Half of Solar Firms to Fail, Analyst Says

Half of the existing solar manufacturers may not survive through the end of next year, according to the market research firm The Information Network, as reported by DigiTimes. The piece said Information Network chief Robert Castellano believes “massive inventory buildup and huge overcapacity” are having a serious impact on solar panel manufacturers.

Weekend Roundup: Meg and Carly on the Trail

There were a flurry of stories over the weekend about the electoral dreams of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Whitman is the current Republican front-runner in the race to be be the next governor of California.

Apple: iPhone 3GS Materials Cost Similar To Last Version

The bill of materials for the Apple iPhone 3GS is comparable to model it replaced, according to market research firm iSuppli, which conducted a detailed tear-down of the new version of the phone.

Is the Video Game Sector Finally Slowing Down?

Is the video game sector hitting a wall? That’s the obvious conclusion of the latest monthly sales data from research firm NPD Group. According to data released late Thursday, video game industry overall sales fell 17 percent in March from a year ago, with hardware down 18 percent, software off 17 percent and accessories off 15 percent.

Tech Investing: Rules to Live By (Part 1)

Carl Johnson, an underappreciated observer of the tech investing world and a longtime analyst on the semiconductor equipment business, who can be found online at Infrastructure Wednesday afternoon, sent along an annotated version of a list of the Top 10 Tech Investing Rules, as set down in Institutional Investor magazine by J.P. Morgan chip analyst Christopher Danely.

Novatel: JMP Advises Getting Out; Kindle Is Not Enough

Novatel shares are down hard this morning after JMP Securities analyst Samuel Wilson downgraded the stock to Market Underperform from Market Perform. For the year through yesterday, Novatel shares had rallied 34.7 percent; Wilson notes that the wireless networking equipment company has gotten a boost from its role providing components to the Amazon Kindle 2 e-book reader. But Wilson says the Kindle 2 will contribute at most $10 million a quarter to Novatel’s revenue, “not enough to fill the hole left by the drop in demand in the PC and USB adapter business.”

Debating the Impact of Sprint's Boost Unlimited Service

Just how much of a threat is Sprint’s new $50 prepaid Boost Unlimited plan for all-you-can-eat voice and data service? That question is particularly important to the companies Sprint has clearly targeted with the new offering: Leap Wireless and Metro PCS. And it is a matter of no small debate.