Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s Case against Samsung Dismissed by A Tokyo Court

A Japanese court has dismissed the claim made by Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) on patent infringement against Samsung. It is a significant bounceback for the South Korean tech firm as the competitors keep fighting over intellectual property.

A District Court in Tokyo has come to the verdict that Samsung has not infringed patents with its technology for managing video and music between smartphones or tablets and computers. The verdict is a latest event that is related to a number of lawsuits and counter lawsuits happening in as many as nine countries and four continents. This comes just after a week after Samsung was defeated in an epic legal conflict with Apple at a US court. This defeat can result in injucntion against some Samsung devices.

Shares of Samsung increased after the Friday verdict, helping the firm recover from the steep losses it has incurred earlier this week.

The Tokyo court addressed a suit filed by Apple a year back saying that two Samsung smartphones, namely Galaxy S and Galaxy 2 have violated a patented technology.

Samsung has stated that it welcomes the decision of the Tokyo court that has established the company’s long-held position and the fact that it had not infringed Apple’s patents.

When taken together, Apple and Samsung amounts for about half of the lucrative international smartphone market. Samsung accounts for 32.6% of the market while Apple accounts for 16.9%.

Bloomberg said that Samsung does not release sales figures for Japan. However, the company is fighting with domestic companies like Sony, Fujitsu and Sharp.

The legal battles will decide if Samsung can modify its ‘copying’ mindset that has made it a potential rival of Apple. The South Korean company has a reputation of a nimble manufacturer that looks for a strong technology and imitates it. It, at times, enhances it too, while pulling down the costs. 

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Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) says Kindle Fire `sold out’

Ahead of an expected launch of a new upgraded Kindle Fire, Internet retailer Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) has said that its first edition of the Kindle fire has been sold out.

Tech circles are taking this to mean that the company has stopped production of its debut tablet PC and that the next Kindle Fire is just around the corner. The company has called for a press conference on September 6, and speculation has been rife that the company will be unveiling its next tablet PC and maybe also a smartphone.

The Kindle Fire, which marked Amazon’s entry into the tablet PC segment, was launched in November last year with a price tag of $199 and has been offering stiff competition to Google’s Nexus 7, which it followed.

 It was the first Kindle with a colour screen and the ability to run third-party applications, placing it in competition with Apple iPad, at half the price of the cheapest iPad.

There are no details about how many Kindle Fires have been sold but according to Amazon it has about 22 percent share of the market.  That makes it the second-most popular tablet, after the iPad. Research firm IDC had said that 6.7 million Fires have been sold, all in the U.S.

The Fire, which is half of the size of the iPad could have a tougher competition this year especially if Apple launches a cheaper iPad Mini. The new kindle Fire is expected to have a larger screen at 10 inches and that is supposed to have an edge over the normal iPad, due to the pricing difference.

Amazon had kept the price of the Kindle Fire low by keeping it small, stripping it of features and taking a small or zero profit margins. Its strategy is to make the Fire a means for people to buy more e-books, music and movie downloads from the Amazon store, which is intimately linked to the device.

Apple has sold more than 84 million iPads since its debut in 2010, contributing to strong quarterly earnings and a market valuation that has exceeded $625 billion.

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Sharp Delays Supply of Upcoming Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone LCD Display

Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL ) is in some danger of not being able to cater to the demand for its new iPhone as Sharp, one of its component suppliers, has not yet started mass production of the LCD screens required, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The other two suppliers of the LCD display screens, Japan Display Co and LG Display Co have already started shipments of the screens for the next generation iPhone but shipments from Sharp have been delayed due to manufacturing difficulties, the Journal said.

The original scheduled date of the shipment was end of August. It remains unclear when the company can start shipping the LCD panels, the report said.

This could create a crunch for Apple later on because with lack of sufficient screens it may not be able to meet the anticipated demand for the phone.

Can AAPL Hit $1000 By This Year? Find Out Here

While it is not expected to delay the unveiling of the phone on September 12 and the launch on September 21, it could limit the availability of the phone later. In fact there have been reports previously of Apple facing production problems with its new iPhone.

Earlier this year, Sharp also delayed shipments of screens for Apple's latest iPad, but there were no apparent supply shortages of the tablet computers.

The delay at Sharp also comes as the Japanese electronics maker, which also makes televisions and solar panels, is struggling to cope with a cash crunch amid approaching debt repayment deadlines.

While sitting on more than $15 billion in interest-bearing debt, Sharp has forecast a net loss of 250 billion yen ($3.18 billion) for this fiscal year through March, as its core businesses remain unprofitable.

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OmniVision Technologies (OVTI) & Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK) Shares Rise on Upbeat Outlook

Shares in image sensor-maker OmniVision Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ:OVTI ) rose after the company reported better-than-expected revenue for its fiscal first quarter, and raised its revenue outlook for the current quarter.

Its shares rose $0.69, or 4.34 percent, to $16.60 at mid day trading on Thursday.

OmniVision said revenue for the three months ended July fell 6.5 percent to $258 million. Profit fell to $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, from $42 million, or 68 cents per share in the prior-year period. Excluding one-time items the company would have earned 21 cents per share.

