THE WRAP: Twitter offers ads, Palm offers itself

Robert Clark | April 16, 2010

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This week Twitter said it would start selling ads while Palm began the search for a buyer.

Twitter, which says it now has 105 million users, took the wraps off its long-awaited advertising platform, offering “Promoted Tweets” to trial advertisers such as Starbucks and Best Buy. But its acquisition of Atebits and ambitions to develop its own killer apps stirred unease among developers.

Struggling smartphone firm Palm put itself on the sale block following weak sales of its new Pre and Pixi devices. Private equity firm Harbinger Capital Partners bought 9.5% of the company’s stock.

Taiwanese handset firm HTC – said to be a suitor for Palm – wouldn’t be drawn on the issue but said it might develop its own mobile OS.

Europe’s digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes warned telcos she would block any attempt to charge higher fees to internet firms. Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and Telefonica had earlier called on Google to share YouTube ad revenues.

Chunghwa began an LTE trial, just as regulator the NCC said it did not expect to issue LTE licenses until 2017.

Indonesian operators called for an end to the ban on foreign investment in mobile towers.

SK Telecom ceded control of Vietnamese operator S-Fone to partner Saigon Postel.

Optus’ network was disrupted by a DDOS attack, said to have originated in China, and aimed at one of its banking customers.

The head of Australia’s state-owned broadband business, NBN Co., said it could take up to 30 years for the government to get a return on its investment.

Apple said it could not keep up with demand for the iPad and was delaying the international launch of the new tablet.

Intel’s quarterly profit rose almost fourfold and it raised its Q2 outlook, thanks to strong demand for PC and server chips.

Telecom spending would grow 5% in 2010 after shrinking in 2009, says Gartner, which also forecast a shift in spending from services to handsets over the next five years.

China’s three operators sent emergency crews to Qinghai after a huge earthquake took out the fixed-line network and seriously damaged the mobile networks.

Chinese consumers find 3G expensive and superfluous, a survey found.

Opera’s new iPhone browser was downloaded 1 million times on the first day.

Microsoft unveiled its first Kin-branded phones, offering social networking for young customers.

And US first lady Michelle Obama said she limits her daughters' use of computers, phones and Facebook.

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Robert Clark