Verizon, iPhone, And RIM

I live in Menlo Park, California, just off the famed VC hub, Sand Hill Road. AT&T’s cellular network is downright pathetic around here, but Verizon’s is excellent. Dominique, my husband, is on iPhone/AT&T, while I am on BlackBerry/Verizon. He has the better phone; I have the better network. But soon, that may change. >>>

Consumer Internet Acquisitions And Targets

Consumer Internet companies have seen some excitement recently, with Monster buying HotJobs from Yahoo! I would have liked to see the reverse happen, but Yahoo!’s strategy defies logic as far as I am concerned. Anyway, let’s take a closer look. >>>

Intel Eyeing Xilinx?

Christopher Danely, an analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities, recently speculated that Intel, which has about $13 billion in cash, will acquire Xilinx. A detailed analysis of his argument is available at EETimes. Hans Mosesmann of Raymond James Equity Research disagrees with this view, saying that Intel really wants to be relevant in wireless and smartphones, and that it has already tried its hand in programmable logic and sold its PLD business to Altera in 1994, so it is not likely to get into it again.

Meanwhile, China Mobile and China Unicom, two of the three major telecommunications companies in China, recently lowered their 2010 capital expenditure forecasts. This is bound to affect the programmable logic device (PLD) sector, which last year got a boost from the expansion of 3G mobile networks in China. Let’s take a closer look at the dominant players in this sector, Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) and Altera Corp (NASDAQ:ALTR). >>>

Accenture On Oracle’s Radar?

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) seems to be struggling to keep up with the market’s expectations. Q2 results for the current fiscal were disappointing, with revenues of $5.2 billion falling 2% over the year. On a constant currency basis, revenues would have been 8% lower. EPS of $0.60 marked a decline of 5% over the previous year. The market was expecting revenues of $5.21 billion with EPS of $0.61. >>>

Oracle Done with Sun, Now What?

After almost a year of announcing the Sun acquisition, Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) finally closed the deal on January 26, 2010. And in the first quarter including Sun’s results, it reported a 17% increase in revenue and earnings in-line with estimates. However, the decline in profit and the company’s dull guidance hasn’t gone down well with investors, and the stock dipped to take its valuation to a five-year low. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

ERI Enters Osmotic Power, A $70 Billion TAM

Reports estimate that nearly 1.1 billion people, or a full 20% of the world’s population, lack access to safe drinking water, and the situation is not getting any better. By 2025, that number will increase to 1.8 billion people, or two-thirds of the world’s population. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is a cost-effective desalination solution to address the problem. The SWRO industry is estimated to have grown 55% annually over the five-year period since 2002, and growth is expected to remain strong.

The global desalination capacity pipeline is pegged to be over 22 million cubic meters per day by 2012. Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) is a leader in the field. But its recently reported Q4 results missed analyst expectations owing to delays in project financing due to the tight credit markets. As the economy picks up, the stock is sure to rise. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Adobe Looks Precarious

Adobe has two significant threats developing: Apple and Google.

Adobe’s (NASDAQ:ADBE) relationship with Apple has changed drastically, first from a symbiotic relationship to a competitive one and now to a bitter one. The iPhone doesn’t have Flash, and even the iPad doesn’t seem likely to have it. Adobe is now betting on Google’s Android to fuel its mobile strategy. At the recent Mobile World Congress, it demonstrated Flash on Google’s Nexus One. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Optical Networking Getting Hot

Everyone is using the Internet now, and not just on their computers and laptops but also on their iPhones, BlackBerries, netbooks, and tablets. But online video, social networking, and multimedia applications on smartphones hog a lot of bandwidth. This huge appetite for bandwidth has stressed the current infrastructure, calling for an upgrade. And who is the beneficiary? The optical networking sector. >>>