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Telstra To Merge Hong Kong Phone Company

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Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo has announced that Hong Kong subsidiary company CSL will be merged with competing phone company New World Holdings as part of a planned push into the China market.

CSL is an important asset in our portfolio because we have an asset that we can enhance the value of said Trujillo. Part of that strategy is to merge the company with a local competitor.

He announced that the company had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to merge with New World Mobile Holdings. The debt free merger will result in Telstra owning 76.4 per cent of the merged enterprise with New World owning the remaining 23.6 percent. Telstra will also clear HK$244 ($42m) million in cash as part of the deal

“CSL is one of the best run mobile companies that I have had a chance to look at,” said Trujillo who said the merged organisation may help to satisfy WTO obligations and allow the company to push into the lucrative China market.

Telstra, New World Development and New World Mobile Holdings have agreed to a period of exclusivity until 2 December 2005 with a view to reaching final agreement.

Volante's Selectively Loose Lips

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Takeover target Volante could find itself in trouble with the regulator following a complaint lodged with the takeover panel assisting in monitoring the hostile takeover bid by Commander Communications.

The unwelcome suitor has complained to the Takeovers Panel that Volante Group has failed to properly inform its shareholders regarding the acquisition it announced last week. Though obliquely mentioned in the company’s Target’s Statement, the Group announced to the ASX last week that it has entered into an agreement to acquire an as-yet unnamed software services company for $5million.

However, CEO Ian Penman let the fact slip to a Financial Review journalist ahead of time and could run foul of the regulator as a result.

Commander also believes there are a number of deficiencies in Volante’s Target’s Statement, including inadequate information relating to some potential contracts and insufficient detail on its already announced deal with the South Australian government. Commander is arguing that this failure to properly inform shareholders is preventing them from making informed decisions about whether to sell their stock.

Commander wants Volante to issue a supplementary statement and undertake corrective advertising, but the Takeovers Panel has not yet decided whether to start proceedings in relation to the application and is probably waiting from a response from Volante before proceeding.

Web Retailers Protected

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Set Top Box vendorHumax has run foul of the Trade Practices Act to the tune of a $150,000 penalty.

Further to our story that the ACCC had instituted legal proceedings against Humax for price fixing, the company was subsequently penalised $150,000.

The ACCC instituted legal proceedings in the Federal Court against Humax and Mr Andrew Song, manager of Humax, on 14 February 2005. Humax admitted to four contraventions of the resale price maintenance provisions of the Trade Practices Act.

Humax admitted it attempted to induce a number of small retailers not to sell Humax high-definition digital set top boxes at a price less than $599.00.

Justice Merkel in the Federal Court said the penalty could have been higher, but he was lenient due to the cooperation the court received form Humax management. In determining the appropriate penalty to recommend to the court, the ACCC noted Humax’s cooperation in resolving the case and avoiding the expenses and time of a full trial.

“Following the ACCC first raising the issue with Humax, the company offered to undertake trade practices training for its staff. The company also willingly agreed to court orders requiring the company to undertake compliance training”, Ms Sylvan said. “The ACCC also recognises that the conduct occurred for a short duration of only four days”.

“$150,000 represents a substantial penalty in the circumstances for contravening the resale price maintenance provisions of the Act for Humax. This penalty should send a message to directors and managers of companies that even engaging in anti-competitive conduct for a short period of time can result in significant consequences”, Ms Sylvan said.

Humax, through its manager Andrew Song, contacted three retailers in September 2004 by email, by telephone and by leaving a voice message. The retailers were small businesses, trading principally on the internet, located in Melbourne and Perth.

In addition to the penalty imposed on Humax, Justice Merkel ordered injunctions against Humax preventing it from engaging in similar conduct for a period of three years. He also ordered that Humax establish a trade practices compliance program for its staff. Song, who admitted to being knowingly concerned in each contravention by Humax, was also ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $7,500.

New Slim Samsung Phones

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Samsung, now the world’s third largest mobiles phone producer has expanded its line of handsets in the Australian market adding two new 3G clamshells, a candy bar, a credit card sized handset and a slide.

