I have to tell you guys, this one looks like the best opportunity yet. I mean, if ever there would be someone to take on the powerhouse of Intel, NVIDIA would be it in my book and the reason why is Intel actually own the technology that underlies AMD and others have other issues. Nvidia DOES NOT!

Tech Daily: Nvidia goes mobile - Jun. 30, 2009

You say, “potato,” I say, “netbook.” That’s a bit how I feel when Michael Rayfield, who heads up the mobile computing effort at graphics chip specialist Nvidia, drops a tiny computer on my desk. Branded Mobinnova, it had an almost 9″ diagonal screen and a solid keyboard that folded around a tube stuffed with batteries and various connectors.

It is light enough to toss across the room like a Frisbee (not recommended, by the way). If I carried a purse, it would fit inside no problem. “It’s a netbook, right?” I ask Rayfield. “No, it’s a smartbook,” Rayfield replies.

Right…a smartbook. I haven’t heard that one yet.

There are notebooks, netbooks, mobile internet devices (MIDs), and web pads. There are smartphones and not-so smartphones. There are media players like the iPod Touch and the Zune. Last week I was shown a Hewlett Packard ultralight. Today, it was a smartbook from Mobinnova, which is the consumer brand of Foxconn, the Taiwan-based computer manufacturing giant that makes gear for pretty much everyone.

Why isn’t it called a netbook? Not sure. What the champagne and black-colored machine on my desk is — what all these gadgets are — is a mobile computer. And for chip manufacturers like Nvidia (NVDA), it’s the future.
0:00 /2:46HP laptops smaller but stronger

The Mobinnova is set up to run Windows CE, a lightweight operating system, so it’s not for someone looking to do heavy-duty computing. The ideal user performs mostly web-based tasks: e-mail, messaging, and game playing. It is based on ARM architecture, not Intel’s competing x86 design, so it won’t run Office or Windows 7 when it arrives.

It does play video like a champ, and claims 10 hours of HD quality video due to its battery-sipping design. When it hits the market around the holidays, the Mobinnova “élan” ought to sell in the range of $100 to $200, Rayfield estimates. So one notable difference in the “smartbook” category is price; Rayfield’s quote is a marked discount to the $300 to $700 most netbooks cost today.

The other difference is that Nvidia is doing all the processing inside this machine with what it calls Tegra.

Tegra is an all-in-one-computer on a chipset — a system-on-a-chip — that rolls eight different processors into one tiny package. Nvidia’s core business is graphics processors; its chips power the graphics inside Apple’s entire lineup as well as other computers either as standard equipment or aftermarket upgrades.

With Tegra, Nvidia doesn’t need Intel or AMD (AMD, Fortune 500) processors alongside its chips. Tegra is the whole package, and with more than $500 million invested in its development it is by far the largest commitment Nvidia has made to a technology outside of its core graphics business.

The reason for spending that huge chunk of change is that Nvidia is betting that mobile is going to be the growth engine of its business. At a financial analysts meeting earlier this month, NVIDIA CEO and co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang said that Tegra will comprise about half of the company’s revenue within several years. For the twelve months that ended January 25 Nvidia posted $3.4 billion in sales.

Like Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), and every other chipmaker out there, Nvidia sees the traditional computer industry changing, shrinking before its eyes — both in terms of size and the price that machines and their chips inside can fetch. “A year ago you could get a mediocre laptop for $1,000 Rayfield says. “Now you can get a kick-ass laptop for $400 — the market is never going back.”

That is true, but at the moment the great variety of form-factors and capabilities in these machines is more bewildering than anything else. Do I want a smartbook? A netbook? An ultralight? Do I just stick with my Blackberry and a laptop? What the hell is a web-pad?

Today, there are compromises inherent in all those devices. You need to weigh price against portability and performance. But what Tegra promises, as well as Intel’s future generations of Atom, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, is a mobile future without much compromise.

The way gizmos are being cranked out like Mobinnova’s “élan,” it seems like the time will come very soon (my guess, two years tops) where all the marketing monikers disappear. You will be able to pick the size mobile computer you want — pocket-size or purse-size — and the features you need at a price that rivals what most people pay for spiffy smartphones today. Will these be a primary computer? For many people, yes. For those with heavy computing tasks, say video editing, you’ll need a beefier machine.

It’s a future PC makers and PC chip companies like Nvidia are scrambling to adapt to, to plant their flag in the mobile marketplace. The stakes are simple: they either win huge, or watch their business slowly but surely shrivel. And while it is a bit confusing at the moment for consumers, hang in there. It’s about to be a great time to go shopping for a computer that fits your wallet and your needs perfectly.

