IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 12 March
12-03-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Motorola to add Bing to phones | Xbox 360 outsells Wii
The Irish Times reports that falling CD sales and piracy resulted in a profit drop of 14 percent at music group EMI's Irish subsidiary last year. According to accounts recently lodged with the Companies' Registration Office (CRO), pretax profits at EMI Records (Ireland) declined to EUR3.9 million in 2009, from EUR4.5 million the previous year. "Declining recorded music sales, economic recession, physical piracy, illegal downloading and growing competition for discretionary consumer spending and retail shelf space have all contributed to this decline," the directors' report states.
The paper also notes that the board of Newry-based First Derivatives has approved a payment to shareholders of a second interim dividend of STG0.04 for each ordinary share on 31 March. In a trading statement, the company said it expects to report pretax profits for the year ended February 2010 in line with market expectations.
The paper also says there has been a broadly positive reaction from business groups and other stakeholders to the Innovation Taskforce report. The American Chamber of Commerce said the report demonstrated a recognition by the Government that Ireland will need a "step change" in its programmes and policies in order to secure future prosperity. Business group IBEC welcomed the report, particularly the commitment to invest in research. Although broadly positive, Irish Taxation Institute president Olivia Lynch said the key tax proposals "must be acted on quickly". Swift implementation of the report was also stressed by Engineers Ireland.
The same paper notes that seven tech firms have been shortlisted for the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG)/Irish Times innovation awards. The ITLG is a group of senior Silicon Valley technology executives who aim to help Irish start-ups do business in the US. Four companies are competing for an innovation award: RedMere, DecaWave, Dial2Do and Kainos. Three firms are shortlisted for the most promising technology award: B-Secur, SiSaf and Sentry Wireless. The winning companies will be announced at an awards ceremony at Stanford University, California, on Monday night.
The paper also says that Irish firm pTools has adapted its software to enable Lincolnshire Police to communicate with the local community via Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. The police force, which serves a population of more than 640,000, worked with pTools to add social media functionality to its website and intranet. Lincolnshire Police uses the technology to warn people of scams or local crimes, update them on traffic, or request information.
The same paper notes that more than 400 Irish companies are taking part in Microsoft's BizSpark programme for early-stage technology firms -- proportionately higher than most other countries where the initiative is in place. BizSpark is an international programme that provides entrepreneurs and start-ups with a range of supports including technology from Microsoft, resources from partner organisations such as Enterprise Ireland and guidance from business mentors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Motorola has agreed a deal with Microsoft to add Bing search and map capabilities to Motorola's new smartphones. Motorola said the alliance will give its customers a choice when using search and map functions on the company's Android-based devices, which are powered by Google. Motorola said the new offering will be launched in China in the current quarter.
The same paper notes that US bookseller Barnes & Noble has created a new 'B&N eReader' application for Apple's soon-to-be released iPad tablet. The company said the free application "will give our customers access to more than 1 million e-books, magazines and newspapers in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore."
The Financial Times reports that Microsoft's Xbox 360 console outsold the Nintendo Wii in the US last month for the first time in more than two years. Microsoft sold 422,000 Xbox 360s in the US in February, while Nintendo sold 397,900 Wii consoles and Sony sold 360,100 PlayStation 3s, according to research company NPD.
The paper also says that US regulators are assembling evidence for a potential antitrust challenge to Google's acquisition of mobile advertising company AdMob, according to sources. However, antitrust experts said that the move by Federal Trade Commission lawyers to start gathering evidence does not mean a case would necessarily go ahead.
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