The clamshell style Samsung Z510 and Z540), the Z150 bar, the D820 slide-up and the  credit-card sized P300, deliver on Samsung’s strategy to offer premium quality, extraordinary design and essential multimedia features, says Josh Delgado, General Manager of Samsung Mobile.

Measuring in at only 14.9mm, the Samsung Z510 and Samsung Z540 bring big-screen entertainment to your mobile with 3G connectivity. Both the Samsung Z510 (2.2-inch screen) and the Samsung Z540 (2.3-inch screen) showcase a host of multi-media features on a remarkably sharp 262,000 colour QVGA TFT LCD. 

Equipped with a 1.3 Megapixel camera and 4x digital zoom, the two phones offers a full spectrum of 3G features, including video telephony, real-time video streaming and video messaging.

Built in memory is 140MB and the phones all support Bluetooth and USB transfers. Access to mobile music is enhanced with the addition of WMA compatibility and external music keys which allow users to listen to 3D sound quality music content anywhere and at anytime.

If you’re after 3G access but want an alternative to the clam shell form, Samsung has released the Samsung Z150 bar mobile – the world’s slimmest 3G handset. This ultra-slim mobile is only 9.8mm thin and supports video on demand technology as well as Stereo MP3, Bluetooth, dual VGA camera and 60 minutes video recording.

The Samsung slider now also comes in slim with the Samsung D820. At a depth of 15.2 mm, the Samsung D820 is the only slim slider on the market.

With a full line-up of multimedia features including the 1.3 Megapixel camera and Samsung’s 262,000 colour QVGA 2.12-inch screen, 60 minutes VHS quality video recording and messaging the phone supports TV Output, has a Document Viewer and Dual Speakers. The Samsung D820 is functional across all GSM frequency bands and also supports external memory.

Meanwhile, the Samsung P300 is only 8.9mm thin and measures the size of a credit card.  Packed in to the elegant ultra slim casing includes a 1.3 Megapixel camera with flash, music player, and video recording capabilities.

Its premium feather-light weight and stylish mini design is sure to turn heads everywhere it goes. Nicknamed “The Card,” the Samsung P300 is perfect for users who desire the most advanced mobile technical features in a slim, unique appearance without sacrificing mobility.  The Samsung P300 will be available in an exclusive and sophisticated leather case that also doubles as an extra battery, bringing total talk time for this mobile to an amazing 12 hours!

Samsung Slim Range  

Samsung Z510

RRP

$799

Available

Now

Form Factor

Ultra Slim Clamshell

Standard

UMTS 2.1 GHz / GSM / GPRS (900 / 1800 / 1900MHz)

Camera

1.3 Megapixel Rotating Camera

Display

2.2″ QVGA 262K Colour TFT /1.1″ 96×96 65K Colour TFT

Features

60 minutes Video Recording (MPEG4 / H.263)

Video Telephony, Messaging & Streaming (3G)

Stereo MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / WMA

Bluetooth / USB

Document Viewer

Bluetooth printing

Memory

142MB

Size

97 x 52 x 14.9 mm

Weight

97g

 

Samsung Z540

RRP

$TBC

Available

Coming soon

Form Factor

Ultra Slim Clamshell

Standard

UMTS 2.1 GHz / GSM / GPRS (900 / 1800 / 1900MHz)

Camera

1.3 Megapixel Camera / Internal VGA Camera

Display

2.3″ QVGA 240×320 262K Colour TFT, 1.07″ 128×128 65K Colour TFT

Features

60 minutes Video Recording (MPEG4 / H.263)

Video Telephony, Messaging & Streaming (3G)

Stereo MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / WMA / Real Audio

Dual Speaker

Bluetooth / USB

Document Viewer

Bluetooth Printing

Memory

150MB

Size

99 x 50.5 x 14.9 mm

Weight

100 g

 

