NEWS IN BRIEF
For the record 2 July
02-07-2007
by Emmet Ryan
Harry Potter goes mobile with Three | Kainos reports rise in turnover
Three Ireland has launched the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix mobile game, which is inspired by the movie and book of the same name. The game is available to all Three Ireland customers to download from Monday and is the first time a Harry Potter game has been adapted for mobile gaming. Gamers can duel, combat and cast spells as a single player, or go head-to-head with the multiple character option. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix can be downloaded via the games icon on Three Ireland handsets for EUR7.
Spam levels are on the rise, according to security analysts SoftScan. According to the IT security firm, 90 percent of e-mail scanned during June was classified as spam. SoftScan said that spam levels fluctuated throughout the month and some days saw levels drop to 86 percent.
Data Edge has signed a distribution deal with Symmetricom. Under the agreement, Data Edge will be the Irish distributor for Symmetricom's portfolio of time and frequency products and services, which are currently used by many of the world's largest telecommunications providers, the firms say.
IT consulting firm Kainos announced its full year results on Monday. From April 2006 to April 2007, turnover increased by 13 percent over the previous year to EUR18.5 million, with profit levels increasing substantially. The company has credited its strong financial results to good sales performance and an increase in demand for technology consulting in both the UK and Ireland. In support of continuing growth, Kainos increased its headcount during the year by almost 40 percent to 220 employees and has opened a new office in London.
A dinner with a difference is being held at Jaipur restaurant in Dublin on Monday evening. Curry 2.0 is an event where representatives from start-ups pitch their ideas to waiters over dinner. The individual with the best idea on the night will be rewarded with a trip to OpenCoffee in London, where presentations can be made to potential partners and investors over coffee. For more information see the Segala blog.
ComReg has announced that the period for reviewing Eircom's application for funding under the Universal Service Obligation will cover the financial period commencing 1 April 2006. Eircom had asked for this period to be backdated to 1999 but ComReg has decided not to grant this request.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 