Strong branding needed to survive PR pitfalls May 10, 2011 UNDERSTANDABLY brands put in a lot of work to control PR but sometimes disasters happen and the impact that then has on the brand is dependent on the response and the underlying strength of the brand. Apple’s branding has been exceptional over the last few years but it has not stopped things going wrong. However [...]
Microsoft closes in on £5bn deal for Skype May 10, 2011 Microsoft Corp is close to buying Web video conferencing service Skype Technologies for $8.5bn (£5.1bn) including debt, a source familiar with the situation said, underscoring the technology giant’s growing ambition to plug a hole in its mobile offerings. Buying money-losing Skype would have no immediate impact on Microsoft’s finances, but would make clear its intention [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SAMOA TO MOVE BACK TO THE FUTURE Samoa, the tiny Pacific Ocean island state, is travelling through time to improve its economic prospects. In a vote of confidence for the Asian century, the country has decided to shift the jagged International Date Line to its east at the end of this year, which [...]
Social network bosses in line for huge windfall May 9, 2011 LinkedIn’s management stand to make a paper fortune when the firm floats later this month. Co-founder and chairman Reid Hoffman will be the biggest winner. He will reduce his stake from 21.2 per cent to 20.1 per cent, meaning he could be $660m richer if LinkedIn hits the top end of its range. The California-born [...]
Apple brand tops the table May 8, 2011 APPLE has become the most valuable brand in the world, at the expense of its increasingly bitter rival Google. Steve Jobs’ firm has an estimated brand value of $153bn (£93bn) according to WPP subsidiary BrandZ. Apple knocked Google off its perch following a run of four years with the search giant at the top of [...]
CapCo to spruce up Covent Garden site May 5, 2011 PROPERTY firm Capital & Counties (CapCo) has announced a £100m share placing, which it plans to spend on revamping and adding to its Covent Garden portfolio. The company, formed last year when Liberty International was broken up, is planning to sell 62.1m new shares, worth almost 10 per cent of its outstanding stock. CapCo’s buildings [...]
Intel unveils smallest chip May 4, 2011 INTEL has unveiled a new low-power chip that crams in a record number of transistors. The firm hopes the design will give it a foothold in the market for smartphones and tablets. It has been left behind in the rapidly expanding sector, with chips designed by Cambridge-based ARM Holdings cornering more than 95 per cent [...]
ARM rides smartphone wave April 27, 2011 Chip designer ARM Holdings rode the crest of the smartphone boom to smash analyst forecasts with a 35 per cent rise in first quarter profits. The Cambridge-based company, whose designs are in Apple’s iPad and iPhone, also said it will meet its full-year targets in spite of the Japanese earthquake’s impact on the supply-chain. Its [...]
WHITE iPHONE FINALLY HITS SHELVES April 27, 2011 THE white iPhone will finally go on sale today after months of speculation. Some analysts say demand has waned after several delays to its release and the imminent arrival of the iPhone 5. Apple also said the iPad 2 will go on sale in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and eight other countries.
Tech funds: a decade after the demise of pets.com April 27, 2011 IT has now been more than a decade since the dot-com boom and bust, which at its height resembled a gold rush as investors wanted to pile into anything and everything tech-related. But after tech funds imploded with the demise of pets.com and its litter, is it a case of once bitten, twice shy for [...]