Samsung  Z150

RRP

$TBC

Available

Coming soon

Form Factor

Ultra Slim Bar

Standard

UTMS 2.1GHz / GSM / GPRS (900 / 1800 / 1900MHz)

Camera

VGA Dual Camera

Display

1.9″ 176×220, 262K Colour TFT

Features

60 minutes Video Recording (MPEG4 / H.263)

Video Telephony, Messaging & Streaming (3G)

Stereo MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / Real Audio

Bluetooth / USB

Memory

50MB user memory

Size

118 x 46.5 x 9.8mm

Weight

73g

 

Samsung D820

RRP

$775

Available

April

Form Factor

Slim Slider

Standard

Quad band GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850 / 900 / 1800/1900MHz)

Camera

1.3 Megapixel Rotating Camera

Display

2.12″ QVGA 240×320 262K Colour TFT LCD

Features

60 minutes VHS Quality Video Recording & Messaging (MPEG4, H.263)

Stereo MP3 / AAC /AAC+

Dual Speaker

Bluetooth / USB

Document Viewer

TV Output

Bluetooth / Pictbridge printing

Memory

73MB Internal

External: Up to 512MB Trans-Flash

Size

99 x 51 x 15.2 mm

Weight

90 g

 

Samsung P300

RRP

$TBC

Available

Coming soon

Form Factor

Ultra Slim Bar

Standard

GSM / GPRS (900 / 1800/ 1900MHz)

Camera

1.3 Megapixel Camera

Display

1.8″ 176×220 262K Colour TFT LCD

Features

60 minutes Video Recording and Messaging (MPEG4, H.263)

Stereo MP3 / AAC / AAC+/ e-AAC+

Speakerphone

Bluetooth / USB

Outlook synchronization with Bluetooth

Size

86 x 54 x 8.9 mm

Weight

65 g

 

www.samsung.com.au/mobile

 

Interest Rate Drop Welcomed By Retailers & Vendors

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Following the 0.25% drop in the prime lending cash rate by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), both electronics retailers and vendors are sighing a breath of fresh air.


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According to Harvey Norman head Gerry Harvey, it’s all part of getting a better end of year result.

“It will help bring sales up”, notes Harvey, adding that, “it is a very positive thing”.

However, in note of caution says Harvey, “the only dampener could be just how much bad debts the banks have, which we don’t know exactly how bad that is- maybe they don’t even know how much they are in debt”, quips Harvey.

Regardless, Harvey notes that, “as long as employment levels stay up, a cut in interest rates would mean that the end of year result will be better than it would have been normally”.

Over at IT vendor Panasonic, MD Steve Rust was unequivocal at the relationship between lower interest rates and higher consumer electronics.

“Lower interest rates means higher consumer demand for IT products”, concluded Rust.

Speaking from Singapore, Sony Australia chief Carl Rose noted that this rate rise is a very welcome fillip”, adding that in the lead up to the Christmas sales rush, as far as products such as TV’s and PSP’s are concerned, any extra money in the pockets of consumers “certainly cant do any harm”.

A 0.25 per cent cut in rates means that an average mortgage holder with a 25-year loan of $250,000, ends up with about $40 extra a month in the pocket.

Symantec Earnings Lower With Acquisition Costs

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Security and backup software provider, Symantec reported lower thanyear before earnings for the December 2005 quarter thanks to Veritas acquisition related charges.

Without those, earnings would have been up 5 per cent on revenues which were up to US$1.15bn from US$695m the year-earlier. Net income was US$90.7m, down from US$163.6m.

Enterprise security sales rose 7 per cent for the company, though analysts have expressed concerns about the likelihood of Symantec coming under pressure from an increased Microsoft presence in the enterprise security market. On the consumer side, revenues declined as a percentage of the company’s business, accounting for 26 per cent, down 10 per cent due partly to accounting changes. Enterprise revenues represented 21 per cent of revenue.

The consumer market is another area the company has come under increased pressure from Microsoft, but executives made it clear the company has no intention of ceding this market to Redmond in the wake of its Veritas acquisition. The company plans to invest heavily in consumer marketing this year to take Microsoft head-on.

