in business process management (BPM) and services oriented architecture (SOA).
Struggling mobile phone maker Motorola is to unveil a handset made from recycled plastic bottles at this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Motorola claims the phone -- Moto W233 Renew -- is also carbon neutral in that Motorola has offset the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. In addition, the US phone manufacturer said the packaging used to deliver the handset, as well as all materials inside, will have been recycled. The firm, which is currently in the process of spinning off its mobile phone unit into a separate company, is also expected to reveal the Motosurf A3100, a smartphone with Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, at CES.
Lenovo has launched a new ThinkPad for enterprise customers – the W700ds ThinkPad. The device features two screens, a 17-inch main screen and a second 10.6-inch screen that slides out from the laptop's casing. The unusual device is aimed at digital content creators such as photographers and graphic artists, according to Lenovo. Pricing for the device starts at EUR3,100, excluding VAT.
Microsoft has released figures which reveal that it had sold a total of 28 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide by the end of 2008. This expands the Xbox's lead over the Sony PlayStation 3 by 8 million units, according to Microsoft. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) alone, over 8 million Xbox 360s have been sold, some 1 million more than the PS3 in that region. The importance of the Xbox Live service as a sales channel was also highlighted, with Microsoft revealing an 84 percent year-on-year increase in online consumer spending on the service. As of the end of December 2008 there were 17 million members of the Xbox Live service.
Over 140 million US consumers will be using mobile broadband services by 2013, according to research firm Parks Associates. The firm also predicts there will be 4.5 billion mobile phone users worldwide by 2013, with many people using their handsets as "gateways" for entertainment services, community information, and social networking. In addition Parks expects over 100 million femtocells will be shipped worldwide in 2013, serving over 300 million subscribers. Femtocells are typically small cellular base stations that make use of fixed-line broadband connections to boost mobile reception indoors.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 