IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 14 April
14-04-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Intel enjoys profit, revenue surge | EU commissioner favours net neutrality
The Irish Times reports that chip giant Intel posted a 44 percent jump in first-quarter revenue and gave a current-quarter forecast ahead of Wall Street expectations. Intel said gross profit margin for Q1 was 63 percent, and forecast margins of 64 percent, plus or minus a couple of percentage points, for the current quarter. Net income came in at USD2.4 billion, or USD0.43 a share, for the period, up from USD629 million, or USD0.11 a share, in the year-ago period. That exceeded average expectations for USD0.38 a share. Revenue rose to USD10.3 billion, above the Wall Street target of around USD9.84 billion. Revenue for the current quarter was predicted to come in at around USD10.2 billion, ahead of analyst expectations of USD9.68 billion.
In more Intel-related news, the paper says that David O'Meara, managing director of Intel-owned Irish software company Havok, is to leave the company in June. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also says that Irish firms, including tech companies, have won contracts worth more than EUR200 million relating to the London Olympic Games, as reported by ENN on Tuesday.
The same paper notes that Twitter is to start running advertising on its website, as reported by ENN.
The Irish Examiner says that virtual visits by doctors and remote monitoring of patients at home will form part of future healthcare, predicts a new report by consultants PwC. The 'HealthCast 2010' report also anticipates more customised care for the individual, re-direction of funding to reward quality outcomes, a far greater role for technology, an increase in medical tourism and less tolerance of those who engage in unhealthy behaviour.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has issued new MacBook Pro notebooks, adding computing power and boosting graphics capabilities while extending battery life. All MacBook Pros will feature more powerful graphics technology. The 13-inch models will use a new card from NVIDIA, an upgrade that will facilitate applications like video-editing and games. The 15- and 17-inch models will carry upgraded processors made by Intel. The 13-inch MacBook Pro will run for 10 hours on a single battery charge, according to Apple. The other two models will run for between eight and nine hours. The 13-inch notebook starts at USD1,199, while the 17-inch model is USD2,299.
In other news of Apple, the Financial Times says that Taiwanese chipmaker Elan Microelectronics is seeking to expand a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple to include the new iPad tablet. Elan, which sells touchscreens and other components, filed a complaint last month with the US International Trade Commission against Apple. The suit alleged patent infringement relating to the touchscreens used in Apple devices such as the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and asked the court to block Apple from selling those products in the US. I.H. Yeh, chairman and president of Elan, told the newspaper that since the iPad uses the same technology for its touchscreen as the iPhone, Elan "will definitely bring a lawsuit again, once we see mass production and volume shipments of the iPad".
The paper also says that the EU telecoms commissioner has said telcos will not be allowed to charge online content providers to deliver high-bandwidth content to internet users. Neelie Kroes said she would take action if companies such as Telefonica and France Telecom sought payments in exchange for carrying bandwidth-heavy services such as YouTube. "Users should be able to access and distribute the content, services and applications they want," she said. Telecoms groups have argued in recent months that websites that have caused an explosion in the amount of data carried over their networks should contribute towards the cost of expanding capacity, or face slower delivery of their content. Kroes said she would not tolerate ISPs that restricted the speed of commercial websites.
The same paper notes that British prime minister Gordon Brown positioned himself in the opposite camp to Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday, saying he believed internet users were so used to free news content that paywalls would not work. In an interview with Radio Times, Brown said: "People have got used to getting content without having to pay. I don't think you are going to be able to put things behind paywalls in the way that people think." The prime minister's remarks are likely to be seen in the context that, after supporting the Labour party since 1997, Murdoch's most widely read newspapers have switched to backing the Conservatives in the upcoming general election.
Free! "In the papers" email newsletter -- get the full text to your in-box every business day. Email itp@enn.ie with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 