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All of a sudden, the one stock I was warned NOT TO BUY is becoming a possible choice for the rebound. Well, I am so VERY glad that I didn’t listen to the critics and I actually bought SIRI the night before they were saved from bankruptcy for just pennies a share, because right now, I am already sitting on top of an almost 600% gain. I bought hundreds of dollars worth that now is thousands of dollars worth.

However, hear me in this. I have not been stupid. I have already sold some and reinvested my original funds. This is now fun for growth.

So, I don’t know just how high this stock will go, but if the guys below at Breaking Views, Fortune and CNN are correct, which they just might be, then the price tag of $0.45 might be a real steal.

Just check it out. Read on…

pd

breakingviews: Sirius XM - The best play on an auto rebound - Jun. 30, 2009

U.S. car sales are in a ridiculous funk. Even with a strong June, the current annualized rate of about 10 million vehicles isn’t enough to compensate for scrapped cars and population growth. Yet the best investment play on an American recovery may not be a car or parts maker. Curiously, it may be Sirius XM Radio, which operates the radio in the dashboard.

This is partly a process of elimination. Two of Detroit’s Big Three — Chrysler and General Motors (GMGMQ) — are in bankruptcy. Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) is, of course, an option. But some 40% of Ford’s sales come outside the U.S., so it’s not a pure play on the domestic market. True, there are parts companies uniquely focused on the U.S. market. But given the serious margin pressures they face from bankrupt carmakers and rivals they look like very risky investments.

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For all of you guys who are following details on cars and the auto industry, for you guys who love the latest new Harry Potter movie, for you Microsoft fans and if you like GE, BAC and/or C, July is the MONTH FOR YOU! This month, there is a ton of stuff going on. So, I added this article here from Motley Fool. Check it out!

pd

4 Dates to Circle in July (BAC, C, GE, MSFT, SIRI, TWX)

Here are a few of the days that I plan to approach with eyes wide open.

July 11
If you’re hoping for a cheap — and legal — copy of Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) upcoming operating system, this is your last day to pre-order a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium as an upgrade for Vista and XP users for just $49. Microsoft’s promising platform will hit the market with a suggested retail price of $119 in the fall.

A lot is riding on Windows 7. Vista has been the butt of operating-system jokes, especially in Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) effective “I’m a Mac” ads. Fans of Vista will argue that the knocks have been unfair, but all sides can agree that Windows 7 is Microsoft’s best chance to matter in a future that threatens to make operating systems less important in a future more focused on cloud computing.

It’s a good sign for Microsoft that the pre-orders — at least so far — have been selling briskly.

July 15
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince becomes Time Warner’s (NYSE: TWX) latest installment in the blockbuster series to hit a multiplex near you. It’s also the first theatrical release since author J.K. Rowling completed the seven-book series. Will that heighten or diminish interest in the movie series as Time Warner milks the last two books into three cinematic experiences?

Box-office receipts are trending ahead of where they were a year ago, so momentum is on Time Warner’s side. However, there’s also a busy slate of rival flicks hitting exhibitors this summer. Can Harry Potter’s spell over audiences continue?

July 17
Fridays are typically sleepy days on the news front. Few companies want to test shareholders’ mettle by delivering quarterly reports heading into the weekend. However, three meaty stocks with plenty to prove — Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and General Electric (NYSE: GE) — will all be stepping up to the podium on July 17.

All three stocks started out the year as Dow components, until Citigroup was booted last month. They have a few other things in common:

* They were all trading in the single digits before the March rally kicked in.
* They have all sharply slashed their dividends over the past year.
* They have more than doubled off their lows, placing even more pressure for the companies to earn their recent gains in two weeks.

July 29
The last thing that Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) subscribers expect is a rate increase. The merger between Sirius and XM was based on an agreement that rates would be frozen for a couple of years.

However, that didn’t stop Sirius XM from bumping up its rates on discounted secondary receivers in the same family in March. It also began charging for online streaming, which in Sirius XM’s defense was accompanied by an upgrade in the quality of its Web-based offering.

Sirius XM is allowed to make these adjustments. It’s also entitled to pass along on any music royalty fee increases — and it will do just that when monthly rates go up by $1.98 on July 29.

That increase is going to become a huge test for the satellite-radio operator. Subscriber growth peaked during last year’s fourth quarter, when Sirius XM watched over more than 19 million receivers. It closed out the March quarter with just 18.6 million subscribers.

Will the July increase shake out even more subscribers, or will it be a cash flow dream as fans pony up for long-term commitments to lock in the current rates?

Things can cut either way, so join me in making sure you’re wide awake this month.

Technorati Tags: finance, harry potter, microsoft, apple, SIRI

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