Andrea Nelson's Page

Telecom Italia eyes network deal with regulator by early 2014

ROME (Reuters) - Telecom Italia aims to reach a deal with Italy's telecommunications regulator AGCOM on the spin off of its domestic fixed line network by early next year, the company's chairman said on Wednesday. The board of Italy's biggest phone company approved on May 30 a plan to hive off fixed-line network assets into a new company, a move that could help it raise cash and that could trigger a regulatory overhaul. ...

Why no company will acquire Nokia right now

Huawei, which recently became the No.3 smartphone brand in the world, may be considering a Nokia acquisition. Wall Street reacted violently, prompting an 8% spike in Nokia’s share price. This speculation is part of an annual summertime ritual. In July, we’ll get the rumor about Lenovo buying Nokia and in August, some British brokerage will speculate about Cisco executives flying to Helsinki. However, there is a very specific problem with the idea of any of these companies buying Nokia right now. All of them might be interested in buying a smartphone vendor. But Nokia is not a smartphone company. It’s still a feature phone company. In the latest quarter, Nokia’s feature phone volume totaled  56 million units and smartphone shipments stood at 6 million units. On the revenue

Sony spin-off plan off the agenda but on the radar at shareholder meeting

By Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's top investor Daniel Loeb will miss its shareholder meeting on Thursday and those attending will not be considering his proposal to partially spin off the lucrative entertainment business, sources familiar with the matter said. But his suggestion, which strikes at the heart of whether Sony remains both a consumer electronics maker and a provider of music, movies and TV programs, will be the elephant in the room at the annual gathering - and for months to come. ...

If at first you don’t succeed: Details emerge on Surface RT sequel

Microsoft’s first Windows RT-powered Surface tablet wasn’t the rousing success the company had hoped for, but that won’t stop it from trying again with a second-generation model. Following reports that Microsoft slashed Surface pricing for schools in a likely effort to clear out inventory, Bloomberg has reported some details about an upcoming refreshed Surface RT tablet. The report claims Microsoft will go with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset to power the next Surface RT, though NVIDIA will supply chips ”for some versions” of the new Surface. It is unclear how many versions of the slate there will be, or what the differences between them might be. Microsoft’s Surface sequel is expected to launch later this year.

New Android apps worth downloading: eBay update, The Car Connection, Rage of the Gladiator

Today's apps worth downloading start with a couple that might help you save, or make, some money. First is an update to eBay, the online auction site whose app has gotten lots of new features and refinements for sellers to make their stuff available to buyers. Up next is The Car Connection, an app with tons of info for finding the right car for you. Finally, Rage of the Gladiator puts you in the shoes of a warrior fighting off monsters, magicians and more in a first-person action game.

SoftBank cleared for Sprint takeover as Dish abandons bid

Efforts to acquire Sprint have been a long and arduous fiasco for SoftBank, but the Japan-based carrier moved one step closer to completing the deal on Tuesday evening. Following SoftBank’s revised offer for Sprint that would see its bid increased to $21.6 billion, Dish announced that it is abandoning the race and will not revise its current offer, which is not expected to be accepted. Dish had previously offered a total of $25.5 billion for Sprint, including $17.3 billion in cash and $8.2 billion in stock, but the SoftBank deal is seen as the more promising option. According to Reuters, Dish said it declined to revise its offer because it did not want to match the break-up fees offered in the SoftBank

Japan formally OKs new nuke safety requirements

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's nuclear watchdog formally approved a set of new safety requirements for atomic power plants Wednesday, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster.

Imagination Technologies' profit dips on licensing slowdown

By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies, the British chip designer whose graphics technology is in smartphones from Apple and Samsung, reported lower full-year profits as licensing slows. The British company, which licenses its designs to chipmakers and receives a royalty on every unit shipped, has lost business it had expected from customers such as Texas Instruments and ST Ericsson as the smartphone market consolidates around a few big players. ...

Social-network gaffes plague Japanese politicians

TOKYO (AP) — On the Internet, no one can save you from yourself. That is a lesson many Japanese politicians have learned recently in painful, awkward and at times costly fashion.

Panel to meet today in secret about the NSA

An oversight panel six years in the making will hear testimony on Wednesday in another secret proceeding involving the National Security Agency, government surveillance and the secret court known as FISC.