European Tech Wire

Report Predicts 17% Annual Growth for Internet Telephony

London -- The latest report by market research firm Analysys predicts
that the European market for Internet telephony (VoIP) will grow by
about 17% every year for the next five years and, by 2010, be worth
more than 12 billion euro (£8.3 billion). Analysys also predicted that
more than 32 million corporate workers in Europe would have VoIP
connections by that same year. "New technologies and novel
approaches are causing fresh disruption in the enterprise voice market
as vendors attempt to deliver the new ultimate goal of enterprises: to
reach anyone, anytime, anywhere," said report author Margaret
Hopkins. "VoIP has become the de facto future of voice systems, and,
consequently, vendors are ceasing development of the older TDM (time
division multiplex) systems."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C2001448B

Report: Germany Dragging Heels on Broadband Roll-Out

London -- A new report from market research firm Strategy Analytics
shows that Germany is trailing the rest of its European neighbours
badly when it comes to broadband. The report found that just 24% of
German households will have broadband by the end of this year,
compared to 56% in the Netherlands, currently the most-advanced
broadband market in Europe. Switzerland (51%) and Denmark (49%)
came in second and third, respectively. Strategy Analytics attributed
Germany's poor showing (out of the 14 European countries in the
report, it came in last place) to limited competition and the country's
fragmented and highly-regulated cable industry. "With limited
competition in Germany, Deutsche Telekom has no real incentive to
implement an aggressive growth strategy for broadband," said Strategy
Analytics senior analyst Martin Olausson.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?B3124248B

Report: Handheld Market Falls for Sixth Consecutive Quarter

Framingham, Massachusetts -- The worldwide market for handheld
devices (not including mobile phones) experienced its sixth consecutive
quarter of decline in the second quarter of 2005, according to a new
report by market research firm IDC. The report defines handheld
devices as pocket-sized, either pen- or keypad-centric and capable of
synchronising with desktop or laptop computers. Shipments of the
devices in the last quarter fell by 20.8% compared to the same quarter
one year ago and 24.9% compared to the quarter previous. Palm, the
market's largest supplier, suffered a 30.9% year-on-year decline, while
HP's quarterly shipments were down 39.3%. However, Acer's
shipments grew 608.2% year on year, Dell posted a 17.1% year-on-year
increase and Yakumo, a consumer electronics vendor based in
Germany, rose into the No. 5 spot on a year-over-year increase of
346.2%.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A21E3238B

CSR to Acquire UbiNetics Software Division for £27 Million

Cambridge, England -- Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR), a U.K.-based
Bluetooth chip specialist, announced that it has agreed to acquire the
software unit of UbiNetics, a Cambridge-based specialist in protocol
stacks for mobile-phone development, for approximately £27 million in
cash. CSR said the acquisition would give the company a strong R&D
team and speed up its existing software developments in Bluetooth, Wi-
Fi and Ultra Wide Band. UbiNetics's team will also give CSR the
capacity to extend its software offering to mobile-handset customers,
the company said. "In acquiring UbiNetics, we are exploiting our
distinctive capabilities by extending CSR's capacity for sustainable
innovation and by improving our ability to be flexible to market needs,"
said CSR CEO John Hodgson. UbiNetics currently has 170 engineers
located in Bangalore, India; Shenzhen, China; and Cambridge.
http://www.csr.com/pr/pr202.htm

London -- The BBC World Service announced that it is planning to

London -- The BBC World Service announced that it is planning to
launch its first online soap opera. Called "Flatmates", the show will
feature a multicultural cast of young people and target English-
language learners. What's more, visitors to the programme's website
will be able to listen to the last episode online and even vote on what
happens next to the characters. "Online is a fantastic way of learning
English because people can go at their own pace and interact with the
web in a way they want to, at a time that suits them," said "Flatmates"
producer Nuala O'Sullivan. The BBC plans to launch the show on Aug.
1.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E2A13348B

July Systems to Launch Mobile-Game Subscription Service in U.K.

London -- July Systems, a California-based mobile entertainment
publisher, announced the launch of the first mobile games subscription
service in the U.K. The PlayOn service allows Vodafone, O2, Orange,
T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile subscribers to pay a monthly fee for
unlimited access to a catalogue of game titles on the mobile portal
Mob.TV, the company said. "We expect the PlayOn! service to deliver
strong recurring revenues compared to regular game download services
that offer limited flexibility to consumers in the way they can purchase
and use mobile games," said Carl Brennand, head of the U.K. division
of Monstermob, July Systems's content retailer.
http://www.julysystems.com 
http://www.mob.tv 

Israel's Sela Relocates Headquarters to U.S.

Sunnyvale, California -- Sela, an Israel-based maker of electron
microscope sample preparation equipment for the semiconductor
industry, announced that it has relocated its sales and marketing
operations from its Israeli headquarters to Sunnyvale in an effort to
better serve its customer base. The company also said that it has
promoted Shams Tabrez, the company's director of U.S. sales, to vice
president of global sales. "(Tabrez's) promotion and the relocation of
the sales function to Sunnyvale go hand in hand," said Sela CEO Colin
Smith. "Both moves illustrate our emphasis on the U.S. marketplace
and worldwide expansion."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050727/275326.html?.v=1 

T-Mobile Signs Partnership with Robbie Williams

Bonn, Germany -- Wireless network operator T-Mobile, a division of
German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, announced that
it has signed an 18-month partnership with artist Robbie Williams. The
deal includes the release of exclusive mobile content like live streamed
concerts and full-track downloads, in addition to Sony Ericsson
handsets that will come pre-loaded with music by Williams, who has
sold more than 51 million albums worldwide.
http://tinyurl.com/dyf5w 
http://www.robbiewilliams.com 

America Online Teams Up with Israel's InfoGin

Dulles, Virginia -- America Online announced that it has partnered with
Israel-based InfoGin to launch test versions of three new mobile-search
services. The services, available at beta.aol.com, give mobile users
access to AOL's Search and Yellow Pages offerings, as well as its
Pinpoint Shopping Search. The services let users search the web, shop
for products and access local listings from their mobile phones and
PDAs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050727/275173.html 
http://beta.aol.com 

Sapiens Extends Contract for "Merchandise Bought Ledger" System

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina -- Sapiens, a U.S.-based
provider of IT outsourcing services, announced that one of the largest
general merchandise retailers in the U.K. has extended its application
support contract with Sapiens until 2007 for its "Merchandise Bought
Ledger" system, an application used by various sections within the
customer's payables department. The current contract extension and
additional license are valued at £628,000 million. The application was
developed by Sapiens and implemented in 2001.
http://www.sapiens.com/en/