IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 7 January
07-01-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Samsung gives upbeat guidance | TI to make e-reader chips
The Irish Times reports that Irish scientists have won EU research funding of EUR152 million over the past three years. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also reports on the start of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. 3D television, e-book readers and touchscreen tablet computers are set to be the new products that attract most attention from the 100,000-plus people expected to attend the tech trade show. Look out for coverage of the CES in our Weekly Digest on Thursday.
The paper also says that the Irish arm of UK software firm Intec posted an operating loss of EUR714,000 in 2008, according to accounts recently filed with the Companies' Office. Galway-based Intec Billing Ireland Ltd sustained the loss after turnover fell 8 percent to EUR42.4 million. The company's pre-tax loss to the end of September 2008 was EUR5,000, compared with a pre-tax profit of EUR4 million in 2007.
According to the Financial Times, Samsung Electronics has given upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter and next year, thanks to rising chip prices and healthy sales of high-end TVs. The South Korean firm expects to swing to an operating profit for Q4 of between SKW3,500 billion (USD3 billion) and SKW3,900 billion, with sales rising about 18 percent to a record SKW39,000 billion. For the full year 2009, Samsung predicts an operating profit of SKW10,920 billion, up 90 percent from a year ago, while sales are expected to rise 15 percent to a record SKW136,050 billion.
The Wall Street Journal reports that US chipmaker Texas Instruments plans to enter the e-reader market with new chips and software for device manufacturers. The company, which makes chips for a range of devices including mobile phones, said its new e-book technology will let manufacturers produce more energy-efficient e-readers at lower costs.
The paper also says that US telco AT&T is to start selling mobile phones that run on technology from Google and Palm, as its exclusive contract to host the iPhone in the US comes to an end. AT&T's deal with Apple could end as early as June, according to analysts, forcing the operator to line up other devices to bring in customers if the agreement is not renewed. The telco declined to give pricing or other details about the new devices until closer to their launch.
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