InterDigital’s And Tessera’s Communication Problems

We recently saw how Qualcomm is benefiting from global growth in the use of 3G devices. Shipments of 3G-enabled phones, accounting for 38% of the market in 2009, are forecast to increase to approximately 60% of the market by 2013. Another beneficiary of the 3G boom is InterDigital, an IP licensee that holds about 50% of the 3G handset license market and annual revenue of $297.4 million. The company recently reported its second quarter results. In this post, we will look at the performance and prospects of both InterDigital (NASDAQ:IDCC) and Tessera (NASDAQ:TSRA). >>>

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Indian Outsourcers Facing Globalization Challenges

Recent research reports by Forrester predict 9.3% growth in IT spending for the current year. The improved market conditions are resulting in stiffer competition among the Indian players for quality resources. Attrition in the segment has increased despite most companies offering 12%–14% offshore and 2%–4% onsite salary increments. Companies are trying to retain their staff by offering equity-based incentives, offcycle increments and bonuses, retention bonuses, and promotions. To add to their concerns, the rupee remained strong against the dollar, Europe’s recovery is slower than anticipated, and the ten-year tax holiday is coming to an end. The Indian IT players are in for a tough season ahead. >>>

What Should Nokia Look For In New CEO?

According to IDC’s latest report, Nokia’s (NYSE:NOK) mobile phone market share stands at 35%, down from 37.2% last year. Nokia holds 39% of the smartphone market, but its strong markets are Europe and emerging markets such as India rather than the United States, which is the pulse of the smartphone market. Most of the phones that Nokia sells are low-priced models, which has taken a toll on the company’s profit margins. In its recent quarterly results, it reported a 31% decline in earnings. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

e-Commerce Booms Amid Slow Retail Sales

For the second consecutive month this year, U.S. retail sales fell 0.5% in June over May to $360 billion. Retail sales are up 4.9% compared to the previous year and grew 6.5% in the first six months of the year compared to the previous year’s period. But despite a declining retail sector, online retailers are experiencing growth. Online retail sales are expected to grow 10% annually over 2009–2014 to reach $249 billion. Key players Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are already witnessing strong revenue growth. >>>

SAP Tries To Find Its Groove In A Consolidating Industry

The economic slowdown opened up opportunities for technology giants such as Cisco, HP, and Oracle to make strategic acquisitions at bargain prices. Oracle has always been seen as a pro at acquisitions, while SAP has relied mostly on organic growth. But it looks as though SAP wants to break away from that image – it recently acquired Sybase for $5.8 billion and before that, Business Objects for $6.78 billion. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

The iPad Effect On Two Newspaper Companies

Global ad spending is expected to rise 3.5% in 2010 up from the estimates of a 2.2% increase reported a quarter ago. Growth in spending is being driven by the rise in online advertising spending, which is projected to increase from $49.8 billion in 2008 to $82.7 billion and contribute to 17.1% of global ad spending in 2012. For the United States, the report forecasts that mobile advertising spending will grow 43.2% a year between 2009 and 2012 and social media by 30.2%, while overall online spending will increase 15.6% in the period. Overall U.S. ad spending is expected to rise 1.1% in 2010 compared with the 1.5% decline previously projected. >>>

Smartphones And Consumer Electronics Boost Semiconductor Market

Chipmakers Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) (TI), Atheros (NASDAQ:ATHR), and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) recently reported quarterly results that reflect the recovery in the semiconductor market. STM has swung to a profit after two years of losses while TI and Atheros are expanding. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

HP’s Next Acquisition: Polycom?

Polycom and F5, leaders in their respective niche areas of video conferencing and application delivery controllers (ADC), recently reported their quarterly results. Cisco recently acquired Tandberg, which is neck-in-neck with Polycom in the video conferencing market. On the other hand, F5 has a comfortable lead over Cisco in the ADC market. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Microsoft Grows, But Future Looks Foggy

According to IDC’s recently released report, the global PC market grew 22.4% over the year to 81.5 million units. However, PC sales in the United States failed to meet the researchers’ target of 18% and grew just 12.6% over the year. PC sales in EMEA “met expectations” and Japan too saw double-digit PC shipment growth. Shipments in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) grew 35% over the year compared with 20% growth a quarter ago. >>>

Yahoo! Continues Aimlessly On

Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) continued its struggle to grow during the second quarter. While earnings managed to exceed market projections, the fact that revenue is not growing as strongly as it should remains a cause for concern. Q2 revenues of $1.13 billion fell short of the market’s projected $1.16 billion. EPS of $0.15 grew a whopping 50% over previous year’s $0.10 and also managed to exceed the market’s target of $0.14. >>>