IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 2 July
02-07-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Longford cable firm goes into receivership | Google to buy flight-information software firm
The Irish Times reports that Truvo USA, the holding company for the Golden Pages and for Truvo.ie in Ireland, has filed for US bankruptcy protection, with a plan to turn the company over to senior lenders, including AIB. The company also publishes and distributes the Eircom phone book under contract. The firm said the recession had accelerated a shift among advertisers away from Truvo's printed directories in Belgium, Ireland and Portugal to the internet.
The paper also says that Sophia Search, a University of Ulster spin-out, has closed what it claims is the largest ever angel investment in a Northern Ireland company. Sophia declined to say how much it raised but it is believed to be a "seven-figure sum in US dollars". Iona Technologies co-founder Chris Horn was one of the individuals who took part in the funding round. He has also been appointed chairman of Sophia. The start-up has developed a set of search tools that can be used to find documents within organisations.
The same paper also reports on internet entrepreneur Colm Lyon's new online payments venture, Carapay. Due for launch next year, the company will allow people to make electronic payments easily, without the hassle of needing the other party's account number or sort code. Last month Carapay was awarded a licence by the Financial Regulator under the Payment Service Directive, which allows new companies to offer payment accounts in the European market without a banking licence. The technology will allow consumers to use mobile and web apps to make secure payments for free in real time.
The paper also notes that Irish company Point The Way is testing new technology that could revolutionise navigation for the blind. The firm is conducting early tests of its phone application, which helps visually impaired users follow GPS directions easily. The app uses a phone's built-in GPS receiver and compass to gauge its location. It then vibrates when the phone is pointed in the correct direction, allowing users to follow a route by touch.
The paper also reports that Microsoft has pulled the plug on a new generation of smartphones less than three months after unveiling the devices. Microsoft said it has cancelled plans to sell its 'Kin' phones in Europe this autumn. The internal team working on the phones will now be combined with the group working on Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Phone 7 software. "We will continue to work with Verizon in the US to sell current Kin phones," said Microsoft.
The paper also notes that Sony is providing free software on its website to try and address a "burn hazard" problem with its Vaio PC. Sony said earlier this week that 535,000 units of the Vaio PC may be in danger of overheating, and began a voluntary recall scheme of certain models in the US. Sony said in a statement that there have been 39 overheating cases in total, all reported outside Japan, some of which have resulted in damage to computers.
The same paper says that Digicel has rejected reports from Honduras that the Denis O'Brien firm was planning to halve the number of retail outlets operated there. Digicel Honduras is open for business, according to its head office in Jamaica. "To be clear, Digicel is not reducing its retail footprint in Honduras," said Digicel. "As a matter of fact, we are increasing it… [While] we are reducing the total number of exclusive stores -- which is standard practice when our business matures in a market -- we are in fact increasing our retail presence from 257 to 295 points of sale."
The Irish Independent reports that a receiver is trying to draw up a rescue plan for a cable manufacturing company that has gone into receivership. The 106 employees of B3 Solutions in Farneyhoogan, Longford, which makes fibre-optic cables for the telecoms industry, are facing redundancy unless a buyer can be sourced in the coming week. Meanwhile, about 100 jobs are to be created at a US medical devices firm in Galway. Merit Medical announced it is to invest EUR6.7 million at its Galway plant and turn it into its main European manufacturing centre.
The Irish Examiner says that Finland has become the first country in the world to make access to a broadband connection a legal right for citizens. From Thursday, every Finn has a legal entitlement to access a 1 Mbps broadband connection. Under Finnish law, telecoms companies are obliged to provide all citizens with broadband lines that can run at such a speed. In addition, the Finnish government has promised that legal right will be increased to a broadband connection speed of 100 Mbps by 2015.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google has agreed to acquire ITA Software, a flight-information software company, for USD700 million in cash. Google said the acquisition of ITA, which organises data such as flight times, ticket availability and prices, will enable it to create online search tools to help people find such information more easily on the web. The search giant said the acquisition will make it easier for customers to comparison-shop for flights. "I think it's unlikely that anything we do [with ITA's technology] will look very much like what's available today," said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.
The Financial Times says that the price war in the e-reader market is continuing. On Thursday, Amazon cut the price of its high-end Kindle DX by more than 20 percent, to USD379. The move follows price-cutting last week that saw Amazon and Barnes & Noble readjust the prices of their e-readers to better compete with Apple's new iPad tablet. Amazon's base-model Kindle now sells for USD189, while the Barnes & Noble Nook is priced at USD199. The Kindle DX is Amazon's largest e-reader and was designed for professional and academic environments.
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