Mark, Scott Schoelzel is one smart dude. Why? Because he agrees with me!!! :-)
As far as NXTL's recent pullback from its highs, as far as I'm concerned, it's just noise. Ignore it. Stocks go up and stocks go down. NXTL isn't exempt from that truism.
Yes, indeedy, QCOM is trying to create brand loyalty but what do they have to offer that compares with Intel? "Use our phones because your call will go through faster," or "With QCOM phones you can count on listeners hearing every word," ... you get the idea. If there is a quality difference, it is marginal. The capacity issues of cdma vs. tdma are transparent to the user so of little import in developing retail identity. Unlike Intel, QCOM doesn't have the unique product advantage that demands 85% market share. Nor are they the industry standard in the U.S. Whether QCOM likes it or not, they are in a commodity business and, so far, their brand is the little guy. I fail to see how they will create brand loyalty akin to Dell or Apple (in the past) as they've licensed their technology to the whole world. QCOM and their phones are in a competitive fight more comparable to QNTM, WDC & SEG in the hard drive biz. First one is ahead, then another, ad nauseum. However, unlike the hard drive guys, innovation in the cellular arena will be tapped out sooner as they run out of additional services and focus on quality service and market share.
Arnie |