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Analysts expected adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share on revenue of $243.4 million.

In its second quarter the company expects earnings without one-time items of 21 to 37 cents per share on revenue of $355 million to $390 million.

Analysts estimated 33 cents per share on revenue of $270.3 million for the current quarter.

Shares of Splunk Inc(NASDAQ:SPLK) also advanced in extended trading after the data-management software maker posted strong fiscal second-quarter revenue gains and raised its forecast for the fiscal year.

Revenues of the company rose 71 percent to $44.5 million, almost $5 million more than analysts expected. It raised its full-year revenue estimate by about $9 million.

Splunk, which completed its initial public offering in April, said it lost $4.6 million, or 5 cents per share, over the three months ended July 31.

In the year-ago quarter the company lost $3.9 million, or 20 cents per share. Analysts forecast a loss of 7 cents per share and $39.8 million in revenue.

Is SPLK Still a Buy after Today’s Rally? Find Out Here

The company is now projecting revenue of $183 million to $186 million for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, up from a previous outlook of $174 million to $177 million.

Splunk shares rose by $4.42, or 14.48 percent, to $34.92.

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Finally, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) Hires a New COO

Game developer Zynga Inc(NASDAQ:ZNGA) has a new chief operating officer in charge of new markets – Maytal Ginzburg - AllThingsD reported on Friday citing her LinkedIn profile as the source of the information.

Till July Ginzburg was the Senior Vice President of regulated markets at 888 Holdings, where her mandate was to acquire customers and other operations.

888 Holdings operates online portal 888.com, which is a gambling site offering real-money games such as poker, bingo and sports betting, in those markets where online gambling is regulated and permitted.

Can Shares OF ZNGA Bounce Back? Find Out Here

Ginzburg is expected to start work at Zynga soon, said Social Casino Intelligence which was the first to report on the development. It is expected that at Zynga she will be responsible for the company’s foray into real-money gambling and betting products.

The hire is important for the Facebook games maker because it shows that, while a number of executives have decided to leave, it can still recruit talent at a very high level, AllThingsD said.

Chief Executive Mark Pincus had earlier said that Zynga’s first real-money products were in development, and that it believed it has a huge opportunity to leverage its strong casino presence on Facebook, including with Zynga Poker and newer properties, like Bingo and Slots.

Zynga’s first real-money gaming products in international markets are expected to be launched in the first half of 2013, after getting due licensing and regulatory approvals.

Shares in Zynga were down 1.4 percent on Friday at $2.85 a share. The company has dropped nearly 70 percent since its IPO debut last year. 

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Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) to Shut Down Google TV Ads

Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is going to shut down its Google TV ads where it had tried to create an online marketplace for traditional television spots.

On Thursday the Internet search giant said it was shutting down its online marketplace for TV ads, and will focus instead on web advertising including its own Google TV.

Google TV ads was launched in 2007, and was promoted by the company as a great way for small businesses to reach new customers and build a strong brand. However the idea never caught on with buyers, programmers and distributors.

The TV ads program was supposed to serve as an effective addition to the media plan of large advertisers.

Google offered to bring its digital buying and measurement technologies, including its set-top box network, to traditional TV advertising.

"We launched Google TV Ads in AdWords to bring digital buying and measurement technologies to traditional TV advertising," said Google executive Shishir Mehrotra in a blog post.

Video is now increasingly going digital and users are watching across numerous devices. "So we've made the hard decision to close our TV Ads product over the next few months and move the team to other areas at Google," Mehrotra said.

The truth is that even after five years into the project, it did not get any traction.

"We also see opportunities to help users access web content on their TV screens, through products like Google TV," Mehrotra said.

In January Google had said that over the past year it had seen a six-fold increase in the number of ads aired per day as its household reach across cable and satellite operators had tripled. Google TV Ads had nearly tripled its operator household reach since the start of 2011, to a total of 42 million households nationwide, it added.

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Facebook Inc (FB) Shares Plumb New Depths As More Analysts Raise Question

Facebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) shares fell more than 3 percent to fresh lows during early trading on Friday on reports that businesses are spending less on advertising on the world's largest social networking site.

Its shares were trading down 3.34 percent at $18.45 at 10:27 a.m. after falling as low as $18.23 in intra-day deals. Nearly 22 million shares were traded by mid-morning. With this Facebook's shares have lost more than half of their value since they listed in May at $38 a share.

Can FB Rebound Or Continue To Fall? Find Out Here

There already have been concerns over the continuing growth in its revenues especially with more than half of its 900-million subscriber base moving to mobile devices. Facebook has been finding it difficult to monetise its mobile subscriber base and get marketers on to it.

“Checks on near-term paid media spending remain challenged,” Daniel Salmon, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets Corp. in New York, said in a research report today. He has a sell rating on the stock and cut his price estimate on Facebook’s shares to $15 from $25.

eMarketer which recently slashed Facebook's revenue forecast for this year and the next said that the social network was grappling with questions from marketers about how well ads on its site are performing.

