Week in review: Ancestry.com, Coinstar, iRobot, Microsoft, Netflix report earnings

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s tech blog.

Market for medical robots seen growing by two-thirds to $1.3 billion in 2016. Intuitive Surgical is a leader in the space. (April 29, 2011)

Coinstar’s Redbox unit posts huge gain in Q1 and will add video games to its movie rental machines in June. (April 29, 2011)

Ancestry.com’s Q1 results show that genealogy is becoming a big pastime in the U.S. and abroad. (April 29, 2011)

Microsoft’s Q3 financial results are mixed. Consumer PC sales are down, hurting Windows sales. (April 28, 2011)

iRobot turns in solid Q1 results, but its Q2 and full-year guidance disappoint. Shares down nearly 8% today. (April 27, 2011)

Chip designer ARM Holdings easily beat Wall Street’s Q1 forecast thanks to strong smartphone sales.
ARM president tells IBD that licensing is strong. Stock nears a 10-year high. (April 27, 2011)

What did you do in high school? These three teens won this year’s Intel Science Talent Search with some amazing projects. (April 27, 2011)

Netflix beats Wall Street’s Q1 views, but Q2 earnings outlook has bears saying, “Told ya so.” (April 25, 2011)

Netflix might speed up its international expansion. If so, blame Canada. (April 25, 2011)

Altera and Xilinx are benefiting from wireless and fiber optic network buildouts worldwide. (April 25, 2011)

Week in review: Apple, IBM, Intel report earnings

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s tech blog.

SanDisk beats the Street in Q1 thanks to sales of flash memory to smartphone and tablet makers. (April 21, 2011)

Apple now No. 1 cellphone maker by revenue, ahead of Nokia. Its iPhone business accounted for half of Apple’s total sales last quarter. (April 21, 2011)

Apple shares pop after another ho-hum earnings blowout. Company reports big iPhone sales, but iPad sales disappoint. (April 20, 2011)

Institutional investors have been dumping Apple shares. (April 20, 2011)

Intel’s Q1 results show PC sales are alive and well, despite the tablet threat. (April 20, 2011)

IBM beats Wall Street expectations for Q1 and raises full-year guidance, but investors are unimpressed. (April 19, 2011)

Week in review: Pokemon still popular

Pokemon, the Japanese “Pocket Monsters” media franchise, continues to sell well in the U.S.
The video game, cartoon and trading card franchise will celebrate its 11th anniversary next month.
The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s tech blog.

Pokemon gives Nintendo a badly needed lift.
Nintendo’s “Pokemon Black and White” DS games were the top-selling video games in March. (April 15, 2011)

Worldwide PC shipments decline in Q1 after six straight quarters of year-over-year growth.
Hurt by tablets and more, PC shipments fell for the first time since the Great Recession. (April 13, 2011)

Intel gives mobile device chips another try in hopes of taking market share from ARM Holdings. (April 13, 2011)

Week in review: Chip merger tops the news

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s tech blog.

Signs point to Q2 as the top of the current semiconductor equipment spending cycle. (April 8, 2011)

Dell is going from selling physical computers to selling virtual ones.
The company announces a $1 billion investment in cloud computing effort. (April 7, 2011)

Texas Instruments deal to buy National Semiconductor could spark more chip mergers and acquisitions. Analysts say the pairing of the analog chip companies is a natural. (April 5, 2011)

Photo: A manufacturing associate wears a "bunnysuit" while handling wafers at a 1,200-degree Centigrade furnace at a National Semiconductor factory. 

Week in review: Wow! A Playmobil miniature Apple Store with Steve Jobs action figure

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s tech blog.

I want this toy! A Playmobil miniature Apple Store play set, complete with mini Steve Jobs. (April 1, 2011)

Now that the hype has subsided, 3-D TV adoption is poised to rise steadily. (April 1, 2011)

Analyst says every 2.5 tablets sold cannibalizes one PC sale. Could translate to 28 million PCs lost to tablets in 2011.
Intel and other PC-centric stocks fall on signs of weakening notebook demand. (March 31, 2011)

Apple’s smartphone market share has peaked, poised to decline. Microsoft’s Windows Phone set to come on strong, IDC says. (March 29, 2011)