Symantec Chief Executive, John Thompson, did concede that Microsoft is likely to grab more marketshare in the consumer space. “But if Microsoft is true to form, over time they will certainly win some share of the marketplace,” he said. “We’re prepared for the battle. I’ve been in the industry 35 years, I’m looking forward to whooping on them again.”

“We continue to see increasing competition in the enterprise antivirus side of the market,” he said. “Negotiations for new and renewal business, especially in the SMB segment, are consistently aggressive.”

From the Veritas side of the house, storage management was up 9 per cent and was 23 per cent of total revenue. The Data Protection segment was 26per cent of revenue, up 16per cent. Services revenue was 4per cent of the total and was up 38per cent year-over-year.

 

Lenovo Launch Win 8 Yoga Ultrabook

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Lenovo has launched its Yoga laptop for Windows 8 on the Australian market. The Yoga 13 is a hybrid ultrabook that is attempting to take full advantage of both the “Metro” touch-tablet version and the desktop version of the software with a flip of the 13-inch screen.


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The Yoga is a full laptop that has a screen that can be flipped behind the base, turning it into a touch tablet. The Yoga 13 runs full Windows 8 and not the ARM-based tablet-oriented Windows RT.

The tablet is in fact powered by an Intel Core i5 1.7GHz processor but comes with only 4GB memory. It has a 13-inch 1600 by 900, multitouch display, Windows 8, webcam and Bluetooth connectivity. Pricing starts at $999.

Hitachi Profit Losses Help It Make Money

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Sometimes doing badly is not really the end of the world. Take Hitachi for example. Although it posted a quarterly loss on slow television sales it said it would rebound to a profit this year with its drives hard drives business, which pushed its shares up 6 per cent.


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As the biggest Japanese industrial electronics company, Hitachi, said its losses would continue this year in its plasma TVs, however it said next year it would post a profit of US$386 million.

Hitachi is one of the largest makers of plasma TVs, but is facing strong competition from the likes of Matsushita Electric Industrial and LG Electronics.

The company said it expected to ship 900,000 plasma TVs in the next 12 months, up from some 850,000 units last year, as it withdraws from some distribution channels in the US and Europe, where the brand name has limited appeal and would instead concentrate on expanding in China and Japan.

In its hard drives division, where it is third in the world after Seagate and Western Digital, Hitachi is looking to grab market share while cutting its production and distribution costs.

Kyocera Rolls Out New SMB Laser Printers

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Kyocera Mita has released the FS-1300D monochrome laser printer designed to meet today’s fast-paced small business workgroup and small office printing requirements.

 


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This compact, high performance desktop printer delivers 28 pages-per-minute and a six-second first print out time, which is critical in business environments where printing tasks are often comprised during short simple document jobs. In addition, its powerful controller and standard 32 MB of memory (upgradeable to 544MB) ensures that large document output needs are also met and processed with high-quality printing efficiency.

Focused on end-user productivity, the Energy Star Compliant FS-1300D offers two new features; an LED panel, providing users distinct colour indicators to highlight the printer’s status and an innovative Status Monitor, which relays information for the printer directly to a user’s desktop. These features are designed to simplify customer interaction and improve the workflow, performance and productivity within the office.

 

Further, the FS-1300D offers the user a set of standard and optional features.  These include standard 1200 dpi print resolution for high-quality black and white imaging, standard Hi-Speed 2.0 USB connection, standard 250 sheet output/input trays, standard 50 multipurpose tray, which handles alternative media stock from heavier paper to envelopes and labels, optional 250 sheet paper feeder, with a maximum paper capacity up to 800 sheets, and an optional network interface card which can support IPv6.

To compliment the FS-1300D, Kyocera has also released the FS-1100. This effective personal printer is so reliable that you can install it and simply forget about it.

The FS-1300D and FS-1100 have a RRP of $493.90 and $383.90 (Inc GST) respectively. For further information, visit www.kyocera.com.au