For the record 20 April

20-04-2007

by Maxim Kelly

Greenpeace hopes to 'ban the bulb' | Sony Ericsson quarterly profits surge

Mobile phone conglomerate Sony Ericsson began the year with a strong first quarter, with year-on-year net profits more than doubling to EUR254 million, up from EUR109 million. Sales rose a massive 47 percent to just under EUR3 billion, from just under EUR2 billion in the first quarter of 2006. The London-based Japanese-Swedish joint venture said strong sales growth in Asia, Latin America and Europe helped its market share grow 2 percentage points to 8 percent, and that its Walkman range of music phones were strengthening mobile sales. The firm said unit average selling prices (ASP) decreased to EUR134 as it concentrated on cheaper, mid-tier phones.

IrishElection.com has welcomed a joint statement from the youth wings of several major political parties calling for a weekend election. "It is beyond doubt that there is a huge number of politicans, groups, parties and voters who feel that a weekend election is imperative. That the youth wings of all the major parties can unite behind this call underlines how important a weekend vote is," the website organisers said in a statement. IrishElection.com has launched an online petition to campaign for a weekend vote, and has so far attracted over 700 signatures.

Greenpeace has launched a campaign targeting energy-wasting technologies as G8 and EU ministers met in Berlin on Friday to discuss energy efficiency measures. The campaign began with Greenpeace activists crushing 10,000 lighbulbs with a mechanised road roller at the Brandenburg Gate. The demonstration marks the start of Greenpeace International's energy efficiency campaign, which aims to stop energy wastage caused by a wide variety of inefficient electrical products, including the iconic light bulb.

Mobile operator Meteor was presented with the 'Excellence Through People' Standard by Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey at an official ceremony in Enfield on Friday. Meteor said it was the first mobile operator to win the FAS accolade for the development of Human Resources management throughout the entire company.

Carlow Town is set to become Ireland's first Wi-Fi town. Carlow County Council is expected to launch a Wi-Fi mesh network next week. It has been designed to provide businesses and homes with fast, synchronous internet access on a subscription or pay-as-you-go basis.

Broadband provider Magnet has launched a EUR100,000 advertising campaign to highlight the drawbacks of businesses sharing broadband connections with other users -- known as contention ratios. Magnet Business will be targeting the media throughout April with a picture of a worn toothbrush with the caption: 'Some things just aren't made for sharing'. Direct mail marketing communications company DMA devised the campaign concept.

The Open Rights Group will be sending 30 observers to monitor electronic voting pilot schemes in upcoming UK elections in May. The group said voter privacy, vulnerability to fraud and general electoral transparency of e-voting will be under close scrutiny. Observers will travel to several English electoral pilot schemes, which are deploying internet voting, telephone voting and electronic counting technologies, and will also be monitoring Scottish elections where e-counting is set to be deployed widely for the first time.