IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 21 December
21-12-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Mobileaware gets interim examiner | Air France trials in-flight mobile usage
The Irish Times reports that Ireland will have almost 1 million broadband subscribers by the end of the year, according to ComReg. This would put the broadband penetration level at about 23.5 percent and suggests the rapid growth of the last year has driven Ireland up the international league tables. For more on ComReg's latest quarterly figures, see ENN.
The paper also says that the Irish subsidiary of BMC Software paid its US parent a dividend of USD3 billion last year, despite only booking a pretax profit of USD15.1 million. Accounts for BMC Software Europe to the end of March 2006 show that following the payment of the dividend, it had a loss of USD83.3 million. The dividend payment was facilitated by a transfer from its share premium account of USD2 billion. The decision to pay such a large dividend was likely to have been to avail of a tax amnesty offered by the US authorities in 2005.
The same paper notes that an interim examiner has been appointed to Dublin software firm Mobileaware by the High Court. The firm's software enables mobile operators to provide information services such as news, ringtones, videos and other content to subscribers. The company made a loss of EUR1.8 million in the year to 31 March 2006, bringing its retained losses to EUR18.3 million.
The Irish Examiner reports that Digicel has won a licence to operate a GSM mobile network in Honduras, as reported by ENN on Thursday.
The paper also notes the appointment of Dermot O'Connell as general manager for Dell Ireland. Read the full story on ENN.
According to the Financial Times, US chipmaker Qualcomm has indicated a strong end to the year for mobile phone sales by raising its forecasts for revenues and profits. The company predicted sales would be at the high end of prior guidance of USD2.3 billion to USD2.4 billion in its first quarter ending 30 December. Earnings per share would be USD0.45 to USD0.46, up from USD0.42 to USD0.44, it said.
The paper also reports that Air France-KLM has started the first trial in Europe of the in-flight use of mobile phones. The service has been introduced this week onboard an Air France A318, operating on short-haul routes in Europe. Initially passengers will be able to send and receive text and picture messages as well as e-mails via phones with internet access. In the second stage of the six-month trial passengers will be able to make and receive phone calls.
The Wall Street Journal reports that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion posted strong third-quarter earnings, fueled by rapid consumer growth during the lead-up to the Christmas holiday season. The company said net income surged to USD370.5 million, or USD0.65 a share, from USD175.2 million, or USD0.31 a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue doubled to USD1.67 billion.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 