Skype and 3 launch mobile service

Skype and 3, the mobile network owned by Hutchison Whampoa, chose London to launch the latest phase of their collaboration.

The companies have worked together for around a year now on a mobile version of Skype, and it is possible to use Skype on some handsets running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software. But this is the first time that Skype has put its name on a dedicated cellular handset. It is also the first time that any European network has launched a phone running Qualcomm’s Brew environment.

The buzz around today’s launch was palpable. It will be interesting to see how the Skype/3 phone, which is either free or costs just £49.99 in the UK, fares against the iPhone, also due on sale this month.

For more on this see this story in ITPro.

Article on supply chain technology in the FT

This piece appeared in the Financial Times’ Digital Business section on Wednesday, 3 October:

Supply Chain: smaller companies can miss out on benefits

By Stephen Pritchard

When businesses talk about improvements in the supply chain, they tend to be larger enterprises celebrating their own successes.

Managers of smaller companies could be forgiven for thinking they bear an unfair proportion of the costs of a supply chain project, yet enjoy few of the benefits…

Click here for the full story (subscription may be required).