Meet Quadroid

Just as the Microsoft Windows/Intel Pentium combo (Wintel) came to rule the PC business, smartphones are starting to standardize around their own Big Two.  According to a recent study, that standard is the new Qualcomm chip/ Google Android operating system one-two punch.  The cool kids are calling it  Quadroid.

CNNMoney’s David Goldman takes us inside the numbers:

But now, for the first time ever in the wireless ecosystem, a standard platform is emerging: At least a dozen handset makers have brought to market more than 90 different smartphones that run Android, and more than three quarters of those handsets have Qualcomm chips embedded in them, according to a new study by consultancy PRTM.

The Qualcomm-Android standard, or “Quadroid” as PRTM calls it, is becoming a parallel to the Windows-Intel, or “Wintel,” standard that developed in the 1990s.

Qualcomm held their Analyst Day meeting yesterday and the The Street apparently loved what they heard.  Goldman Sachs reiterated their Conviction Buy and raised their target to 58 this morning.  Credit Suisse upped their target to 60 and gave it a buy rec as well.

As far as Google, Android is not the engine driving the stock right now but it is obviously of immense importance to the company strategically.

It’s too early to tell if this Qualcomm/Google duopoly is really going to own the space but so far their partnership appears to be the front-runner.  If you’re trading technology stocks, wireless plays, chips, operating systems etc, you may want to get up on this story.

Source:

Android and Qualcomm are the New Wintel (CNNMoney)

Qualcomm Upgrades/Downgrades (TheStreet)