NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 18 January
18-01-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Sajan to create 35 Dublin jobs | Apple, Nokia clash heats up
US language translation technology provider Sajan has officially opened its EMEA headquarters in Dublin. The operation will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sajan, called Sajan Software, and will create 35 new jobs. Among the new roles will be testers, software engineers, localisation engineers and project managers. Sajan Software will be focused on developing cloud-based translation technologies, as well as supporting Sajan's translation management system and other localisation solutions. Sajan cited Ireland's reputation as a business-friendly country with deep roots in linguistics and translation as one of the key reasons for setting up in Dublin.
Wi-Fi provider BitBuzz has moved its infrastructure to the Data Electronics datacentre in Dublin, as part of an major upgrade of its network. The firm has also connected its network to the INEX switches in Data Electronics' facility, which means faster, lower-latency internet access for customers. Shane Deasy, Managing Director, Bitbuzz, said of the move: "As a result of our decision to move, we will be close to the large array of international carriers that are also present in the data centre, and we are confident that this will enable us to better serve our growing number of customers."
In more news of telecoms, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has called for the Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) in Cork and Waterford to be expanded, and has advised that MANs should be established in the National Spatial Strategy centres of Shannon, Ennis, Mallow, Tuam and Castlebar. Conal Henry, CEO of e-Net, which manages the State's MANs, welcomed the call and also welcomed the NCC's statement that "developing world class, advanced broadband networks and services is essential to enable Ireland to support the smart economy".
Google AdWords played a part in Bord Gais' 2009 Big Switch campaign. Some 30,000 new customers in the first 30 days of the campaign were directly attributable to Google Adwords advertising alone, according to Eoin O'Suilleabhain, e-channel developer with Bord Gais Energy. "With consumers moving online, search marketing has become an essential medium for the modern marketer," said Ronan Harris, Director Online Sales, Google. "We know that the effectiveness of online campaigns is increased when supported by an integrated campaign and the Bord Gáis Big Switch campaign is a case study in this regard."
In the latest instalment of the Apple v Nokia saga, Apple on 15 January filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ask it to block the importation of Nokia devices into the US. For its part Finnish mobile giant Nokia has vowed to "defend itself vigorously" against this latest legal attack, which follows a series of proceedings between the pair that kicked off in October when Nokia sued Apple for patent infringement.
A whopping USD6.2 billion will be spent by consumers in mobile application stores during 2010, according Gartner. The research firm also expects over 4.5 billion downloads to be made during the year, 8 out of 10 of which will be free. By 2013 Gartner estimates the downloads figure to soar past 21.6 billion, with free downloads accounting for 87 percent of the total. "Application stores will be a core focus throughout 2010 for the mobile industry and applications themselves will help determine the winner among mobile devices platforms," said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 