IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 2 September
02-09-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Daft brothers to launch news site | Eircom to revamp financial reporting
The Irish Times reports that TheJournal.ie, a new site modelled on the Huffington Post, is due to launch in October. The site is the brainchild of Eamonn and Brian Fallon, the brothers behind the property website Daft.ie. Brian Fallon says TheJournal.ie is a "community site based around news. It will be about enabling people to share stories, participate in stories, and shape the news agenda somewhat. Our target audience is people who like to self-publish. It's a cross between the Huffington Post and a site in France called La Poste." The business will have a newsroom of five journalists, including editor Jennifer O'Connell, and a further five people deployed in technology roles.
The same paper notes that a smartphone app has been launched that enables visitors to Dublin to simply point their phone at a tourist attraction to get information about it. Dublin Tourism's Visit Dublin app will initially feature 1,400 points of interest. Visitors who download the app can use their phone as a compass to guide them to attractions, restaurants and hotels. They can also read or listen to data about their destination, check opening times and receive special discounts. The application is part of a EUR10 million investment in a digital strategy to promote Dublin. The app was developed by GeoGuides. It costs EUR2.99 and is available from the Apple App Store and the Android Market.
The Irish Independent notes that Dali Properties has sued mobile operator Meteor for at least EUR400,000, claiming the telco did not validly exercise a lease-break option in July 2009 for a premises at the Citywest business park in Dublin.
The paper also reports that telecoms watchdog ComReg is forcing Eircom to embark on a major revamp of its financial reporting structure. ComReg wants the telco to use a so-called market-based format, which will increase the level of transparency of the current separated accounts delivered by Eircom. ComReg initiated the move following an extensive consultation process. It noted that Eircom will now have to improve the availability of adequate information on costs and performance of the various parts of its regulated business. "This would enable Eircom to demonstrate compliance with its regulatory and competition law obligations while facilitating ComReg in monitoring such compliance," said ComReg.
The Irish Examiner notes that Caribbean mobile operator Digicel has announced a 10 percent rise in its subscriber base over the past 14 months, bringing its customer numbers to over 11 million. The telecoms firm has added more than 200,000 customers since publishing its annual results just two months ago. The company also said that its market share has increased in each of its core markets around the Caribbean and Central America.
The paper also notes that the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) has linked up with Enterprise Ireland in the search for the Software Exporter of the Year 2010, as part of the National Export Industry Awards.
The Financial Times says that Apple has made its most serious bid yet for the internet-connected television market, slashing the price and size of its AppleTV product by more than half and providing it with movies and television shows to rent. Apple demonstrated the USD99 gadget in San Francisco, where CEO Steve Jobs showed a new interface that lets users stream movies from Netflix, home movies from their computers or rentals from the iTunes store. Apple also launched its own "social network for music" within iTunes, called Ping. Look out for more details of the Apple announcement in our Weekly Digest on Thursday.
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