IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 3 August
03-08-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Most mobile operators charging highest possible roaming fees | Lenovo posts sharp rise in profit
The Irish Times says that shares in Nokia rose sharply on Thursday after the mobile phone maker reported stronger than expected second-quarter results. Read the details of Nokia's results on ENN.
The paper also says that Eircom has broadband-enabled a further 19 exchanges across the State, as reported by ENN on Thursday.
The same paper says the Health Service Executive (HSE) is in the advanced stage of a pilot programme for an online supplier management system that it hopes can deliver significant efficiencies in the way it deals with its thousands of suppliers. Dublin-based Supplierforce.com is providing its software to the HSE as a hosted service for a pilot that began at the end of last year. The software is initially being used to cleanse and consolidate the information about thousands of suppliers that is held on numerous databases.
The paper also notes that Piczo, the social network which aims to provide a safe environment for teenagers, has signed a deal with Interxion which will see the site hosted at Interxion's Dublin data centre.
The paper also says that Microsoft is to start offering a free ad-funded version of its Works productivity suite. Read more on this story on ENN.
According to the same paper, the level of company acquisitions in the European tech sector was down in the second quarter and is 5 percent lower than the all-time high of 846 transactions recorded in the same quarter a year ago. The data is recorded in Regent Associates' "European Technology Acquisition Review", which notes that companies from the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and North America accounted for 56 percent of all acquisitions of European technology firms.
Most Irish mobile phone users are being charged the maximum possible roaming fees allowed under new European Commission rules, with only Three bucking the trend, the paper also reports. A new Commission website detailing roaming fees charged by mobile operators throughout Europe shows that Meteor, O2 and Vodafone charge the maximum permitted rate: EUR0.49 per minute to make calls, and EUR0.24 to receive calls. Three charges substantially less at EUR0.322 to call, and EUR0.157 to receive. The reduced rates will come into force at the end of August.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Lenovo Group has posted a sharp rise in net profit for its fiscal first quarter. Lenovo said net profit in the three months to the end of June rose to USD66.8 million from USD5.2 million a year earlier, while revenue increased 13 percent to USD3.93 billion from USD3.48 billion. The company said its worldwide PC shipments increased 22 percent in the quarter, faster than the industry's average growth of 13 percent.
According to the same paper, France Telecom posted a 41 percent jump in first-half net profit, as the telecommunications company showed strength in its domestic business while pursuing rapid growth in emerging markets. Net profit rose to EUR3.31 billion from EUR2.35 billion a year earlier, helped by a EUR671 million drop in income tax from the "recognition of deferred tax assets in France" and a change in the income-tax rate in the UK. Its domestic residential market was also stronger than expected.
The Financial Times says that games console makers' dreams of the biggest holiday sales season in video game history were shattered on Thursday when the publisher Take-Two admitted it would have to delay its eagerly awaited title, Grand Theft Auto IV, until next year. Along with Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 08, to be released in the next two weeks, and Microsoft's Halo 3, launching in September, GTA IV was part of a blockbuster triple-play of games that were expected to sell in their millions and give a much-needed boost to console sales. GTA IV was being released on the next-generation Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, helping Microsoft and Sony, whose consoles have been outsold by the Nintendo Wii.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 