IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 5 November
05-11-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
Up to 200,000 iPhones to be sold in UK over Christmas: O2 | S3 says more acquisitions on the cards
The Irish Times reports that a plan to install a smart meter to monitor electricity use in every home in the country will be announced on Monday by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan. Smart meters are designed to operate like fuel gauges in cars so that people will be told in a straightforward manner how much electricity they use and at what cost. The scheme aims to cut electricity demand by about 10 percent for every household. The Minister is expected to announce details of a pilot programme to install the meters in 25,000 homes next year.
The Wall Street Journal says that Facebook and MySpace, separately, are to announce moves to try to turn their popularity into more revenue. Facebook plans to start letting advertisers interact with users even when they aren't on the Facebook site. This could give outside companies, such as movie services, a way to market and sell their products, like letting people watch films, within Facebook, and allow for more targeted advertising, according to people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, MySpace will be announcing a self-service way for users such as bands, politicians and small businesses to buy advertising on the site.
In more social networking news, the same paper reports that Yahoo is launching Kickstart, a social network service designed to help college students get career help. The service aims to help students tap into a network of professionals willing to help them with internships, job prospects and career advice. Yahoo believes Kickstart will be valuable to young people who don't yet have extensive contact lists on professional social networks such as LinkedIn and who use other social networks such as Facebook primarily to communicate with friends.
The Financial Times reports that up to 200,000 Apple iPhones will be sold in Britain over Christmas and the New Year, according to O2. The much-hyped phone will go on sale in the UK on Friday, 9 November. O2 is the exclusive mobile network for the handset and it predicts that the iPhone will be its fastest selling handset yet. Matthew Key, chief executive of 02's UK business, told the Financial Times he expected "a couple of hundred thousand" iPhones to be sold in the first two months by Apple, 02 and Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone retailer.
The same paper says that companies need to seriously rethink the way they manage and value their IT assets if they are to extract better returns from these investments, according to a study published on Monday. Describing IT hardware and software as the "last remaining hidden corporate asset", the study, commissioned by software developer Micro Focus, said core IT assets should be valued the same way as other corporate assets such as brand and goodwill. Insead, the Paris-based business school that carried out the research, said that while IT now plays a vital role in driving corporate performance, companies have continued to treat their IT not as assets for value creation but as an expense item to be minimised.
The Sunday Business Post reports that the owners of payments firm Alphyra could share EUR150 million if a planned reverse takeover with UK-quoted firm Cardpoint goes ahead. The deal, which is worth up to EUR500 million in equity, will see Alphyra's shareholders Balderton Capital take a 60 percent stake in the new firm, Payzone. The takeover is expected to be completed next month.
Meanwhile, the same paper writes that tech firm SoftCo made a EUR3.5 million pre-tax profit last year. The company, which is based in Dublin, specialises in document management technology for government organisations, performed well in recent years, with retained profits of EUR98 million at the end of last year. The firm employs 52 people, up from 51 the year before.
The same paper also writes about the website ratemyhospital.ie, which has been named as one of the world's top five e-health projects in the UN sponsored World Summit Awards. The site was one of 40 projects chosen out of 24,000 reviewed worldwide.
The Sunday Business Post also reports on a planned broadband link from Cork to Donegal, which will allow firms with branch offices to link all their premises. The brainchild of Co Clare-based Ai Bridges, the project has already got underway, with a metro Ethernet from Cork Airport linking Clare, Limerick and Galway. The service is hoped to be available in Donegal by the second quarter of 2008.
Changes are on the cards for tech firm Vordel, which the paper reports has raised EUR1.5 million in new funding, along with appointing a new chairman. Existing investors such as Elderstreet Capital Partners stumped up the cash, along with management and a new investor Hatton Investment Group. Christian Barrios, meanwhile, will take over as Vordel's chairman.
Meanwhile, Norkom is expected to double its revenue in the next two years, the Sunday Business Post writes, with Merrion Stockbrokers estimating it will reach EUR58.5 million in 2009. The firm, which develops anti-fraud software for financial institutions, including technology to fight money laundering, is expected to benefit from the expanding market in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
The same paper reports that chip design firm Silicon and Software Systems (S3) is planning to buy more companies, after it bought Portuguese firm Acacia Semiconductor. S3 has already pinpointed up to 60 possible acquisitions, several of which it plans to purchase in the future.
HP Ireland is expressing its disappointment in the Sunday Business Post that Dublin City Council has dismissed plans for a city-wide wireless broadband network, opting to run a pilot programme in just three areas instead. Managing Director of the firm, Martin Murphy, said the publicly funded Wi-Fi project would have been "ground breaking".
The same paper also reports that telecoms operator Perlico is promising a mobile service in the near future. The company's commercial director Paul Woods explained that the firm is eyeing up alternative markets, and mentioned that mobile may be one of them. Meanwhile, BT Ireland is also planning a mobile service in 2008.
The Sunday Times reports that the Gardai are coming into the 21st century with a new computer system that will identify fingerprints found at crime scenes. The automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) is expected to help clear up thousands of unsolved crimes. The systems will search the Gardai's growing database of fingerprints to match them to those involved in a crime. Previously, Gardai were relying on having other indicators of identity before they could match the prints.
The same paper reports that Mastercard could be considering a stake in e-commerce firm Orbiscom. The Dublin-based firm has already indicated Mastercard's intentions to its shareholders, describing it as a "small strategic stake".
Meanwhile, the paper writes that Dermot Desmond is continuing to invest money in high tech mapping firm eSpatial, with another EUR2.35 million ploughed into the troubled firm. The firm has racked up losses of more than EUR12 million, and Desmond has invested in the region of EUR16 million in the company.
The Sunday Independent writes about the case of Kiara Duncan, who is currently on a life support machine in Australia following a car crash. The 20-year-old's Bebo page was hacked, and a fake message saying she had died was posted. However, a second message from one of her friends corrected the poster.
The Sunday Tribune also reports that former Magnet boss Vern Kennedy has criticised the Irish broadband market -- and ComReg -- after leaving his post. The former Magnet chief said he blamed the regulator more than Eircom for the current state of the telecoms market, describing it as "challenging".
Meanwhile, the Irish Domain Registry (IEDR) has yet to be overwhelmed with people applying for their personal domains, with high profile figures such as Ian Paisley, Dermot Desmond and Gay Byrne yet to apply, the paper writes. The option was made available to well-known individuals and companies in September, and the service was opened up to the public last week. However, the IEDR said there was a "surprising lack" of applications.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 