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News

Why did Airbnb register the domain name WhoisAirbnb.com?

Who is Airbnb

When a company that doesn’t own many domains goes out and registers some odd names, it’s usually safe to say it’s up to something. 

That’s what Airbnb did.  The web service that connects people who have space to spare with those who are looking for a place to stay, went out and registered two new domain names this week: WhoisAirbnb.com and Who-is-Airbnb.com.

Airbnb has had its share of controversy this year, after one of its customers’ homes was ransacked. 

Despite the PR crisis that followed, Airbnb has managed to bounce back and since its launch in 2008, has booked more than 2 million nights.  Some speculate the company will file for an initial public offering next year.

Just what will WhoisAirbnb.com be used for?

Will it be a new service?  Will the company launch a separate site to help tell its story and build more trust?  We’ll keep an eye out.

Today, the domain WhoisAirbnb.com forwards to the company’s website. 

Both domain names were registered with the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor on December 27.

Here’s a look at the Whois record (no pun intended) for WhoisAirbnb.com.

Whois WhoisAirbnb.com

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News

Is eBay planning something more with its advertising? Registers eBay ads domains

eBay ads

On December 23, eBay Inc. registered three domain names: eBay-ads.com, eBay-ads.net, and eBayads.net.

The domains, all purchased this week, hint at the possibility of eBay doing something more with ads that it displays on its websites, such as eBay.com.

In 2009, eBay replaced its Yahoo text ads with Google‘s ads. 

Though it’s fun to speculate, the domain registrations may be nothing more than part of the company’s IP strategy to keep others from using the names.  

As of today, eBay does not own eBayads.com.  The name, according to Whois records, is currently in Redemption Period, after its owner in China let the name expire.  

Redemption period usually means the name has about 30 days before its released by the registrar and either available for public registration or sent to one of the drop-catching services.

Categories
News Video Games

Sony Pictures registers ‘Bring Them to Justice Game’ domain names

Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures has tipped its hand on a forthcoming game called “Bring Them to Justice”, after registering several domain names on December 22, like bringthemtojusticegame.com (Whois).

All the domains were registered through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.

The game, which hasn’t been officially announced, may simply be a mobile game published by Sony Pictures Digital, part of Sony’s US mobile phone games division.

The domain names, five in total, include:

bringthemtojusticegame.com 
bringthemtojusticegame.net  
bringtojustice.net  
bringtojusticegame.com  
bringtojusticegame.net

At the time of this story going online, none of the domains resolve to a web page.

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News

Several Amazon Web Services Certified Samurai domain names registered

AWS Certified Samurai

According to several recent domain registrations, it looks like Amazon Web Services (AWS) has something in the works.

On December 22, Amazon’s legal department registered new AWS domains with ‘Certified Samurai’ in the name.

The domain registrations include:

aws-certified-samurai.com
aws-samurai.com
awscertifiedsamurai.com
awssamurai.com

Amazon hasn’t made any official announcement about the service or product as of yet.

Categories
News Technology Trademarks

Next Sony Ericsson smartphone may be named Xperia Ion according to trademark

Xperia Ion

The Sony Ericsson LT28at, that is described as an Xperia “super phone”, may have a name according to a recent trademark filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

On December 13, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB filed a trademark for “Xperia Ion”. 

The goods and services covered under the application (Serial Number: 85493863) include nothing more than mobile phones, similar to its trademark filings for the Xperia Play and Xperia Arc.

Earlier this month a number of sites reported that Sony will likely unveil its new Xperia smartphones at CES 2012.  CES 2012 is taking place in Las Vegas, from January 10-13, 2012.  The Xperia Arc, one of the newest models in the Xperia line, was revealed at CES 2011.

Discussion: The Next Web, PhandroidUbergizmo, Xperia Blog, Mobile Syrup, Geeky Gadgets, Le Journal du Geek, AndroidOS.in, Mobile Bulgaria, Phone Arena and Unwired View

[Update 1 on January 9, 2012: Sony Ericsson and AT&T announced the LTE-powered Sony Xperia Ion, the first Sony-branded smartphone.]

(Image of Xperia Arc via Sony Ericsson)