Apple's (AAPL) iPad 2 got off to a great start during the first weekend of its launch, selling an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 units. Apple holds a substantial lead in the tablet market over competitors like Research In Motion (RIMM), Motorola Mobility (MMI), Dell (DELL), Samsung and LG Display.

How Much Will Suppliers Benefit from iPad 2 Sales in 2011?

Here we take a look at how much various iPad 2 component suppliers stand to gain from the product's success. We assume that Apple will continue to source iPad 2 components from the same set of suppliers throughout 2011.

Continue reading How Much Will Suppliers Gain from iPad 2 in 2011?

How Much Will Suppliers Gain from iPad 2 in 2011? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A few weeks back, we noted that while Apple's (AAPL) products continue to see huge demand, a key concern for the company is management of supply-related constraints. The recent Japanese earthquake has now added to these concerns. According to market research firm iSuppli, the earthquake may cause logistical disruptions and supply shortages for the newly launched iPad 2. Although Apple remains king of the tablet market, it is expected to face a growing set of challengers in 2011 from Research In Motion (RIMM), Motorola Mobility (MMI), Dell (DELL), Samsung and LG.

We maintain a $420 price estimate for Apple stock, roughly 25% above market price.

Continue reading Japanese Earthquake Could Cause iPad Shortage

Japanese Earthquake Could Cause iPad Shortage originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First we had the iPhone revolution. Now, The Financial Times reports that Apple (AAPL) is planning to expand the iPhone to handle mobile commerce, giving the company access to the multibillion-dollar transaction industry.

You are probably wondering what and how this will be done. The iPhone 5, due out this year, likely will incorporate technology called Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC incorporates financial account information and ties the data to specific devices.

Continue reading Apple Expected to Include 'Wave & Pay' with iPhone 5

Apple Expected to Include 'Wave & Pay' with iPhone 5 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google to Launch TV Platform Globally in 2011

Google to Launch TV Platform Globally in 2011 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Get ready for a flood of tablets to hit the market as tech companies try to benefit from the glow of Apple's (AAPL) iPad. And one of the first entrants is Samsung Electronics. This week, the company launched its Galaxy Tab.

And yes, the device runs on Google's (GOOG) mobile operating system, Android (version 2.2). The screen comes to 7-inches and you can access the Net via a cell phone connection (and you can make calls as well). There is also storage capacity of 16GB. Interestingly enough, the Galaxy has a front and rear camera, something the iPad does not have.

Continue reading Samsung's Galaxy Takes a Shot at the iPad

Samsung's Galaxy Takes a Shot at the iPad originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When you think 3D TV, the possibilities are limitless. That game-winning touchdown pass spiraling out of your flat screen, alien invaders flying ships through the screen ... and yes, even naked women strutting their stuff in your living room.

It's this latter and controversial content that is fueling the 3D business in Japan right now, where a pair of porn stars are leading the charge in developing three-dimensional entertainment that is compatible with Sony (SNE) and Panasonic (PC) televisions.

Continue reading Will Porn Fuel Sony and Panasonic 3D TV Sales?

Will Porn Fuel Sony and Panasonic 3D TV Sales? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading You've Got Mail and a Midnight Snack

You've Got Mail and a Midnight Snack originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Circuit City impact will be deeply felt

Circuit City impact will be deeply felt originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post was written by Minyanville contributor Bill Feingold.

With SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) -- which turned down a $26 per share bid from Samsung last fall -- now talking about raising equity at well below half that price, I think shareholders are going to be beyond irate. In what appears to be one of the great breaches of fiduciary duty of all time, management belittled Samsung for being opportunistic, trying to take advantage of a depressed stock price.

Funny, I thought that once you go public, you have made a deal that you are willing to accept the market's opinion of your value. I guess Sandisk's management somehow acquired immunity and forgot to tell everyone else.

