Skype’s definitely not been shy amongst the news sites lately, and it looks like the rumors of an impending sale came true today. eBay has officially sold Skype to an investor group, compromised of several governing bodies. And while many could have imagined that Skype was worth a pretty penny, the staggering number that the deal has valued the VoIP application at is amazing. And it looks like it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
We can’t help but think that if OQO had seen this much interest a few months back, they may not have gone bankrupt. An OQO Model 2+ UMPC – the company’s most recent model, complete with OLED touchscreen, Intel Atom 1.86GHz processor and integrated Qualcomm Gobi 3G WWAN – is currently listed on eBay, with bidding already at $5,100.
Never one for understatement or avoiding mass-panic, eBay have thrown the legal cat among the VoIP pigeons by claiming it may have to shut down Skype. The threat comes as Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis – who sold Skype to eBay for $2.6bn back in 2005 – have revoked the licensing agreement for the core P2P software that the VoIP software relies on.
eBay is apparently developing new P2P software so as to be free from licensing Zennstrom and Friis’ company Joltid, but have warned that they may not be able to roll that out as soon as may be required. In that case, Skype would have to be shut down, leaving 480 million registered users without VoIP service.
It may not put the fear of the Empire into any nearby planets, but steaks and chicken thighs should begin quivering at Bryan Tate’s custom Death Star grill. Currently up for auction on eBay, the grill has a vent built into the weapon-dish and a neat little Imperial Cruiser handle.
A prototype 2006 Apple MacBook Pro has shown up on eBay, bearing a beta wireless card and green logic board. The laptop is believed to have been constructed to test out the new wireless card, which is labeled as “M35B Dusty Client DVT Wireless Sample”.
Two devices, supposedly Apple’s prototypes of the iPhone, have gone up for sale on eBay. The handsets – only one of which runs – are believed to be manufactured around six months before the launch of the original iPhone; the working device has a beta OS with a plastic matte screen and limited functionality.
Demo video after the cut
You can tell it’s a relatively slow news day, when a pink iPhone 3G on eBay causes so much drama. The handset, which has a buy-it-now price of £400 ($582), is advertized as being possibly “the only pink iPhone 3G on the market”, and together with the proximity to MacWorld has got several people foaming at the thought of a new color option. Has Apple really taken a leaf out of the RAZR playbook? It seems unlikely, with almost identical aftermarket replacement back plates – in not only pink but gold, red and other colors too – being available elsewhere on eBay.
Take a 60GB PS3, add a carbon fiber Fox Hound logo, laser cut stainless steel Metal Gear Solid 4 marquee, “digital camouflage” paint-job and the signature of Hideo Kojima and you might be lucky enough to end up with this: a Metal Gear Solid 4 one-of-a-kind console-tribute. Currently rocking in at $7,600 (at time of writing) on eBay, it’s the work of Morpheon Mods and being auctioned, in part, for the “Child’s Play” children’s hospital charity.
It almost sounds a little too much like those “Bill Gates will send you a check for forwarding this email” scams, but apparently Microsoft is subsidizing certain hardware purchases to encourage use of its Live web search. The “Live Search cashback” logo appears next to certain sponsored results for searches such as “cheap netbook” or “cheap wii”; log in to your Live.com account and you can find discounts of up to 30-percent at collaborating retailers.
Last week’s “He Said, She Said” editorial pitted Brenda and I against each other discussing what sort of touchscreen device Apple might have on their cards. This week, it’s something equally as topical here on the frontpage of SlashGear: netbooks, or budget ultraportables. They’re the niche of the moment, certainly, but are consumers really getting the best value for their hard-earned dollar?
JP
