Although Iraq first needs basics like electricity and a government, it is already shaping up as a rare opportunity for technology companies. It is saddled with a tattered phone system, weak Internet access and virtually none of the wireless wonders sweeping other countries.
Even if Iraq never becomes the Silicon Crescent, big money is at stake. Rebuilding the country's telecommunications networks and constructing new facilities from scratch would cost billions.
U.S. officials have not explained how telecom contracts will be awarded, whether deals signed by Saddam Hussein's regime will be honored, or whether American and British companies will be preferred. A representative for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is doling out several Iraq reconstruction projects, said it would not oversee telecom deals.
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Camera phone for a song: Sprint PCS, the nation's fourth-largest wireless telephone company, said it is offering a cell phone with a built-in camera for about $100 after a rebate, the lowest price so far in the industry.
Cingular Wireless has offered a camera phone for about $30, and T-Mobile USA offered one for about $100. Those phones, however, came with camera attachments, which makes the phones slightly bulkier than the one being offered by Sprint (PCS).
Wireless operators are counting on data services such as picture messaging to drive revenue growth.
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Microsoft finally unveils server: After name changes and development delays, Microsoft's newest operating system for servers is finally hitting the market.
Analysts don't consider Windows Server 2003 a major upgrade, but its launch is strategically important for Microsoft as the software giant seeks to stave off open-source competitors and gain adherents for its Internet-centric plans.
Microsoft (MSFT) is banking on the new software to push a host of add-on products that are collectively marketed under the new Windows Server System name. It is also hoping to attract more converts to its highly touted yet often vaguely understood .Net initiative, Microsoft's approach to Web services.
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Sony stuns with weak profits: Sony, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, disappointed investors by falling short of earnings targets and projecting a profit slide, blaming war worries and a costly restructuring plan.
Sony's (SNE) hit film, Spider-Man, and popular PlayStation 2 games, which powered it to record profits in the October-December quarter, could not save it from falling deeply into the red in the latest quarter as consumers shunned its color TVs and Vaio personal computers during the build-up to war in Iraq.
Sony's net profit rose to $963.5 million for the fiscal year, but the results missed its targets. The company gave a cautious outlook for the new business year, embarking on a three-year, $2.5 billion streamlining plan and promising major improvements in its profit margins.
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Google acquires ad specialist: Online search leader Google announced the acquisition of Internet advertising specialist Applied Semantics, continuing a recent push to develop more marketing tools.
Although it's best known as the maker of the Web's most popular search engine, Google has been intensifying its focus on advertising. Applied Semantics makes software designed to link online ads with the content being called up on a Web page.
Besides running a search engine powered by algorithmic formulas, Google also maintains a commercial database of advertisers that bid to display their Web links alongside the objective search results. It has become a booming business for Google and one of its biggest rivals, Overture Services, which registered a $73 million profit last year.
Compiled by Kari L. Dean. AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