Facebook has been working with companies to show them that its ads have an impact on its 900-odd million users. Marketers also want a return on their investments in terms of actual impact on their bottom lines and this is the challenge that Facebook faces.

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Nokia Corporation Breaks 3-Day losing Streaks (NOK, CUR, CRME, TC, NAV)

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) shares climbed 3.27% to $2.84 after Amazon.com said it has teamed up with Nokia to provide mapping services for its new Kindle Fire. Amazon will also add location capabilities to the new Kindle Fire, which needs either a GPS chip or a process known as WiFi triangulation.

Can NOK Move Back To $3? Find Out Here

Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:CUR) stock surged 12.59% to $0.617. The company on August 27, announced the completion of the Phase I trial of its NSI-566 spinal cord neural stem cells for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), with the eighteenth patient treated. This patient, the third to return to the trial for an additional set of injections, is also the last in the Phase I portion of the trial as it is currently designed, which is scheduled to conclude six months after this final surgery.

CARDIOME PHARMA CORP (NASDAQ:CRME) shares climbed 10.17% to $0.331 in the early hour on no official news. The 52 week trading range for the company is $0.29 - $3.93. The shares of the company plunged 90% in the last one year. The company is a research-based biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new therapies.

Will CRME Continue To Move Higher? Find Out Here

Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc (USA) (NYSE:TC) stock gained 8.37% to $2.72 after the shares of the company was upgraded by equities research analysts at Dahlman Rose from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors today. The firm currently has a $4.00 price target on the stock.

Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV) shares gained 8.43% to $23.28 in the morning hour after Navistar shares had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report released on Friday morning. JPMorgan Chase currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Additionally, the company said it expects to incur $40 million to $60 million of restructuring charges related to its recently announced workforce reduction program. Additionally, the company said that it was offering the majority of its U.S.-based non-represented salaried employees the opportunity to apply for a voluntary separation program. Employees who applied and are accepted in the program will receive enhanced exit benefits.

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Zumiez Inc Slumps On Earnings (GMAN, ZUMZ, GRPN, AONE, CPSL)

Gordmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:GMAN) stock plummeted 18.72% to $16.80 after the company provided weak outlook for the third quarter. The company posted second-quarter profit of $3.5 million or $0.18 per share from $2.9 million or $0.15 per share in the same quarter last year. Revenues for the quarter grew 9.6% to $128.2 million from $117.0 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Analysts expected earnings of $0.18 per share on consensus revenue estimate of $131.2 million.

Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) shares declined 8.57% to $29.46 after the company posted second-quarter profit of $2.1 million, or $0.07 a share, from $2.6 million, or $0.08 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased to $135.1 million from $112.2 million in the same quarter last year. Analysts estimated a quarterly profit of $0.13 a share on revenue of $134.9 million.

Can ZUMZ Bounce Back? Find Out Here

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) shares climbed 0.91% to $4.23 in the early hour despite Groupon and LivingSocial Inc. were sued by a patent owner that claimed the companies are infringing protected technology for mobile-phone advertising.  XcellaSave Inc. is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages from Groupon and LivingSocial, according to two lawsuits filed yesterday in federal court in Delaware.

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:AONE) shares declined 1.54% to $0.256. The company last week received notice from the Nasdaq that its stock price is too low for exchange standards and will be delisted if it does not recover to $1 in the next six months. The company has until February 19 to increase its share price back to $1, which it breached more than a month ago.

China Precision Steel, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSL) stock plunged 17.75% to $2.78. The company this week announced today that it effected a reverse split of its common stock at a ratio of 1 share of common stock for every 12 shares. The reverse stock split became effective just prior to market open on Tuesday, August 28, 2012. The company’s common stock will continue to be traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “CPSL”. CPSL’s Board of Directors were authorized by CPSL stockholders to effect the reverse split at the annual meeting of stockholders held on June 29, 2012.

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Hot Stocks - GMCR, STEM, SPLK, OVTI, SAI

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR) shares fell 0.37% to $24.03. The company announced that the company is aware of the fact that Sunbeam Products Inc. or Jarden Consumer Solutions, in co-operation with the Consumer Products Safety Commission, or the CPSC, and Health Canada, has announced a recall of the Mr. Coffee Single Cup Brewing System.

StemCells, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEM) stock increased 10.20% to $2.16 after the company announced that Armin Curt, MD, Professor and Chairman of the Spinal Cord Injury Center at Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, and principal investigator for the Company's Phase I/II clinical trial in chronic spinal cord injury, will make an oral presentation on the progress of the trial on Monday, September 3 at the 51st Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCOS), which is being held in London, England, on September 3-5, 2012.

Can STEM Continue To Move Higher? Find Out Here

Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) shares climbed 16.72% to $35.60 after the company posted a second quarter net loss of $4.58 million, or $0.05 a share, as compared with a loss of $3.91 million, or $0.20 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. The loss excluding certain items was $0.01 a share, smaller than analysts’ average estimate for a $0.03 a share loss.

