Tech Shorts

A roundup of today's other technology news in brief

Skype scraps plan to charge for iPhone app

Skype has abandoned plans to charge users of its iPhone application to make voice calls over the 3G network.

The company had previously intended to introduce charges for the new function, although calls made over Wifi were to remain free.

The new version of the application also supports multitasking for iOS4, which allows users to receive Skype calls while other applications are running on the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Apple recently introduced its FaceTime video calling application on the iPhone, which works over Wifi and only between iPhone 4 handsets.

SolarPrint to create 80 jobs

Irish green tech company SolarPrint is to create 80 jobs in Dublin. The jobs were announced yesterday by Minister for Employment Batt O’Keeffe as he opened the company’s Dublin headquarters. The company, which specialises in the development of technology used to convert light to energy, expects to bring its staff numbers from 20 to 100 by the end of next year.

Established in 2008, SolarPrint intends to open its first high-volume manufacturing line next year in Dublin. The new roles will be split between engineering personnel and R&D staff. Recruitment has already begun.

New jobs site for graduates

A new jobs website is hoping to target new graduates seeking employment in Ireland. Gradpool.ie is the brainchild of two 25-year-old entrepreneurs Andy McGreal and Dave Egan, who came up with the idea after encountering difficulties in finding jobs after college.

The site is free for potential employees to use, with the employers posting vacancies on the site and paying to access the details of suitable graduates who sign up to Gradpool.ie

Latest profit beats eBay’s estimates

Internet commerce firm eBay’s second-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates, helped by a record performance at its PayPal online payments unit and marketplace division sales in Europe.

However the company warned that a stronger dollar would hurt full-year results and it trimmed the high end of its 2010 forecast. – (Reuters)