Daily Digest 25 July

25-07-2008

by Sheila M. Averbuch

Samsung shares tumble on dim outlook for memory chips | Metakall to let mobile users access public wireless hotspots

Samsung Electronics, the Korean maker of flat-panel displays, memory chips and mobile phones, has posted a 51% rise in second quarter profits to KRW2.14 trillion (EUR1.35 billion), compared to KRW1.42 trillion (EUR897 million) in the same quarter last year. The year-on-year rise is less impressive than it might seem, since the 2007 figures marked a four-year second-quarter low for the company. The company also offered a flat outlook for memory chip sales in the third quarter. Analysts had expected second quarter profits to reach KRW2.3 trillion. The disappointing results wiped more than 3.9 percent off Samsung shares on Friday in Asian trading.

Next month, Trinity College's Computer Science Department will trial a technology around Dublin that will allow mobile phone users to make cheap calls using the internet. The research team say the 'Metakall' software is the first of its kind in the world. The technology is designed to allow mobile users to access public wireless hotspots to make low-cost calls over the internet using VoIP services such as Skype. The researchers hope that, once the trial is a success, a commercial partner will come on board. The trial will last a month, starting 1 August, and users can sign up to be part of the trial at www.metakall.com.

Neil Wisdom has been named as sales director at Complete Telecom, a managed network and telecoms services company. Wisdom, who worked in similar positions at Fluke Networks, Crannog Software and LAN Communications, will be responsible for new product and service development and overall sales strategy at Complete Telecom.

Damovo has introduced a new IP-based contact centre solution that the company says can help improve agent productivity and revenues for contact centres, including distributed centres. Aastra Solidus eCare 6.0 allows skills-based routing of contacts of different types, including voice, fax, email, SMS and chat. The company said the system supports up to 10,000 agents, regardless of location and can handle 400,000 calls per hour.

The West Midlands ICT Cluster in the UK announced its 2008-2011 strategy, aiming to help local ICT firms build their internal competencies and strengthen their market positions. Companies in the region, which encompasses areas including Warwick, Coventry, Staffordshire and Birmingham, will also receive help in finding opportunities for collaboration with European companies and in completing applications for EU framework funds. The Cluster's goals also include helping companies to focus on disruptive technologies, and develop their workforce by retaining graduates who study technology in the region.

Xerox has reported second quarter net earnings of USD0.24 per share, on total revenue of USD4.5 billion. The figures represented a 19 percent drop over the same quarter last year, but the company held firm on its full-year earnings outlook of between USD1.26 and USD1.30 per share. For the third quarter Xerox expects earnings of between USD0.28 and USD0.30 per share. Ann Mulcahy, Xerox's CEO, said in a conference call that the company was suffering from a reluctance among US enterprises to purchase high-end technology, but said this is balanced by strong growth in developing markets for Xerox.