Can SPLK Continue To Move Higher? Find Out Here

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVTI) stock climbed 5.97% to $16.86 after the company reported first-quarter net profit of $2.3 million, or $0.04 per share, from $42 million, or $0.68 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue fell 7% to $258.1 million. Adjusted earnings were 21 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected adjusted earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $243.8 million.

SAIC, Inc. (NYSE:SAI) stock gained 5.33% to $12.48 after the company posted second quarter net income of $110 million or $0.32 per share, as compared to $178 million or $0.50 per share for the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the second quarter rose 10% to $2.85 billion from $2.60 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts expected the company to earn $0.33 per share on revenue estimate of $2.65 billion for the second quarter.

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Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Cook and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Page start talks on IPRs

Fresh from his victory over Samsung on issues related to patent infringements, Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) Chief Executive Tim Cook has started a dialogue with Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) boss Larry Page on intellectual property rights and mobile patents.

Reuters, who reported it first, said that Page and Cook “had a phone conversation last week" and “are expected to talk again in the coming weeks.”

The report said that junior executives from both the companies were also involved in discussions relating to patents and this was a major change in policy for the two tech giants. Observers see it as fallout of the verdict last week by a U.S. federal court.

Apple has never engaged in a direct court battle with Google and so far all its patents disputes have been with Google licensees such as Samsung, HTC Corp, Motorola Mobility and LG Electronics.

Can AAPL Hit $1000 By This Year? Finds Out Here

Microsoft and Apple, whose rivalry starts from the personal computing sector, have several cross-licensing pacts in place with a tacit agreement between the two that they would not infringe on each other’s turfs.

However there is a simmering rivalry between Apple and Google, which has often been seen as covertly encouraging its licensees to infringe on Apple’s patents. Apple's former chief executive Steve Jobs had told his biographer that Android was a "stolen product" and that he would destroy.

In his own discussions with Google’s Eric Schmidt, Jobs reportedly said, "I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't want it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want."

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Next Week is Critical For Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK), Motorola, Samsung And Sony

A number of announcements for latest smartphone devices are lined up in the following week, as companies strive to introduce their best devices in the market and compete against the curiosity expected out of the next iPhone launch.

The new devices are predicted to uplift sales of smartphones to a record quarter in the last three months of this year. Analysts, however, wonder if Windows Phone will be able to compete against the powerful duo, Apple and Google, the second one owns the Android OS.

Ramon Llamas at IDC said that iPhone can be seen as a big volume mover and it would be hard to place bets against that. The December quarter is likely to feature plenty of devices that are being previewed.

Can NOK Hit $5 Soon? Find Out Here

Sony and Samsung slipped in their share of news as new smartphones were declared at the IFA Electronics Show held in Berlin.

The following week will see events hosted by Motorola and Nokia in which they will showcase their upcoming models. Amazon is also planning on hosting a conference in Los Angeles. it is believed that the company will feature its first smartphone offering apart from an update of the Kindle Fire Tablet.

According to several media outlets, Apple has set a date for the event to unveil iPhone 5 in San Francisco. Analysts expect that whenever the next iPhone gets released, it would be the top-selling smartphone device of the period. Samsung will be selling its Galaxy Note and Galaxy S3 in large numbers, even after losing a high-profile legal dispute with Apple last week.

As per the prediction of James Faucette of Pacific Crest, international smartphone sales will amount to 165 million units by December. He mentioned that there will be many new products, but the sequential increase will come after the release of the iPhone.

Other gadgets will continue battling for niche market shares. Some companies may benefit from the continued weakening 

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Next Week is Critical For Nokia Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:NOK), Motorola, Samsung And Sony

A number of announcements for latest smartphone devices are lined up in the following week, as companies strive to introduce their best devices in the market and compete against the curiosity expected out of the next iPhone launch.

The new devices are predicted to uplift sales of smartphones to a record quarter in the last three months of this year. Analysts, however, wonder if Windows Phone will be able to compete against the powerful duo, Apple and Google, the second one owns the Android OS.

Ramon Llamas at IDC said that iPhone can be seen as a big volume mover and it would be hard to place bets against that. The December quarter is likely to feature plenty of devices that are being previewed.

Can NOK Hit $5 Soon? Find Out Here

Sony and Samsung slipped in their share of news as new smartphones were declared at the IFA Electronics Show held in Berlin.

The following week will see events hosted by Motorola and Nokia in which they will showcase their upcoming models. Amazon is also planning on hosting a conference in Los Angeles. it is believed that the company will feature its first smartphone offering apart from an update of the Kindle Fire Tablet.

According to several media outlets, Apple has set a date for the event to unveil iPhone 5 in San Francisco. Analysts expect that whenever the next iPhone gets released, it would be the top-selling smartphone device of the period. Samsung will be selling its Galaxy Note and Galaxy S3 in large numbers, even after losing a high-profile legal dispute with Apple last week.

As per the prediction of James Faucette of Pacific Crest, international smartphone sales will amount to 165 million units by December. He mentioned that there will be many new products, but the sequential increase will come after the release of the iPhone.

