NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 30 April
30-04-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Smartphones drive mobile market | Netwatch to create 50 new jobs
The global mobile phone market grew by 21.7 percent in the first quarter, shipping 294.9 million, compared to 242.4 million in the same period in 2009, according to IDC. Growth was driven by the global economic recovery and also a strong surge in demand for smartphones. In fact, the growing demand for smartphones propelled Research In Motion (RIM), BlackBerry maker, into the top 5 vendor list for the first time ever, with growth of 45.2 percent. Read more here.
Protection services firm Netwatch has opened its new corporate headquarters and command centre in Carlow. The new facility marks an investment of EUR5 million by Netwatch, which will see the firm create 50 new jobs within the next 18 months in the areas of operations and R&D.
In more news of jobs, green data centre Cork Internet Exchange has announced it has expanded its capacity by 100 percent. The expansion, which comes as it faces increased demand for its services thanks to growth in the area of cloud computing and IT outsourcing, will see Cork Internet Exchange create 10 new high-skilled software and networking jobs.
In yet more jobs news ePassport firm HID Global is to create 42 new jobs in its R&D and manufacturing base in Connemara. Read more on this story here.
Apple has announced the availability of movies from major studios on the Irish iTunes store for rent or purchase. Read the press release here.
Hewlett-Packard has canned its Slate tablet computer plans. The Slate was to be based on Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system and was expected to be released this year. However, HP has now said that Windows 7 isn't a suitable tablet OS, and it has terminated its plans, as reported by TechCrunch.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 