Leapfrog Enters Tablet Market

NPD’s Kids and Entertainment Content – 2011 Edition, reports that for every dollar children aged 2 to 14 spent on entertainment content, 79% was directed toward physical format content, while 21% was spent on digital content. In 2009, digital content represented 15% of each dollar spent by children on entertainment. Seventy-two percent of the content purchased comprises music and is followed by movies, video games, television shows, books, and apps. Over the past two years, digitally acquired content has grown the fastest for games at 17%, followed by music’s growth of 14% and movie download growth at 13% annually. Digital growth is driving gaming companies to focus on improving their digital solutions.

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Vistaprint Continues Steady Growth

According to a survey of 750 micro business owners in the U.S., 64% of respondents indicated that they were planning to invest in marketing and business promotion expenses during the year. Eighty-eight percent of owners are planning to increase spending over with the previous year, and 34% suggested they would expand the use of social media/networking during the year. Increasing marketing spending by small and micro businesses is helping to drive growth among online print supplies and services provider, Vistaprint (NASDAQ:VPRT).

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Brightcove’s IPO Prospects

Market reports estimate the outsourced online video platform market to be worth $5.8 billion by the year 2015. For 2011, the market is estimated to be worth $2.3 billion. A study by Cisco Systems revealed that Internet video will amount for 40% of all consumer Internet traffic worldwide during the year. By 2015, that percentage is expected to grow to 62%, making the online video market a booming one.

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Bazaarvoice’s IPO Prospects

Within the U.S. alone, Forrester estimates social media marketing to be worth $3.1 billion by the year 2014. The market was worth $0.72 billion in 2009, which makes for a projected annual growth rate of 34%. Texas-based Bazaarvoice is a leading marketing company that is helping more than 1,200 brands tap into the social media market.

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Xilinx Positioning Itself As A One-Stop-Shop

Last month, both Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) and Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) cut their guidance for the third quarter. Earlier in the year, Xilinx was on an acquisition spree, buying AutoESL, Omiino, Modelware, and Sarance Technologies. Let’s take closer look at the recent performance of programmable logic device (PLD) market leaders, Xilinx and Altera.

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As Enrollment Declines, Apollo Group And DeVry Look For Expansion Strategies

Driven by the tighter government regulations, declining student enrollments in the for-profit education sector continued to be a cause for concern. A quarter since the gainful employment regulation came into being, new student enrollment has fallen by more than 15% over the year. To help drive growth, the industry’s players are looking out to acquisitions.

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Hulu’s Sale Looks Uncertain

Hulu’s willingness to be bought, announced earlier last quarter, has raked in numerous bids. To sweeten the pot for the buyer, Hulu recently reported improved viewership statistics, increased market reach and an expanded library offering. But recent news suggests that despite their success, selling Hulu may not be all that easy.

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Jive’s IPO Prospects

While the consumer social networking market has grown phenomenally, reflected in the more than 750 million Facebook users, the enterprise social networking market is only marginally tapped. LinkedIn is the largest professional network with more than 120 million members, yet it does not fall in the enterprise social networking segment. IDC estimates that the enterprise social business software market will be worth $10.3 billion by 2013. Palo Alto–based Jive Software is one company targeting this segment. Other companies include Salesforce.com with their Chatter product, and a startup called Yammer.

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Rovio Moves Steadily Ahead

According to Mobile Gaming – U.S. – May 2011, published by researcher Mintel, annual mobile phone and tablet gaming sales in the U.S. have more than doubled over the past five years to reach $898 million in 2010. The market estimates the revenues to double again in the next five years to reach $1.6 billion by 2015. Finland-based Angry Birds developer Rovio is counting on this market growth.

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Adobe Focuses On Web Tools

Adobe yesterday announced several major initiatives targeted at tablets including a cloud service and web design tools. It also announced the acquisition of web typography innovator Typekit and its agreement to acquire Nitobi, creator of PhoneGap. The shift in focus toward Web technologies is a welcome development especially in the wake of Microsoft joining Apple in not supporting Flash on tablets. Let’s take a closer look.

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