IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 6 June
06-06-2007
by Deirdre McArdle
Adult services coming to mobile phones in Ireland | Google acquires PeakStream
The Irish Times reports that for the first time in Ireland a range of adult services is to be made available to mobile phone users later this year. Under a new adult classification framework, which is currently being finalised, explicit material, including live sex lines, will be permitted, provided those using the services can prove they are 18 or over. Regtel, which regulates premium phone line services, has said that users of these adult lines will have to register first before they can access the services. To do so, they will have to provide identification, such as a driving licence or passport, and their details will be stored on a database.
The same paper reports that Carphone Warehouse posted a near 10 percent fall in full-year group profits on Tuesday. Read the full story as reported by ENN.
The Irish Independent writes that new figures released by Shannon Development reveal that a mere six jobs were created in the EUR110 million Information Age Park Ennis over the past year. There are now 43 people working in the park, compared to 37 people in May 2006. The number of companies in the park has risen from 14 to 19 in the past 12 months. However, the IDA has so far failed to attract any foreign direct investment to the park.
The Irish Examiner says that Bord Pleanala has overruled a decision by a Kerry County Council to refuse planning permission to O2 for a mobile phone mast close to the village of Caherdaniel, on the Ring of Kerry. Several members of Kerry County Council were opposed to the mast being close to dwellings, citing concerns on health grounds. However, Bord Pleanala inspector Aisling Cunnane maintains there is no "accompanying rationale to support this policy."
The same paper reports that Carphone Warehouse's Irish arm expects turnover to hit EUR94 million when it reports its annual results later this month. This marks a 45 percent increase in turnover from last year.
According to the Wall Street Journal eBay in association with radio-advertising start-up Bid4Spots, is to let over 2,300 radio stations auction off airtime to advertisers through the eBay Media Marketplace. eBay plans to take a cut of the fee paid by advertisers. The latest move by the online auction giant turns up the heat in the competition between Google and eBay, which have increasingly stepped on each other's turf in recent years.
Meanwhile, the same paper reports that Google has acquired closely held PeakStream, a start-up that sells tools for programming chips with multiple processing units, as well as specialising in graphics chips (GPUs). Ray DePaul, chief executive of a PeakStream rival called RapidMind, is reported to have said he "would not be surprised" if Google were considering adopting GPUs to boost its server performance. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Financial Times reports that Michael Dell is planning a series of acquisitions in a bid to turn Dell into more of a computer services business. In an interview on Tuesday Dell told the FT that the company's services business was growing faster than sales of computer equipment, and represented a "huge opportunity".
The same paper says that HTC, a manufacturer of Windows-based mobile devices, has launched its first mass-market phone as it competes in the increasingly tough high-end smartphone market. The phone, called the HTC Touch, marks "the first time we move beyond our niche of business devices", Peter Chou, HTC president, told the Financial Times.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 