Belltech upgrades business card program

Seattle-based software maker Belltech Systems LLC released Business Card Designer Pro 3.0. Belltech's new designing and printing software devised exclusively for business cards, helps users create professional-quality business cards complete with graphics, backgrounds and artwork.

Business Card Designer Pro's benefits include the ability to create single or double-sided and horizontal or vertical cards of all international sizes; use logo rotation, color blends, translucent effects; and select from many ready-made business card templates.

Citel releases line of handsets

Seattle-based Citel Technologies released scalable 12- and 24-port SIP-based Handset Gateway products designed to accelerate deployment of IP telephony services and applications, both in hosted and onsite configurations.

Citel's Handset Gateways enable small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises, to take advantage of feature-rich IP Centrex or SIP-based IP PBX services while still retaining their existing desktop handsets, wiring infrastructure, and data network.

Loudeye plans personnel cuts

Digital media company Loudeye Corp. said it plans to reduce its costs by $2.5 million per quarter by streamlining its operations and cutting personnel.

The number of personnel cuts at the Seattle-based company wasn't disclosed.

Loudeye officials said they will focus their efforts on markets and customers that are generating the most revenue for the company.

At press time Loudeye is in danger of being delisted by NASDAQ because its stock price has not met the exchange's minimum required price of $1 per share for 30 consecutive days.

IT worker optimism plummets

The Hudson Employment Index for IT workers dropped more than six points to 109.0 in January. Decreased optimism in personal finances and job satisfaction sparked the decline. Just half (51 percent), of sector workers rated their finances favorably in January, down from 57 percent in December. In contrast, the national index remained steady this month, sliding just .8 points to 102.6.

Nationally, managers were less confident about their firms' hiring plans in January than the previous month. Only 29 percent anticipated more hiring in the coming months, compared to 33 percent in December. They were also slightly less optimistic than workers overall, 30 percent of whom anticipated a boost in headcount (unchanged from December).

Laplink releases PDA device

Bellevue-based Laplink Controller, a utility that allows PDA or Smartphone owners to control their devices directly from a PC desktop, is now available in a version compatible with Symbian-based Sony Ericsson and Nokia devices. With versions available for Pocket PC, Palm, and now Symbian PDAs and phones, Laplink Controller is now compatible with over 90 percent of the handheld devices currently on the market.

Laplink Controller allows users to conveniently view and control Pocket PC, Palm, and Symbian devices using a PC's full-sized screen, keyboard and mouse. Device-to-PC connections can be made wirelessly via GPRS, 1XRTT, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, dial-up modem, and USB.

Wireless spending outstrips lines

For the first time, in 2006 U.S. businesses of all sizes will spend more on wireless voice services than on wireline, reports In-Stat (www.in-stat.com). And wireless data services will make significant gains as well over the next several years, the high-tech market research firm says. Expenditures by enterprise firms (1,000 or more employees) on wireless data will grow an average of 18 percent per year through 2009.

Recent reports by In-Stat found the following:

* Mid-sized firms accounted for 12.4 percent, or $24 billion, of total U.S. business telecom spending in 2005; these numbers will reach $33 billion and 13 percent of the total U.S. business market by 2009.

* Small business spending on Internet access will grow to $8.2 billion by 2009, up from $4.4 billion in 2005, largely due to adoption of DSL and higher bandwidth services.

* Spending on wireless data services will outpace all other categories in the SOHO segment, growing to nearly $2.2 billion in 2009, up from $0.47 billion in 2005.

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