MANILA, Philippines -- Power corrupts. Our experience as a people has shown us how much truth comes with that expression, a lesson we have paid for with too much pain and sorrow in some cases.

We cannot blame some consumers then for being fearful of what they perceive as too much concentration of power in the local wireless telecoms market. PLDT's acquisition of a majority stake in Sun Cellular gives the country's largest telecoms company near-monopolistic control over the mobile phone market.

PLDT, with Sun Cellular and Talk 'n Text among its war trophies, is set to become the 800-pound gorilla, the way it was during the Martial Law period and the decade after EDSA.

With the Sun acquisition almost a foregone conclusion, the giant, this corner hopes, will keep its pledge to keep consumers' interest above all else.

White iPhone

While the other mobile phone vendors are busy launching smartphones with faster processors, larger-capacity memories, and bigger displays, Apple has decided to release the white version of the iPhone 4.

And most media outlets lapped it up. As if the non-black iPhone 4 was the world's most paradigm-shifting, reality-bending product announcement ever.

After all these years, nobody can really outdo Apple as far as marketing is concerned, or put a Pavlovian spell over the IT media. The build-up to the albino smartphone's release rivals that of the 2011 royal wedding in London.

Of course, it could also be a case of better products, after all.

Nokia Outsources Symbian

Nokia plans to outsource its Symbian business to consulting firm Accenture, a move that is part of the Finnish mobile vendor's efforts to reduce operating expenses. Aside from laying off 4,000 employees, Nokia will transfer 3,000 more to Accenture as part of the outsourcing deal. Most of the affected personnel will be from Denmark, Finland, and the UK.

Nokia will also merge its various research and development sites in order to make the most of its R&D budget and clarify the respective roles and missions of each research facility.

Meanwhile, the 3,000 Nokia employees, who are mostly from China, Finland, India, the U.S., and the U.K., will complete their transfer to Accenture by the end of 2011.

Let us see if Accenture would bring part of this Nokia business to these local shores.

Panasonic Trims Work Force

Seeking to remain competitive in the global consumer electronics market, Panasonic Corp. plans to let go of some 40,000 employees, mostly overseas. The mass layoff, affecting about 10 percent of the company's work force, is set to become the biggest among Japanese manufacturers.

Shares in Panasonic rose 1.6 percent after the personnel reduction move was reported in the media, reflecting investors' agreement with the wholesale dismissal of workers.

Samsung Outs Galaxy S II

Samsung Electronics Co. launched the Galaxy S II in South Korea ahead of the new flagship smartphone's international release in May. Apparently, Samsung does not want its legal battle with Apple to adversely affect its global sales target of over 10 million for this year.

Overall, Samsung plans to ship 60 million units of smartphones worldwide. The Galaxy S II is thinner than its predecessor and comes with a bigger display.

That's all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.