Other gadgets will continue battling for niche market shares. Some companies may benefit from the continued weakening 

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Splunk Inc Gapped Up 17% (SPLK, BDC, OVTI, ZNGA, CHK)

Splunk Inc (NASDAQ:SPLK) shares jumped 17.05% to $35.74 in the opening session after the company posted a second quarter net loss of $4.58 million, or $0.05 a share, as compared with a loss of $3.91 million, or $0.20 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. The loss excluding certain items was $0.01 a share, smaller than analysts’ average estimate for a $0.03 a share loss.

Can SPLK Continue To Move Higher? Find Out Here

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC) announced that it declared a regular quarterly dividend of five cents per share payable on October 2, 2012 to all shareholders of record as of September 17, 2012.

Additionally, the company announced it had received, as of 5:00 p.m. ET on August 24, 2012, tenders and consents from holders of $291,916,000 aggregate principal amount, representing approximately 83.55% of the aggregate principal outstanding, of its 7.0% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2017 and $182,950,000 aggregate principal amount.

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVTI) stock climbed 6.54% to $16.95 after the company reported first-quarter net profit of $2.3 million, or $0.04 per share, from $42 million, or $0.68 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue fell 7% to $258.1 million. Adjusted earnings were 21 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected adjusted earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $243.8 million.

Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) shares fell 2.45% to $2.85 in the after hour trading. after the company’s vice presidents Bill Mooney and Brian Birtwistle have departed, following other top managers amid slowing sales and a stock decline at the biggest maker of social games on Facebook Inc. (FB). Additionally, the company’s Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu has decided to leave the social gaming firm, one of several recent departures at the company as it has faced an erosion of investor confidence. Mr. Verdu will be starting a new venture funded by Zynga.

Can ZNGA Recover After The Recent Turmoil

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) shares were reaffirmed by Canaccord Genuity with a buy rating in a research note released yesterday and they currently have a $26.00 price target on the stock.

Additionally, the company announced the following ongoing, upcoming and completed roadwork projects in Bradford County to improve regional transportation infrastructure.

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Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) cheaper iPad Mini could `crush’ the competition

Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPad Mini is expected to pose stiff competition to Google’s Nexus 7, especially if the Cupertino company prices it aggressively.

According to analysts who are tracking the sector, anything between $249 and $299 would be enough to “crush the competition” as well as give it enough room for a profit.

The answer comes down to whether Apple wants to "crush the opposition" or just maintain dominance, Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS iSuppli, told CNET

 "And the price point would be how they do that," she said.

The maximum that Apple is expected to charge for the iPad Mini is $349, and that would come with a 4G LTE network, Alexander said.

The fact that the competition is already gearing up for the launch of the iPad Mini, is attested to by the fact the Google has become aggressive with its Nexus 7, even using its usually uncluttered home page to push the product.

The ad also stresses on the price of the product at $199. The Google Nexus 7 was competing with the Amazon Kindle Fire, but now it would find a new competitor in the iPad Mini.

"The input I'm getting from the supply side is that [Google] has actually raised the quantity of orders being built this year," Alexander said. "We see it on the order of five to six million in 2012 or maybe even a little more than six million."

However the Nexus has a limitation in that it works only on a 3G Wi-Fi network that restricts it sales in Asia, where Wi-Fi is not prevalent. In contrast, a smaller, cheaper iPad with 3G/4G capability in Asia would be an extremely attractive product, she said.

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Marketers can `hunt’ down Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) users, eMarketer revises Facebook ad revenues downward

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is at it again. Infringing on users’ privacy, by allowing marketers to hunt down users by their phone numbers and bombard them with ads.

According to Facebook it will let the marketers hunt down their prospects. But these prospects can be hunted down only if Facebook has shared users’ personal information with the marketers. And, of course, if the user has also shared that information with Facebook in the first place.

Facebook will be rolling out the targeting option widely next week. It will give advertisers the ability to use phone numbers, email addresses and the “UID” code that Facebook users generate when they install apps on the network.

The idea is that advertisers hand over that data to Facebook, which will match with the user data it already has. So, if Virgin America wants to target people who have already flown on the airline it has to submit the data it has to Facebook. . Both data sets are supposed to be “hashed” before they’re matched, which should mean neither Virgin nor Facebook would actually know the identity of the people being targeted.

Facebook however has said that advertisers will have to seek their customers’ permission to use the data for marketing campaigns before they proceed.

But whatever efforts the social network site is putting in to get revenues the problem is that its revenues this year will simply not be as high as earlier estimated, according to a new forecast by eMarketer.

eMarketer has predicted revenues for the company to reach $6.6 billion in 2013.

Total revenues at Facebook will just break the $5-billion mark this year, an increase of 35.9 percent over 2011, according to the new forecast. In 2013, revenue is expected to increase 31 percent rising in new ad products such as ad exchange. International revenue is also expected to climb with the expansion of the company’s mobile ad business.

