Is United Online Doing a Roll-up?

United Online, Inc. (UNTD) is a provider of connectivity and online media services and is now famous for its withdrawn Classmates.com IPO. Its primary Content & Media segment services include social networking site Classmates.com which it acquired for $131.4 million in November 2004 and online loyalty marketing service MyPoints. Their Communications segment includes Internet access and email services through NetZero and Juno. >>>

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RIM Thunders

With the 3G iPhone targeting enterprise users with push-email, better security, and low price, Apple’s race with RIM has started to get interesting. There are reports of a touch-screen enabled iPhone killer from RIM called the Thunder. Photos of the device posted a day before the 3G iPhone release may be stealing the thunder from the iPhone. >>>

3G iPhone Going For Market Share

The rumor mill was proved right this time round. The new 3G phone delivers on all that was expected from it the past few weeks – 3G, low price, GPS, push e-mail, tighter security, and longer battery life. The surprise factor was surprisingly not there. But then, we expect a lot from Apple, read somewhere that even video conferencing was on the wish list. No video conferencing in this one but the highlight of the event was that the 3G iPhone will launch in 22 countries on July 11 and will roll out to 70 countries by the end of the year. And of course the enterprise features. Recent coverage on Apple is available here which discusses Apple’s moves towards vertical integration. >>>

SaaS Updates: NetSuite and CRM

Following Taleo’s acquisition of Vurv, Netsuite followed with the consolidation trend in the SaaS sector (and in its majority shareholder Larry Ellison’s footsteps). On June 2, it announced its plans to acquire OpenAir, a leader in on-demand project management software, for $26 million. >>>

IDCC, National Semiconductor Trending Up

National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) reported its Q4 and fiscal year 2008 results that beat analyst estimates and also gave a strong forecast. Earlier coverage is available here, here, and here. >>>

Talent Management Sector Getting Stronger

Last month, Taleo announced its plans to acquire Vurv for approximately $128.8 million. This acquisition adds scale and Taleo continues as a leader in the talent management sector. The combined company will have over 3,400 customers, including 48 of the Fortune 100, and more than 2,800 small and medium-sized businesses. However, Gartner says the acquisition will not enhance Taleo’s immediate market position beyond e-recruitment. In this post, I will review the performance of Taleo and its top competitor, SuccessFactors. >>>

Bullish on Seagate and Sandisk

Tremendous growth in digital content is driving the performance of storage vendors. Seagate recently crossed the milestone of shipping 1 billion hard drives and it expects to ship another billion over the next 5 years. >>>

Synopsys Better Than the Rest

In continuation with the EDA industry review of Magma yesterday, here is the Q2 analysis for Synopsys’ (SNPS) results announced last month. >>>

Magma Squeezed From Both Sides

I have not been too optimistic about the EDA industry’s growth potential. (Read: Future of EDA and Future of EDA Addendum). Last December, I had also recommended that investors stay away from Magma(LAVA). Their Q4 results, announced last month, were in line with my predictions. >>>

Dell Acknowledges Need For Convergence Device Strategy

Dell yesterday reported strong Q1 FY 2009 results driven by strong growth in commercial and consumer products and services and lower operating expenses. Revenue grew 9.6% y-o-y to $16 billion beating analyst estimate of $15.68 billion. Net income at $784 million (up 4%) or EPS of $0.38 (up 12%) also beat analyst estimates of $0.34. The market is upbeat about its turnaround and its shares jumped 10% in after hours trading to about $24. Earlier coverage is available here, here, and here. >>>