Tag Archives: TD

Computers

Newer versions of LTE to make rapid advances, ABI says

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Emerging technologies for 4G LTE networks are expected to make rapid advances over the next few years, helping mobile networks keep up with data growth and bringing more users worldwide into the LTE fold.

By 2018, a majority of the world’s LTE subscriptions will be on networks that use either TD (time-division) LTE or features from the emerging LTE-Advanced standard, according to an ABI Research forecast released on Monday.

At the same time that mobile operators are still expanding infrastructure based on FD (frequency-division) LTE, the earliest version of the high-speed mobile system, the two more recent technologies are fast making inroads, according to ABI analyst Nick Marshall. They may dominate networks of large, outdoor “macro” cells by 2015, Marshall said.

TD-LTE uses one band of frequencies to send traffic both downstream and upstream, while FD-LTE uses separate, equal-size bands for the two directions. TD-LTE makes LTE possible in countries that license so-called unpaired spectrum. It also lets operators dedicate more capacity to downstream traffic, such as Web and video content, than to upstream traffic such as photo uploads.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Another Analyst Gets Even More Bullish on Qualcomm

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By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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Following a bullish note on Qualcomm from Susquehanna analyst Chris Caso, the mobile chip giant is getting another analyst vote of approval today. This time, we’re talking about Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley boosting his estimates on Qualcomm’s prospects.

The analyst is reiterating a “buy” rating on the company while adding a couple bucks to his price target, bringing it to $85. Walkley believes that Qualcomm’s core businesses are holding up admirably to recent assaults from Broadcom , Intel, and NVIDIA . In fact, he’s even raising his market share estimates.

In February, Broadcom announced a new LTE baseband chip to target the discrete modem market, supporting next-generation technologies like LTE Advanced carrier aggregation. There is even speculation that Broadcom is looking to expand its relationship with Apple beyond Wi-Fi combo chips, and that the company was hoping to score another iPhone spot.

That same month, NVIDIA reached a major competitive milestone with its Tegra 4i. Previously code-named “Grey,” the Tegra 4i is NVIDIA‘s first applications processor with an integrated LTE modem. Qualcomm’s focus on integration has been a key driver of its smartphone market share gains, and NVIDIA wants a piece of that success.

Even though rivals are sampling competing chips this year, Canaccord believes that Qualcomm’s third-generation chipsets still boast considerable advantages to the first-generation silicon of other companies, particularly in areas like global and support and TD inclusion. LTE frequency fragmentation is also a tough nut to crack for newer entrants.

Like Caso, Walkley also sees Qualcomm benefiting greatly from Samsung’s new Galaxy S4. While only about a third of Galaxy S III variants were LTE enabled, the analyst estimates that two-thirds of Galaxy S4 variants will feature LTE connectivity. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors also seem to be in more Galaxy S4 variants this year instead of Samsung’s own Exynos. Add in the fact that Galaxy S4 units should come in at about 100 million over the next year, up from approximately 65 million Galaxy S III units to date, and you get a recipe for some healthy revenue upside.

NVIDIA was ahead of the curve launching its mobile Tegra processor, but investing gains haven’t followed as expected, with the company struggling to gain momentum in the smartphone market. The Motley Fool’s brand-new premium report examines NVIDIA‘s stumbling blocks, but also homes in on opportunities that many investors are overlooking. We’ll help you sort fact from fiction to determine whether NVIDIA is a buy at today’s prices. Simply click here now to unlock your copy of this comprehensive report.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

China Mobile Prepares for Apple

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By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

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The inevitable union between Apple and China Mobile will open many doors for both companies. However, if there’s one thing that history has shown, it’s that iPhone users gobble up massive amounts of data.

You may remember when AT&T‘s networked strained for years under the load of all those iPhones when Ma Bell enjoyed its iPhone exclusivity. Consumers frequently derided the iPhone’s data capabilities, and AT&T’s network was the culprit because the carrier simply didn’t know what it was getting itself into.

AT&T was then required to plunge billions of dollars over several years to beef up capacity. At this point, the data bottlenecks are mostly a thing of the past as other carriers now offer the iPhone, spreading out consumption over multiple networks.

That’s a fate that China Mobile is looking to avoid, as Reuters reports the company is planning on investing up to $6.7 billion in its network this year. That will also be spent on developing its 4G network, while China is still in the midst of its transition to 3G. The country is expected to issue 4G operating licenses later this year.

China Mobile’s network uses a unique time division standard, which has historically been a technical hurdle for carrying the iPhone. The newest iPhone 5 supports the standard, and future models are also expected to be TD-compatible. The largest Chinese carrier also said it was planning on spending $4.3 billion in device subsidies this year, an increase of 13% from last year.

Smaller rivals have continued to chip away at China Mobile’s lead, particularly in the lucrative 3G-subscriber market. Getting the iPhone will help turn the tables. There are already 10 million iPhone users on China Mobile’s network, but the aforementioned incompatibilities relegate them to 2G data speeds.

It would also give Apple access to the largest mobile subscriber base in the world, which now sits at 715 million as of the end of January. Beefing up the network in preparation of the iPhone is the right move to make.

There is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool’s senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple, and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Target Announces Closing of Credit Card Portfolio Sale to TD Bank Group

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Target Announces Closing of Credit Card Portfolio Sale to TD Bank Group

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Target Corporation (NYS: TGT) announced today that it has completed the sale of its entire consumer credit card portfolio to TD Bank Group (TSX and NYSE: TD) for $5.7 billion, the gross value of the outstanding receivables (“par”) at the time of closing. As previously announced, the two companies have entered into a seven-year program agreement under which TD will also underwrite, fund and own future Target Credit Card and Target Visa receivables in the United States. Under the program agreement, TD will control risk management policies and oversee regulatory compliance and Target will continue to perform account servicing functions.

“We’re pleased that we’ve completed the sale of our credit card portfolio,” said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Target Corporation. “We look forward to working with TD Bank Group, a premier financial institution, to provide innovative financial products to our guests and profitably grow the portfolio over time.”

Under the seven-year program agreement, which applies to Target’s U.S. credit card operations, Target will maintain the current deep integration between its financial services operations and its retail operations. The agreement does not have any impact on Target’s 5% REDcard Rewards program. Target team members will continue to provide all servicing for Target Credit Card and Target Visa accounts. The portfolio sale and program agreement are designed to have minimal impact on Target’s current cardholders, guests and the Target team members who support financial products and services.

Accounting Considerations, Earnings Impacts and Deployment of Proceeds

As previously announced, Target’s fiscal 2012 GAAP earnings per share reflected a pre-tax gain of $161 million related to the accounting treatment of the consumer credit card receivables as “held for sale” assets. In addition, in first quarter 2013 Target estimates it will recognize an additional pre-tax gain of approximately $393 million on the sale of its portfolio. At the time of the company’s October 23, 2012 announcement of the sale agreement with TD, Target posted details on the accounting aspects of this transaction on its investor relations website, available at www.Target.com/investors.

Target expects to deploy proceeds from the sale in a manner that will preserve its strong investment-grade credit ratings. Specifically, the company expects to apply approximately 90 percent of net transaction proceeds to reduce the company’s net debt position, with the remainder applied to share repurchase over time. Concurrent with …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Obscure Rule Leads to Rare Score

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Obscure Rule Leads to Rare Score

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at AOL