In February, eMarketer predicted that Facebook’s total revenues would surpass $6 billion this year, but after the company underperformed market expectations in both first and second quarters eMarketer’s forecast has been revised downward.

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Marketers can `hunt’ down Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) users, eMarketer revises Facebook ad revenues downward

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is at it again. Infringing on users’ privacy, by allowing marketers to hunt down users by their phone numbers and bombard them with ads.

According to Facebook it will let the marketers hunt down their prospects. But these prospects can be hunted down only if Facebook has shared users’ personal information with the marketers. And, of course, if the user has also shared that information with Facebook in the first place.

Facebook will be rolling out the targeting option widely next week. It will give advertisers the ability to use phone numbers, email addresses and the “UID” code that Facebook users generate when they install apps on the network.

The idea is that advertisers hand over that data to Facebook, which will match with the user data it already has. So, if Virgin America wants to target people who have already flown on the airline it has to submit the data it has to Facebook. . Both data sets are supposed to be “hashed” before they’re matched, which should mean neither Virgin nor Facebook would actually know the identity of the people being targeted.

Facebook however has said that advertisers will have to seek their customers’ permission to use the data for marketing campaigns before they proceed.

But whatever efforts the social network site is putting in to get revenues the problem is that its revenues this year will simply not be as high as earlier estimated, according to a new forecast by eMarketer.

eMarketer has predicted revenues for the company to reach $6.6 billion in 2013.

Total revenues at Facebook will just break the $5-billion mark this year, an increase of 35.9 percent over 2011, according to the new forecast. In 2013, revenue is expected to increase 31 percent rising in new ad products such as ad exchange. International revenue is also expected to climb with the expansion of the company’s mobile ad business.

In February, eMarketer predicted that Facebook’s total revenues would surpass $6 billion this year, but after the company underperformed market expectations in both first and second quarters eMarketer’s forecast has been revised downward.

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Marketers can `hunt’ down Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) users, eMarketer revises Facebook ad revenues downward

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is at it again. Infringing on users’ privacy, by allowing marketers to hunt down users by their phone numbers and bombard them with ads.

According to Facebook it will let the marketers hunt down their prospects. But these prospects can be hunted down only if Facebook has shared users’ personal information with the marketers. And, of course, if the user has also shared that information with Facebook in the first place.

Facebook will be rolling out the targeting option widely next week. It will give advertisers the ability to use phone numbers, email addresses and the “UID” code that Facebook users generate when they install apps on the network.

The idea is that advertisers hand over that data to Facebook, which will match with the user data it already has. So, if Virgin America wants to target people who have already flown on the airline it has to submit the data it has to Facebook. . Both data sets are supposed to be “hashed” before they’re matched, which should mean neither Virgin nor Facebook would actually know the identity of the people being targeted.

Facebook however has said that advertisers will have to seek their customers’ permission to use the data for marketing campaigns before they proceed.

But whatever efforts the social network site is putting in to get revenues the problem is that its revenues this year will simply not be as high as earlier estimated, according to a new forecast by eMarketer.

eMarketer has predicted revenues for the company to reach $6.6 billion in 2013.

Total revenues at Facebook will just break the $5-billion mark this year, an increase of 35.9 percent over 2011, according to the new forecast. In 2013, revenue is expected to increase 31 percent rising in new ad products such as ad exchange. International revenue is also expected to climb with the expansion of the company’s mobile ad business.

In February, eMarketer predicted that Facebook’s total revenues would surpass $6 billion this year, but after the company underperformed market expectations in both first and second quarters eMarketer’s forecast has been revised downward.

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Exclusive: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) May Be Targeted By Samsung Once Again

Samsung is not taking things lying down, despite the damning indictment by a San Jose federal court that last week found it guilty of violating Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s patents.

The Korean electronics major has vowed to continue its litigations against Apple, while it now plans to partner with Microsoft to reduce its dependency on Google’s Android operating system.

A report by the Korean Times said that the company, which is the world’s largest smartphone seller, plans to appeal the jury’s verdict and also to pursue fresh litigations against the Cupertino company on patent violations relating to 4G LTE networks.

The paper stated that "Samsung confirmed that it will immediately sue Apple if the latter releases products using advanced long-term evolution (LTE) mobile technology," although Apple already has released New iPad models with 4G LTE connectivity, having introduced them nearly six months ago.

Can AAPL Hit $1000 By This Year? Find Out Here

Samsung controls less than an eighth of the patents related to LTE, with 43 percent of the patents share owned by Nokia, Qualcomm and Ericsson.

Samsung, in fact, is closely following Google in its approach that just a few standard essential patents can be used to successfully monopolize the entire market. Incidentally both companies are under investigation by authorities in the United States and the European Union for allegedly abusing patent law with regard to FRAND-committed patents.

The federal jury which fond Samsung guilty of violating patents also dismissed its claims that Apple had violated the Korean company’s patents with regard to wireless technologies. Apple argued that it does not infringe upon the patents, but also that Samsung misled standards bodies by hiding patents covering the technology it submitted for inclusion in those standards. 