Continue reading SanDisk in the breach

SanDisk in the breach originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) share of global handset sales has fallen from about 22% three years ago to 12%. Its cell phone division revenue is dropping at a rate of over 30% and loses money ever quarter.

For Motorola to break back into the black, it not only needed to launch new products to pick up market share, but it also needed the worldwide handset business to stay healthy. No such luck.

According to Reuters, "South Korean mobile phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have cut their 2009 sales targets as a global downturn spreads." By most accounts these companies and other large manufacturers like Sony Ericsson and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) have the financial resource to weather a tough year or two. Not so at Motorola.

Motorola had planned to spin off its handset unit, but that has been delayed. The company's other businesses are profitable, so the cell phone business is dragging them down. MOT shares are off 75% this year to just over $4.

As hard as it would have been to imagine a year ago, Motorola may still have to dump its cell operation and perhaps put it into Chapter 11. Its fate is that grim. It needs to escape its employee and creditor obligations to make it.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Motorola's (MOT) fate looks worse as rivals falter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading InterDigital (IDCC) resolves Samsung patent dispute

InterDigital (IDCC) resolves Samsung patent dispute originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It is hard to believe that Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is still No.1 at anything. But, until recently, it was the market share leader in the cellular handset business in the U.S. The company may be losing money. It may be laying people off. It may have had to delay spinning off its phone business.

Now, MOT has lost its last crown. According to The Wall Street Journal, Samsung took the top spot in the third quarter. The paper reports "The South Korean company reached the milestone -- with 22.4% of the market compared with Motorola's 21.1% -- by offering carriers a full portfolio of devices, from high-end products such as the touch-screen Instinct to lower-end phones given free to customers who sign up with a particular carrier."

It sounds like old news, but that is the troubling part of it. Motorola lost most of its share overseas several quarters ago. It says something about the company that it could not come up with one or two models that would be popular in its home market. For crying out loud, the firm's headquarters is in Illinois.

What it comes down to is more depressing than market share. Motorola's product development operation is too devoid of good ideas that it has not produced a single model that consumers are anxious to own, something they would put on a table or desk so that other people could see that they own it.

It is as if the company made plans to fail.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Motorola loses its crown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Samsung reverses itself on SanDisk buyout, backs away originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• DJIA - 8,519.21 (-5.69%)
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• NASDAQ - 1,615.75 (-4.77%)
• 10YR T-Note 3.618% (-0.085%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is trading down over 1% after the telephone giant posted lower earnings. Its earnings report came in at $0.67 EPS vs. the $0.71 estimate, despite adding 2 million wireless subscribers and despite activating 2.4 million 3G iPhone activations. Shares were down 8% at $23.61 in today's final minutes.

Continue reading Closing Bell: Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ down; learning to embrace the recession

Closing Bell: Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ down; learning to embrace the recession originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looked like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was going to go out of the business of selling "unlocked" iPhones, which are set up to work on any wireless network. Its new 3G model was going to be sold through about two dozen carriers worldwide. They would be the sole distribution method for the new handset and would make money on the wireless subscription plans marketed with the phones.

It looks like things are not working out that way. According to the AP, "Apple Inc. is putting on sale unlocked iPhone 3G in Hong Kong, allowing people to use it with any mobile phone carrier." The unit will cost consumers $695.

Apple may be taking a significant misstep. If it alienates its carrier partners by undercutting their ability to make money on the product, over time they could push competing products from companies, including the Samsung Instinct and several products that Nokia (NYSE: NOK), the world largest handset company, will introduce later this year.

Apple is a bit vulnerable now. Its 3G iPhone has run into connection problems in the U.S. That may have made some customers less likely to run into stores to get the new devices. Damaging relationships with its distribution operators by offering unlocked iPhones gives the competition an opening.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Unlocking the new Apple iPhone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like the recession is hurting mobile phones sales. According to The Wall Street Journal, "For the full year, Gartner said it expects handset sales to grow 11% to 1.28 billion phones, slowing from last year's 16% growth."

