A round-up of other technology stories in brief.

Gmail opens service for Irish users

Gmail, Google's free e-mail service, was opened up to Irish internet users yesterday at www.gmail.com. Up until now new users had to be invited by an existing user of the service, but now anyone in Ireland can register.

The Gmail service provides a large storage capacity for mail, anti-spam filters, quick search of old mail and the ability to view e-mail conversations around a single subject.

Simultaneously Google also made available a version of Gmail that users can download to their mobile phone. It runs on any mobile that supports Java and that has a connection to the internet. The application automatically synchronises with the user's web-based Gmail account.

Gmail competes with Microsoft's popular Hotmail service but Google is hoping greater storage capacity and other unique features will win over new customers.

Gadget ban for NY pedestrians

New Yorkers who blithely cross the street listening to an iPod or talking on a mobile phone could face a $100 (€76) fine.

New York State senator Carl Kruger says three pedestrians in his Brooklyn district have been killed since September upon stepping into traffic while distracted by an electronic device. In one case bystanders screamed "watch out" to no avail.

Mr Kruger says he will introduce legislation to ban the use of gadgets such as Blackberry devices and video games while crossing the street. - (Reuters)

AQA answers 77,000 queries

Text message question and answer service AQA has answered more than 77,000 questions for Irish users since it launched nine months ago, according to the company.

AQA answers over 300 questions a day in the Republic, said marketing director Paul Cockerton.

"We've answered everything from the obscure - who won the Irish Subbuteo championship in 1988 - to the downright abstruse - if I make apple pie for everyone living in Cork, how many apples will I need," he says.

AQA is available on all networks in the Republic of Ireland on shortcode 57275. Each question sent and answered costs €2. The company hopes to employ 100 Irish researchers, within the next nine months.

Cisco outlook beats expectations

Cisco Systems surprised investors this week with a stronger-than-expected outlook and quarterly profit as demand for network equipment to handle web traffic showed no signs of weakening.

The announcement defied some analysts' predictions that the biggest maker of routers and switches to direct internet traffic might fail to surprise this quarter, after the previous two quarterly results triggered heavy buying in the shares.

Chief executive John Chambers forecast revenue in the fiscal third quarter to grow 19-20 per cent, ahead of analyst forecasts.

Net income for the fiscal second quarter to January 27th rose to $1.9 billion (€1.45 billion), or 31 cents per share, from $1.4 billion, or 22 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Earnings excluding stock-based compensation charges, amortization of intangibles and a tax credit was 33 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast. - (Reuters)

Revenues up 12% in cable industry

Europe's cable industry has reported 12 per cent growth in revenue in 2006 to €18.8 billion. All areas performed strongly, with broadband revenues and telephony continuing to outperform growth in television revenues.

However, 2006 was the year that marked a significant increase in take-up of digital TV across Europe, with 53 per cent growth in this segment.