NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 1 September
01-09-2009
by Emmet Ryan
eBay sells most of Skype | Westmeath home to savvy online shoppers
eBay has sold most of internet telephony firm Skype for USD1.9 billion. The deal with a group of private investors, which will see eBay retain 35 percent of Skype, values the firm at USD2.75 billion, a marked decrease on the USD3.1 billion eBay paid for Skype in 2005. The investor group is led by Silver Lake Partners and includes venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Index Ventures. The purchase for the new investors comes with some risk attached, as eBay was only licensing the peer-to-peer software used in the service from Skype's initial founders. eBay and the former owners are currently involved in a legal dispute over the use of this software.
In more local eBay news, new research by the firm says Westmeath is the county with of the savviest shoppers in Ireland. The study looked at Ireland's shopping habits and found Ireland is the latest country to embrace the global trend of 'shopping neutral', a term used to describe offsetting the cost of spending by selling unwanted goods online. Kildare and Wicklow finished second and third in the ratings. Cavan and Laois were bottom of the pile with the lowest proportion of 'neutral shoppers'.
The death of Ted Kennedy and the return of the English Premiership dominated the Google search charts for Ireland in August. The death of the last Kennedy brother sparked a dramatic increase in searches relating to the late senator. Searches for 'Ted Kennedy' increased by over 5,000 percent in the days following his death as people sought information on the life and times of the senator. The Premiership soccer league also enjoyed as boost in popularity with a 500 percent increase. Other notable searches during August included 'X Factor' and 'Rose of Tralee'.
In other search-related news, Bing's assault on Google has ground to at least a temporary halt. According to new research by Irish-based analytics firm StatCounter, the Microsoft search engine grew by just 0.23 percent in the month of August, to 9.64 percent of the US search market. This is the smallest level of growth shown by the newcomer to the search arena since its launch. The figure could prove particularly worrying for Microsoft as it represents a drop from a peak of 10.98 percent it reached during one week in the middle of the month. Yahoo remained marginally ahead of Microsoft in the battle for second spot, but Google enjoyed a 77.83 percent market share for the period.
Wi-fi service provider Bitbuzz has entered into a deal with O2 Ireland to create a new iPhone application. The application allows iPhone users to find their nearest Bitbuzz Wi-fi hotspot, based on their current location. O2 iPhone customers receive free access to all Bitbuzz Wi-fi hotspots in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The application is available at the Apple iTunes store and is free to download. Bitbuzz currently has over 200 hotspots around Ireland.
Staying with Apple, much hype is building around an event the firm plans to hold in San Francisco on 9 September. The event will reportedly feature new iPods with built-in cameras and a major update to iTunes. Apple fans will have to hold tight for news on the forthcoming tablet device being developed as reports indicate the product won't be revealed at the event. Also missing will be Steve Jobs: the Apple chief executive is not expected to appear to launch the new products.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 