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Technology Article

Déjà vu All Over Again: Boeing Delays Dreamliner for Sixth Time

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning - • Print | Email

In what seems like a never ending saga, The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) postponed delivery of its 787 Dreamliner for the sixth time, promising now to finally hand over the first plane to customers in the middle of the first quarter of 2011.

The latest delay came after Rolls-Royce Group PLC told the world's largest aircraft maker it would be unable to supply an engine needed to complete flight testing, Boeing said in a statement Friday. Rolls said the delay wasn't related to a 787 engine blowout on a test bed in Derby, England, which this month forced it to shut the site for repairs.

The composite-plastic plane is already more than 2 1/2 years late following delays caused by working with new materials, parts delays from suppliers and redesign work involving an Italian sub-contractor.

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HP, Dell Land In Pricey Bidding War as Tech Sector M&A Heats Up

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

A rare technology sector bidding war raged on late Tuesday as data storage company 3Par Inc. (NYSE: PAR) announced it would start merger talks with Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), pressuring rival Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) to make another bid to win the key growth opportunity into enterprise storage business.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing late Tuesday, 3Par wrote that HP's $1.6 billion offer was "reasonably likely" to win support from its board. HP announced the $24 per share bid Monday, topping Dell's Aug. 16 offer of $1.15 billion, or $18 a share, by 33%.

The steep price increase comes at a time when tech companies are vying to acquire businesses that broaden their product offerings, and tech powerhouses are quickly snatching up quality companies.

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Google's Android an iPhone Killer?

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning - • Print | Email

The struggle for dominance in the smartphone market is heating up and Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android operating system for handsets appears to be winning the war against Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone system.

When Apple debuted the iPhone 4 on June 24 it broke sales records. In the first three days, the company sold 1.7 million devices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France and Germany, the most for any version of its top-selling product.

But the popular device has been plagued by misfortune – including the suicide of a Chinese worker, lost prototypes, reception problems, and an inauspicious introduction to the press and public when Chief Executive Steve Jobs could not get the phone to connect to the Internet.

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Tech Stocks Priced for Bargain Deals, Edge Higher on Analyst Upgrades

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Analyst upgrades lifted the technology sector on Monday, as cheap valuations and strong balance sheets in tech companies are making for good buys, as outlined in Money Morning's Midyear Forecast on tech stocks.

Analysts say tech stocks haven't been this cheap since 1992, excluding a brief period before the March 2009 bull market started, and now is the time to buy.

"Tech stocks have some of the strongest balance sheets in the S&P 500," Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist of Robert W. Baird & Co., told Bloomberg. "The valuations are inexpensive – that's another plus. It's a good time to invest in tech."

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Google Hangs On To China, but It's Too Late to Make up Profit Losses

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) announced Friday that China renewed its Internet license to operate a Web site, but the previous months of tension have already damaged Google's chance at mainland profitability.

Google's chief legal officer David Drummond posted the announcement on the company's blog Friday morning.

"We are very pleased that the government has renewed our ICP license," Drummond wrote, referring to Internet content provider license. "And we look forward to continuing to provide Web search and local products to our users in China."

The license renewal should dissipate – at least, temporarily – months of tension that started earlier this year when Google claimed China was the source of cyber attacks on its databases and user e-mail accounts. Then the company said it would stop censoring search results in compliance with China's government regulations. China prohibits Internet users from accessing offensive and politically controversial material.

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Money Morning Midyear Forecast: Three Reasons Technology Companies Will Continue to Coast through 2010

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Technology companies had a blowout first half marked by strong earnings and successful product rollouts. But the second half of 2010 could be even bigger, because a flurry of merger and acquisition activity, corporate IT splurges, and high consumer demand – particularly in emerging markets – have set the stage for a serious haul.

"We're going to have much stronger results in the second half [of 2010] than anyone's expecting," Mark Stahlman, a partner at research firm TMT Strategies, told CNBC.

Business was booming back in 2007, but technology companies froze when businesses and consumers were engulfed by the financial crisis. Global tech spending dropped 4.2% in 2009, but is already bouncing back in 2010.

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Question of the Week: Readers Respond to Money Morning's Technology Trends Query

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) delighted smartphone consumers and enthusiasts of technology trends when it unveiled its new iPhone 4, which will go on sale in the United States on June 24. The fourth-generation iPhone upgrades previous versions with a front-facing video camera for video calls, a higher-resolution screen, slimmer body, and an operating system that accommodates multitasking ability.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs referred to the phone as the "biggest leap we have taken since the original iPhone." It's aimed at keeping the company's momentum going as Motorola's Droid phone, which uses Google's Android system, has edged some market share from Apple.

Apple's iPhone and iPad have helped supercharge the mobile-communications market. Those products – and others – have helped make sure that consumers and companies alike are inundated with new technologies, new applications, and a slew of new products. All these new options have potential buyers asking such questions as "Can this help me? " or "Do I need one? " or "Should I upgrade? "

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We Want to Hear From You: How Have New Technology Trends Affected You?

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning - • Print | Email

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) delighted smartphone consumers and technology enthusiasts Monday when it unveiled its new iPhone 4, which will go on sale in the United States June 24. The phone upgrades previous iPhone versions with a front-facing video camera for video calls, a higher resolution screen, slimmer body, and an operating system that accommodates multitasking ability.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs referred to the phone as the "biggest leap we have taken since the original iPhone."

It's aimed at keeping the Apple momentum going as Motorola's Droid phone using Google's Android system nabs some market share from Apple.

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AT&T Rocks Smartphone Industry by Dropping Unlimited Data Plans

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning - • Print | Email

In a pioneering move likely to shake up the mobile telecom industry, AT&T (NYSE: T) today (Wednesday) abandoned unlimited-pricing plans for new wireless subscribers accessing data on smartphones.

The changes could lower the cost of service for the vast majority of AT&T's users but potentially raise rates significantly for heavy data consumers. The new plans go into effect on June 7, the same day Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is widely expected to unveil the next generation of its popular iPhone.

By instituting usage limits on what were previously unlimited smartphone data plans, AT&T embarks on an important and long-awaited shift in how carriers bill their customers.

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Hot Stocks: Can Apple Be a Gentle Giant?

By , Money Morning - • Print | Email

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) yesterday (Thursday) supplanted Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) as the largest technology company in the United States. Apple now trails only Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) in size, but that size will only make the company a bigger target if it fails to use its newfound market position prudently.

Just last month, Microsoft's market capitalization exceeded Apples by some $25 billion. But Apple has finally overtaken one its great archrivals. But being the new standard bearer for the technology sector brings with it more than bragging rights. It also will make Apple a bigger target for its competitors and government scrutiny.

As far as competition is concerned, there's no question that Apple has outdone Microsoft.

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