IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 7 December
07-12-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Ireland's broadband connections shrink | Google unveils new smartphone
The Irish Times reports that the number of broadband connections in Ireland fell in the year to June 2010, according to new data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Ireland had 20.3 fixed-line broadband connections per 100 inhabitants at the end of June, compared to 21.3 in June 2009. This compares to an average of 24.2 for the 31 nations surveyed by the OECD and 37.8 for the Netherlands, the top-ranked nation.
The Irish Independent says that a school principal has been delivering lessons to students over the internet on account of the bad weather. "We've been closed since last Monday and I decided something had to be done," said Caithriona Carty from Glenmore national school in Mayo. She sent text messages to parents and within a couple of hours was in e-mail contact with all of nine of her pupils through Google Talk. "We started doing revision, although one boy wrote back saying that he hoped there would be no homework as he had to build an igloo," she said.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google has unveiled a new smartphone, developed with Samsung Electronics, along with a new version of its Android software. The move follows Google's short-lived effort to market a handset called the Nexus One, which was discontinued this summer. The new model, the Nexus S, will be introduced in the US in mid-December and sold exclusively at Best Buy retail stores and on Best Buy's website. The Nexus S will feature front- and rear-facing cameras so users can make video calls. It also includes technology that could help people make payments with their devices.
In more news of Google, the Financial Times reports that the search giant has launched its e-book store, 18 months after first announcing its plans. Google said its eBookstore, formerly known as Google Editions, has "hundreds of thousands" of books for sale at "competitive" prices in the US. In addition, almost 3 million books are available free. The books will be accessible via Google's eBooks Web Reader from mobile phones, PCs or dedicated e-book readers. The store is expected to arrive in Europe and Asia next year.
The paper also notes that Ericsson has won a multibillion-dollar deal to upgrade network infrastructure for US mobile operator Sprint Nextel, after Huawei of China was ruled out of the bidding amid security concerns within the US government. The five-year deal, which involves construction of a new mobile network across the central and south-eastern US, marks an important victory for Ericsson of Sweden, which is battling to defend its market leadership against Huawei.
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