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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 8: Is October 29 the Launch Date?

Samsung has already announced its Windows 8 phone, ATIV S, but when Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) will release the new mobile OS is anybody’s guess.  If one were to believe the rumors, the event is scheduled a few days after the release of Windows 8 and Windows RT.The buzz is that October 29 is the launch date, just three days after the slated release of Windows 8 on October 26.Either San Francisco or Los Angeles is likely to host the launch party.

A launch on October 29 however doesn’t mean that the phones will be on market shelves on the same day.  That will probably take a couple of weeks giving credence to another rumor that Windows Phone 8 will be in the market in November.

Windows Phone 8 is supposed to be far superior to Windows Phone 7.5.  The new OS version supports higher resolution screens. This includes the 720p display in the ATIV S.With some more features like support for dual processors and micro SD cards packed in, users have in their hands faster phones with better screens and higher storage.

The new OS facilitates greater customization too.Phone users can arrange their Start screen in different ways because of the variables sizes of live tiles.  The new OS has an option for titles which also allows users to have more tiles on the screen.  Of course, the medium and large tiles can still be used.

Next week, we get to see Nokia’s Windows Phone 8 devices.

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Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX ) to Cut more Jobs, Split its cardiac devices business

More job cuts are in the offing by Boston Scientific Corporation(NYSE:BSX), which is also planning to break up its cardiac devices business.

No details were available on how many jobs would be lost or why the cardiac unit is being split.

Boston Scientific makes heat stents and implantable heart defibrillators, demand for which has been weak and diminishing over several years partly due to the slowing economy and also more stringent regulations over the use of these equipment.

Reuters which reported the job losses citing a source said that the company is expected to announce the layoffs within the next couple of months.

"The source said details of the changes were included in an internal memo from acting CEO Hank Kucheman earlier this month," Reuters said.

"Boston Scientific will separate its cardiac rhythm management unit, which makes heart pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, from its interventional cardiology business, which makes stents, the source said."

Former chief executive Raymond Elliot had combined the units less than three years ago. He expected the business to benefit from the expertise of a shared sales force.

Elliot had joined the company in 2009, when it had been floundering under its former CEO Jim Tobin. Elliot streamlined the company's operations, reduced its debt, sold off non-core business and cut 2000 jobs.

However he left the company after a couple of years much to the distress of investors and analysts. Since then the company has been languishing.

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Stocks In News: Supervalu Inc.(NYSE:SVU) & BP plc (NYSE:BP)

Supervalu On A Restructuring Spree With Its Management Ranks

The reputed grocery store chain, SUPERVALU INC.(NYSE:SVU) is restructuring its management levels under its new CEO as the firm prepares itself for a turnaround amidst a tough competition and a weak economy.

Kevin Holt, the sole operator of Jewel-Osco, Albertson’s and several other grocery store chains was chosen to be the president of Supervalu retail. He is working on strategy to enhance the operations in the traditional and pharmacy departments of the company. He had joined the firm in May as the executive vice president of retail operations.

Janel Haugarth is a veteran employee at Supervalu. She will soon become the executive vice president, process improvement and business optimization, a recently created job post. She used to be the executive vice president, merchandising and logistics.

While traditional supermarkets face immense competition from big box retailers and drug shops, Supervalu is trying to put strong emphasis on attracting shopped with lower prices. Such efforts have not yet gained traction.

In the last week of last month, Eden Prairie had fired its CEO a few weeks after reporting a bleak fiscal first quarter result. Wayne Sales was made the next CEO. The company had also suspended its dividend and declared its plans to review its business practices.

BP Gas Recall Sets Its Current Size To 4.7M Gallons

BP plc (ADR)(NYSE:BP reported that the size of its gasoline recall is now more than twice of what it previously was.

Scott Dean, BP spokesman, said on Wednesday that gasoline was circulated from the BP terminals in Whiting, suburban Chicago, Indianapolis and suburban Milwaukee. Gasoline refined in Whiting had also reached stations as far as Columbus and Bloomington. Dean had previously mentioned that the gas was circulated only on Milwaukee and Chicago areas and in northwestern Indiana.

As per the statement of Dean, BP has started processing about 10,000 claims from clients whose vehicles were affected, majorly in Illinois and Indiana. 

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rumored to be in discussion with Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) over lawsuits

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is said to be in another patent related discussion with Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) over intellectual property issues, including the companies' disputes over mobile patents as per a report from Reuters.

Shares of Apple Inc was trading down 1.10% at $665.71 on a very low trading volume of 7.42 million shares as opposed to the average trading volume of 14.35 million shares. On Monday the share price had hit a new 52-week high of $680.87 after the Company was granted a favorable ruling in the patent war against Samsung was announced on last Friday after the market had closed.

Apple was awarded over $1 billion in damages. The court also ruled that Apple had not infringed on any of Samsung's patents. The primary software patents that Samsung infringed upon were for bounce-back scrolling and tap to zoom. This ruling has created high speculations of the various lawsuits over patents against Apple to end up in a settlement with the software changes being most likely the most competitive.

