Best links - week 3

EBay's Profit Rises Sharply, Aided by Sale of Skype

EBay earnings soared in Q4 2009, fueled by growth in the PayPal business, the sale of Skype and holiday season shopping, writes NY Times.

The Times to Charge for Frequent Access to Its Web Site

Paywalls, paywalls, and even more paywalls. Now, NY Times is next, reports...NY Times. Jeff Jarvis has written a great blog post regarding his view on paywalls. Should we build relationships or charge for them is the main question.

Kids Spend Every Waking Minute in Front of a Screen

According to Mashable, a recent study conducted by The Kaiser Family Foundation, 8-18-year-olds in the US consume media on average 7.5 hours/day (a 1 hour increase in five years). In addition, for the first time, time spent watching TV dropped in favor of other forms of media, including listening to music, using a computer, playing video games, reading print publications and watching movies.

Apple Courts Publishers, While Kindle Adds Apps

NY Times compares two of the most popular media launches: Amazon's Kindle App Store and Apple's tablet, said to be released on January 27. According to the article, book publishers are now playing the tech titans against each other. WSJ recently published an article regarding the Apple strategy: Apple Sees New Money in Old Media, as well as one about Amazon's new efforts to attract more writers with improved royalties (subscription required to read full article).

Mobile Web Still Unused in the UK Claims Study

Around 76% of UK mobile phone users don't use their mobile to access the web, according to a mobile consumer study, conducted by Essential Research in the UK. Marketing Week has the full story.

YouTube Takes a Small Step Into the Film Rental Market

YouTube is introducing its new online movie rental service with five movies, all from independent filmmakers, reports NY Times.

Time Inc. Acquires Personal Shopping Engine StyleFeeder On Behalf of InStyle

According to a recent press release, Time Inc. aquires StyleFeeder - a personal shopping engine that uses pattern recognition and member style preferences to make recommendations for clothing, shoes and accessories.

Google Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2009 Results

Despite the recession, Google has reported revenues of $6.67bn for the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of 17% compared $5.7bn for the same period last year. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, said: "As we enter 2010, we remain hugely optimistic about the internet and are continuing to invest heavily in technological innovation for the benefit not only of our users and customers, but also the wider web."

Guardian Launches Search Engine for Government Data (via @jocke)

ReadWriteWeb reports that the Guardian has launched a new search engine, based on government data. The Guardian's own Data Blog has the full story.

More lightweight:

Trouble at home - Sweden leans left again (via @dabelin)

The Economist writes about how "Fredrik Reinfeldt's government is falling out of favor with voters". A recent poll suggests that 52% of the Swedes support the opposition.

Nike Launches Impressive Hyper-Local iPhone App

ReadWriteWeb covers the launch of Nike's new iPhone app, called True City. The app provides hyper-local, real-time information for six European cities: London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam, and Barcelona.

Infographic of the Day: Ditch the Resume; Make a Chart Instead (Fast Company, via @Lindlund)