The iPad has been officially out since last Friday and while the hype around it is great, sales so far have been good rather than amazing. Tomorrow the latest iPhone is launching in Ireland too. A lot of mobile Apple products. If the iPad becomes as popular as the iPhone and it’s the number one luxury gift this Christmas, should companies be investing time and money building a presence on the iPad platform?

Diarmaid Twomey set up Mint Media just five months ago. With seven years' experience working in radio and print media, Diarmaid recognised the need for a media consultancy business with a difference and so went about his plans for opening Mint Media.

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Getting things going in the investment markets is a matter of regaining people's trust. That's according to David O'Shea, Investment Manager with Cork-based company, Quintas. He spoke to Peter Tobin about the opportunities available to investors outside of traditional commodities and equities.

Cork travel agents are reporting a "definite resurgence" in people coming in to the traditional travel shop when booking trips or holidays. Recent developments with online hotel reservation company, 1800Hotels, have led to the cancellation of bookings made through the company and left many people with no recompense.

Cork families, according to the results of a new survey, are taking risks by only taking out life insurance on the 'breadwinner' in the family. A study carried out by Caledonian Life shows that most of the 167,000 households in Cork have taken out cover for the main provider but have been less prudent in covering the 'stay-at-home' parent.

The minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Cork's Batt O'Keeffe TD, has said that Innovation Fund-Ireland, launched in New York recently by the Taoiseach, will for first time create a proper venture capital community here that will generate 'smart' new jobs. Minister O'Keeffe said the €500m fund would support enterprise development and job creation by drawing top venture capitalists to Ireland.

A New €2m state-of-the-art production line at the Dulux plant on the Commons Road, Blackpool opened recently marking a new phase in the firm's 125 year history on Cork's North side. The new centre was opened by Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin TD, who said: "I am honoured to join the team of 140 employees of the historic Dulux plant as they embark on a new chapter of their history in Cork.

New statistics show that only two per cent of all schools in Ireland, 78 out of 4,000, have high-speed broadband. These statistics came to light following a question raised by Fine Gael TD, Fergus O'Dowd. He said: "We need a quantum leap in how we teach in order for Ireland to become a major player in the global knowledge economy."

We're now in a multimedia world online. It's text, audio and video. It doesn't stop there though, video is now cheap to produce thanks to high definition video cameras like the Kodak Zi8 or the Cisco Flip and easy to share thanks to services like YouTube or you can your mobile and broadcast video live to the web.