NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 1 December
01-12-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Jackson, Facebook top '09 search lists | Nintendo Wii sales plunge
Irish telco Digiweb has launched a voice and broadband bundle for EUR39.99 a month. The 'Chatterbox' service includes a 4Mbps connection, unlimited calls to Irish and UK landlines, and 40 minutes of free calls to Irish and UK mobile numbers. No line rental is required, and the company is offering free installation for orders received in December. From January, installation will be EUR99, or free of charge if the customer signs up for a year. Digiweb says it expects more than 1,000 new customers a month to sign up to the service.
Search giants Google and Yahoo have both released statements looking back at the year 2009 in search. Google's annual 'Zeitgeist' analysis of the fastest-rising search terms for Ireland showed Facebook and Yahoo Mail in the top spots. Meanwhile, on Google News, Ireland was mainly concerned about the threat of swine flu and the death of celebrities, including Stephen Gately, Jade Goody and Michael Jackson. Globally, the fastest-rising search terms were Michael Jackson, followed by Facebook, Spanish social network Tuenti, and Twitter. Meanwhile, Yahoo's 2009 'Year in Review' placed Michael Jackson as the top search term, followed by the movie Twilight.
Wi-Fi network operator Bitbuzz has launched an outdoor Wi-Fi hotspot at Dingle Marina in Kerry. The network is Bitbuzz's first large open-area hotspot and was developed in partnership with wireless systems integrator Ń–Link, which built the network using next-generation wireless mesh Wi-Fi technology. The hotspot will provide internet access to visitors and residents at the Marina and surrounding area in Dingle.
Dublin chip firm DecaWave has announced a module and sales agreement with LG Innotek, a Korean global electronics components firm, for DecaWave's ScenSor chip. Under the agreement, LG Innotek will develop a module based on ScenSor, which will aid the design of Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) and wireless sensor networks. In addition, LG Innotek will place an advance order to purchase 125,000 ScenSor chips. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Irish wave and tidal power firm Wavebob is to lead a consortium of European companies in deploying a full-scale pre-commercial, grid-connected wave energy converter (WEC) off the coast of Portugal, reports BusinessWorld. The development is being funded by a EUR5.1 million grant from the EU FP7 R&D programme, and the six-firm consortium will invest a further EUR3.4 million. The 'STANDPOINT' project aims to demonstrate that Wavebob's wave-energy device is the most suitable technology to be adopted as the internationally standardised method of harvesting energy from the ocean.
Price cuts on the Nintendo Wii have failed to energise demand for the games console. In the US, the Japanese giant sold 550,000 Wii machines last week -- 30 percent fewer than in last year's crucial Christmas shopping week. In October, Nintendo cut the price of its console by USD50, and reduced its annual Wii shipment forecast by 23 percent. At the end of October, Nintendo posted a 52 percent plunge in quarterly profit for the July-to-September period, on the back of slowing demand for the Wii and due to the strong yen.
Follow ENN on Twitter: Twitter.com/ElectricNews
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 