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Apple was also cleared of Samsung’s counter-claims over whether

Apple had infringed Samsung’s utility patents. The legal validity of Apple’s patents was also upheld. Samsung has announced plans to file a motion to overturn the verdict in US District Court. If unsuccessful, Samsung will likely appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit.

Apple has signalled it plans to file for an injunction against devices found to infringe at some point this week. 

But, Samsung is expected to bring certain changes to the galaxy Tabs related to software modifications to devices to work around the patented software features in question. For devices that infringe on design patents, these devices may no longer be sold in the US; however, it does not appear that newer devices, including the Galaxy SIII are impacted. 

But, Apple is also expected to seek injunctions on products that infringe upon Apple patents like it had done earlier while the patent lawsuit against Samsung was in process.

The outcome of these lawsuits impacts the 659 million unit smartphone market.  As for the tablet market, the total market opportunity is 112 million units in 2012E. 

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Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) Signs Deal With Ingram To Sell E-Books Through Competitors

A publishing division of Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) that is based in New York has entered into a partnership with a book distributor Ingram Content Group. This partnership is expected to play a role in easing out the tension in the e-book industry. According to PaidContent, the deal is supposed to let competitors of Amazon like Barnes & Noble and Apple to sell Amazon titles.

The chief content officer of Ingram Content Group has stated that the company is ready to welcome Amazon’s adult group to its list of publishers, who use the services. This deal does not entail West Coast imprints of Amazon.

The heated affair in between Barnes & Noble, the largest brick and mortar bookseller, and Amazon is known to all. Matter started worsening when Amazon had launched Kindle Fire Tablet and declared exclusive deal with DC comics to sell digital copies of DC’s 100 graphic nobles, solely on the Fire.

As a response to this deal with DC, Barnes & Noble had taken down the physical copies of the titles from its store saying that it will not sell books it did not have digital rights to. Similar action was taken by Books-a-million, another reputed bookseller. Presently, Barnes & Noble has access to a few of Amazon’s titles. No spokesperson from Barnes & Noble has responded to requests made to the company to comment on this deal.

Amazon’s olive branch does not seem likely to make things better for Apple, who has alleged that Amazon was the driving force behind the legal prosecution over price fixing of e-books. Apple has denies all such speculations.

Competitors of Amazon are under no obligation that they have to offer e-books. some of the features titles are Penny Marshall’s ‘My Mother Was Nuts’, Jessica Valenti’s ‘Why Have Kids?’ and Timothy Feriss’ ‘The 4-Hour Chef’. 

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Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) Extends Fall on speculation of selling off BSS and what to expect on September 5

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is trading down 4.48% at $2.78 on news of the Company’s decision of selling off its business support system (BSS) unit for $400 m. The Company’s joint venture with Siemens is being speculated to be disposing the billing division of its JV with potential buyers being Ericsson, Amdocs, and other private equity funds.

Nokia Corporation, which had been down 42.32% year to date is expected to launch new WP8 based  Lumia  handsets with the simultaneous launch  of  WP8  OS  from  Microsoft at an event to be held on September 5 in New York. The blogsphere seems to indicate that Nokia will launch 2 phones codenamed Phi & Arrow.

Phi is rumored to be flagship high end device which will feature 4.7” ClearBlack AMOLED curved glass display with higher display resolution compared to the 4.3”/3.7” ClearBlack AMOLED display in the currently shipping Nokia Lumia 900/Lumia 800 WP 7.5 based smartphones. The hardware design of Phi is expected to broadly resemble that of Lumia 900 and Lumia 800 Windows phones though Phi is expected to be thinner than Lumia 900 and 800 smartphones. AT&T is expected to be the exclusive operator to offer Nokia Phi smartphone in the US initially.  Nokia Arrow is expected to be the mid range WP 8 smartphone that will be available from AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.

Can NOK Bounce Back? Find Out Here

It has become important for Nokia to show differentiated smartphones from the current market leading Apple & Android platforms to help its share price move up. In this scenario, the Company or Microsoft is required to disclose the hidden features wrapped in the new Nokia product to excite the consumer at large. Previously disclosed features of WP8 OS include: multi-core processors, higher screen resolutions able to support HD 720p displays, removable microSD cards, extensive NFC (near field communication) support, Internet Explore (IE) 10 supporting HTML 5, digital Wallet feature, ability to store maps data offline on the Smartphone.

Nokia had also announced partnership with HARMAN, the global leading supplier of premium audio and infotainment systems (NYSE:HAR) to develop innovative wireless consumer audio technologies exclusively for the Nokia Lumia range. The exclusive product line debuts with JBL PlayUp Portable Wireless Speaker for Nokia Espoo Nokia and HARMAN's JBL brand will jointly develop and co-brand the exclusive line of products which will include a range of speakers delivering room-filling acoustics with dynamic design. Wireless connectivity from mobile device to speaker will be facilitated through Bluetooth technology capable of connecting any existing Lumia phone, or by tapping to connect with NFC for next generation Lumia phone based on Windows Phone 8.

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