A trend of that magnitude is bound to hit every company in the industry, but some have the financial strength and market share to weather the storm, That is especially true of Nokia (NYSE: NOK), which has a global market share of 40% of handset sales. Samsung, which has 15% of the market and is one of the largest companies in Asia, should also be fine.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is another matter. Its global share has dropped from nearly 15% to just above 10% in a year. More financial pressure could poison its chances of spinning off its handset operation in 2009. It is already questionable whether the division has any value at all.

The Motorola 10-Q shows that revenue at the company's mobile device operation fell 22% last quarter to $3.33 billion. The operating loss for the unit was $346 million. If the handset market as a whole is reaching a challenging period, what is to become of the weakest player in the industry?

The answer is that Motorola may not be able to get rid of its handset operation. It may be faced with the much harder task of fixing it.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

A drop in mobile phone sales growth, more trouble for Motorola originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) is dead. That has been written before, but now the company needs an official funeral mass. According to The New York Times, "Palm's chief executive, will announce the debut of a new smartphone primarily for business customers - the Treo Pro." The company also has several other handsets in development.

Palm is now up against smartphone products from much larger companies like Samsung and Nokia (NYSE: NOK). Not to mention the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone.

In the last year, Palm had an operating loss of $105 million on a shrinking revenue base that fell to $1.32 billion. The company has $398 million in current and long-term debt.

Palm is not going to make it as an operating company, but it might be a good licensing entity. That would involve cutting almost all of the company's staff and licensing its brand and product designs to another company, perhaps Samsung or LG. The Palm name still carries some modest weight in the U.S.

Palm's revenue might drop to $100 million, but its costs would be negligible. It would, at least, make a profit, which is something that is out of the question with the company in its current form.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Fold Palm; license the brand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Handset maker Sony-Ericsson said it is having a tough time. According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "the mobile-phone maker continues to be hit hard by a weakening economy in Western Europe, hurting demand for the mid- to high-end handsets it specializes in."

Of course, another big market for more expensive phones is America, Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) last stronghold. The U.S. company faces a double threat now. It does not have any "hot" model to compete with new products from Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Samsung, or Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Now it appears that the recession is cutting demand for phones altogether.

Motorola may already be at a place where its handset operation cannot recover. Revenue in the division is dropping rapidly, and the unit is losing money. Its share of the global market has dropped from 22% two years ago to about 12%. And, the company's stock is down to a 52-week low of $7.20, about 65% down from its 52-week high.

No matter how hard it may be for other companies in the industry, the only firms that may do well over the next year are Nokia and specialized handset makers like Apple. Nokia has about 40% of the global market and sells modestly priced phones in rapidly growing markets including China and India. Apple gets the high end of the market.

In the middle is Motorola, with barely a hope of things getting better.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Sony-Ericsson and a warning for Motorola originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Motorola (MOT) shares slide down to a five-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some wonder whether Sprint (NYSE: S) can do anything to turn around its fortunes. It almost always ranks last in customer service among cellular carriers. It is still losing subscribers and its stock is down to $8.22. A year ago, it traded at almost $23.

Sprint continues to lose money. The firm has decided to get more deeply into the smartphone business with a product that it hopes can challenge the Apple (NADSAQ: AAPL) iPhone, which is marketed by AT&T (NYSE: T). Fat chance.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the No.3 cellular service provider "will be taking on the iPhone with a lower price for its own touch-screen smart phone, the Samsung Instinct."

While the new handset may be a good one, it is hard to find a product that sells itself more than the iPhone. The Apple phone is part of a cult of buyers who love products from Jobs & Co.

And even if the Samsung phone was better than the Apple product, Sprint's customer service may well undermine its sales. A hot product only does well for a short time if the company that markets it has an awful reputation for taking care of its subscribers.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Sprint (S) pushes into smartphone business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.