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Reuters is reporting Amazon has agreed to buy Audible.com a provider of digital spoken word content. Amazon values the transaction at about $300 million, including Audible.com’s cash and short-term investments.
Audible.com audio can be listened to hundreds of AudibleReady devices incuding not only Apple’s Ipod but also devices from –
Audible, BookCourier, Creative, Dell, Digisette, Fujitsu, Garmin, Gateway, GPX, HP. iMate, Iomega, iRiver, Kenwood, Mitac, Motorola, Navman, PhatNoise, Philips, RCA, Rio, Sandisk, SoniqCast, Sonos, Tao, Tapwave, Thomson & Tom Tom.
The Economic Times is reporting the State run telecom operator BSNL and the US based WiMax solutions firm Soma Networks are to deploy a new network covering 4 states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Goa) and 200, 000,000 people. The network should complete by 2010 with the first stage going live in June or July this year.
The Guardian is reporting Google and Publicis Groupe, the owner of ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, are working together on new advertising technology. The Google chief executive, Eric Shmidt, and the Publicis Groupe chief executive, Maurice Levy, announced limited details of the collaboration in a meeting in Paris ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which begins today and both are attending.
Manufacturer Polymer Vision has announced that its Readius e-reader, which features a foldable, roll-out 5in screen, will finally hit stores later this year.
The register has more details.
(Edit:doesn’t seem to have details any more)
Afilias has just announced today that users can now register .INFO domain names that include the Spanish characters á, é, í, ñ, ó, ú, and ü.
From the Afilias .INFO press release
“The introduction of these new domain names, termed Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), now enables Spanish-speakers to establish Web sites using words commonly used in Spanish such as película.info, teléfono-móvil.info, Ídolo.info, Piñata.info, and others
To check availability at the Afilias Registy www.whois.info
The possible auctioning of single character domains like a.com, i.info, 4.mobi looks a step closer with ICANN seeking expressions of interest from Auction Design Experts.
“ICANN is seeking expressions of interest from entities experienced in developing and managing auction processes. ICANN has identified several areas where auctions might be an appropriate tool, such as the efficient disposition of data from terminated registrars and registries, the allocation of single-character second-level domain names, and perhaps, resolution of contention between competing commercial applicants for identical strings in the application process for new generic Top Level Domains. …. more here
“Internet advertising will also come close to overtaking television advertising in 2008, emphasising how fast the new medium has become a mainstream means of promotion. This year internet spending is predicted to hit £3.4 billion, up from £2.6 billion in 2007, on GroupM’s estimates.
More details in the London Times.
The UK is not the only country in 2008 where Internet advertising is expected to exceed television advertising for the first time, Sweeden and Denmark will probably pass this landmark slightly before the UK, earlier in 2008.
GPM Group 