IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 23 July
23-07-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Irish shy of mobile transactions | Sky customers face price hikes
The Irish Times reports that Irish consumers are slower to embrace mobile transactions than their global counterparts, as concerns about privacy persist, a new report has found. The Consumer and Convergence report from KPMG says consumers in Ireland are less likely to buy goods and services through their mobile phones, with only 8 percent of respondents claiming to have done so, compared to a global average of 28 percent. The survey also found that Irish consumers are also less willing to pay for online content than people in other countries, with only 12 percent saying they would pay for content online, compared to a global average of 43 percent. Of the respondents who said they would pay for content, video content was the most popular.
The paper also says that the National College of Ireland unveiled a new MSc in web technologies at a conference titled 'The dot conf' on Thursday. Elsewhere at the event, broadcaster Mark Little advised businesses to "stop thinking about the app or the gadget and focus on customers' impulses and urges". Meanwhile, Gerry Power, chair of a working group on cloud computing for the Irish Internet Association, described how businesses were using cloud computing to lower hardware costs and improve service.
The same paper reports that the adoption of WiMax technology could help boost Ireland's economy, reducing costs for struggling small businesses and entrepreneurs, according to Motorola. Head of Motorola's 4G technology in Europe, Middle East and Africa, Andy McKinnon, said the next-generation technology could lead to cheaper broadband and better services. He said WiMax could help both businesses and consumers, reducing telecoms charges for consumers by removing line rental, and eliminating the need to have both mobile data and fixed-line broadband connections. Motorola has teamed up with telecoms provider Imagine to offer a mobile product for WiMax.
The Irish Independent says that Sky TV customers are to be hit with increases in charges for satellite movie and sports packages. Top-tier packages for dual sports and movie channels will rise by EUR3. The basic package will increase by EUR1, and the cost of a dual movies subscription will rise by EUR1. Sky said its customers will be charged between 2 percent and 5 percent more for most TV services. The prices hikes are expected to come into effect from September.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Nokia chief Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo has urged an end to speculation surrounding his future at the company, as the mobile maker posted a 40 percent drop in second-quarter profit. Nokia said profit fell to EUR227 million for the period, down from EUR380 million a year ago, even as sales rose slightly to EUR10 billion from EUR9.91 billion. It was reported earlier in the week that Nokia has started a search for a new CEO, according to sources. Kallasvuo said on Thursday he was not in a position to comment on the matter. "It needs to be brought to an end, one way or another," he said, speaking on business channel CNBC, referring to the speculation about his future. He said the uncertainty is not good for the company.
The paper also says that Amazon.com posted strong second-quarter sales growth, but investors were spooked by the amount of money the online retailer is spending on expansion. Profit grew to USD207 million, or USD0.45 a share -- a 45 percent increase on last year. Revenue leaped 41 percent to USD6.57 billion. Most of that growth came from sales in electronics and other general goods, which rose 69 percent to USD3.49 billion. However, operating expenses such as marketing and distribution costs jumped 40 percent, triggering a sharp fall in the company's shares in after-hours trading. Return on invested capital, a measure of how effectively the company is using cash, declined to 34 percent from 42 percent in the year-ago quarter.
The Financial Times reports that a global rebound in PC sales, along with the launch of a new version of the Windows operating system, fuelled a 22 percent jump in Microsoft's revenues in its latest quarter. Sales rose to USD16.04 billion in the three months to the end of June, higher than the USD15.27 billion analysts had been expecting. Net income soared 48 percent to USD4.5 billion, or USD0.51 a share, compared with USD0.46 forecast by Wall Street. However, the results failed to lift the company's shares, as Wall Street continued to worry about the fallout from economic slowdown in Europe and the risk that Microsoft would not be able to make up lost ground in markets such as smartphones and internet search.
The paper also says that mobile operator Vodafone has confirmed its financial outlook for the year. Ahead of its annual meeting next week, Vodafone said revenue for the first quarter grew 4.8 percent to STG11.3 billion. Turnover from services rose 1.1 percent year-on-year. The company also announced an agreement to pay the UK government STG1.25 billion over the next five years to settle a long-running dispute over the tax on one of its foreign subsidiaries.
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