NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 24 November
24-11-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Mobile ads worth EUR8.7bn by 2014 | Vodafone launches 360 on pre-pay
The value of the global mobile advertising market will grow from EUR1 billion in 2008 to EUR8.7 billion in 2014, according to a report from analyst firm Berg Insight. At this stage, mobile advertising will represent 11.7 percent of the total digital advertising market, according to Berg. The report predicts that mobile media will become a natural part of the marketing media mix. Berg Insight anticipates that there will be increasing convergence between traditional web and mobile advertising as the PC and mobile technological capabilities will come to merge.
In other research news, 84 percent of chief marketing officers (CMOs) allocate less than 10 percent of their budgets to experimenting through social media and non-traditional communications, according to a study by the CMO Club and communications firm Hill and Knowlton. The study found that 55 percent of CMOs allocate 5 percent of their budgets or less to social media. In addition, the report revealed that seven out of ten CMOs say they have medium or high levels of comfort in dealing with non-traditional media, despite the low adoption rates.
Irish corporate recovery firm Firstrecovery.ie, has launched a new blog at corporaterecovery.wordpress.com. Firstrecovery.ie was set up earlier this year by accountancy firm Feehily and O'Dwyer. The website encourages businesses to rewrite their business plan, look at introducing new products, or delve into spin off markets through product and market reorientation.
Vodafone Ireland has extended the Vodafone 360 service to pre-pay customers and has added a second exclusive handset to the service which provides internet services for mobile and PC users. Vodafone 360 will now be available on the Samsung M1, having previously been solely available on the Samsung H1.
Belfast-based high-end digital camera company Andor Technology has reported a 67 percent rise in annual pre-tax profits, before once-off items, to STG3.5 million. Turnover in the year to end of September jumped 34 percent to STG33.1million. Earnings per share were up almost 80 percent to STG0.12. An increase in the total numbers of orders and increased growth in China helped boost the firm's figures.
Qualcomm has responded to the European Commission's decision to drop its anti-trust investigation against the chipmaker. The firm said it was "extremely pleased" to learn of the European Commission's pronouncement. "After an extensive four-year investigation into Qualcomm's practices, and despite the coordinated nature of the complaints made against it, the Commission has terminated its investigation with no finding of a violation.," said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel with Qualcomm. "Throughout the investigation we have fully cooperated with the Commission, while steadfastly maintaining that our business practices have enhanced consumer welfare." European regulators shut down the investigation following the withdrawal of complaints from the companies involved.
Scientists have smashed together proton beams for the first time in a 27-kilometre tunnel under the French-Swiss border. The test in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) was described as an initial step toward discovering how the universe came into existence. Scientists at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) hope experiments will give clues about the origins of the universe in the coming months as the world's biggest particle collider starts moving to full power. The test followed a 14 month delay while the LHC underwent repairs.
In related news, security firm Sophos has warned of a malware attack disguised as a video of the Large Hadron Collider in action. The scammers claim in the e-mail that thousands of people have already enjoyed and bookmarked the video, but that it requires a special Flash plug-in to work. The plug-in contains the malware infection. The campaign has been timed to coincide with the successful test of the Large Hadron Collider.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 