Investors Flee Dark Pools As Market Volatility Erupts

from WSJ:

>>The number of messages such as stock quotes channeling across U.S. markets surged to 2.8 million per second during the worst of the May 6 ”flash crash,” overwhelming traders and contributing to the seize-up in information flow. The same figure now reaches more than 5 million messages a second without any hiccups in the market, according to data from Equinix Inc. and Exegy Inc.

As the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 250 points Friday, the figure briefly shot above 5 million. “Exchanges really led the way” enabling U.S. markets to handle more of those messages, John Knuff, general manager for global financial services at Equinix said in an interview.

Cellphones ComScore calls Android top dog, Apple pulls further ahead of RIM (US data)

from Engadget:

>>

According to ComScore, out of the 82.2 million people in the US with a smartphone (up ten percent from last quarter), Android came in first as the biggest platform yet again, capturing a whopping 41.8 percent of the market like a boss. In a not-so-close second, Apple was able to snag 27 percent, followed by RIM in the third place spot with 21.7 percent -- down 4 percentage points from last quarter.

Smartphones to account for majority of handset shipments by 2015, says IHS iSuppli

from Digitimes:

>>Global smartphone unit shipments will soar to 1.03 billion units in 2015, more than double the 478 million in 2011. This will cause smartphones' share of global cellphone shipments to increase to 54.4% in 2015, up from 32.5% in 2011.This rise to dominance is all the more remarkable considering that smartphones accounted for only 15.8% of the total cellphone market in 2009.

Within the smartphone market, the fastest-growing category will be low-end models, defined as devices with limited features and lower memory densities relative to higher-end products. Shipments of low-end smartphones are expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 115.4% during the period from 2010 through 2015, compared to just 16.4 % for mid-range to high-end smartphones.

Electric Cloud Partners With VMware to Build Smart Development Clouds

Equinix and Electric Cloud speaking today at VMworld® 2011 on how end-to-end automation of the build-test-deploy cycle and cloud resources accelerated Equinix's software development

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- VMworld 2011 -- Today at VMworld® 2011, Electric Cloud®, the smart development cloud company, announced that ElectricCommander® 4.0, the latest version of its enterprise-class automation solution, will integrate with VMware vCloud® Director 1.5 to enable smart development clouds. Brian Lillie, Equinix CIO, and Martin Van Ryswyk, Electric Cloud VP of engineering, will present "Beyond the Cloud Hype" (Session CIM2628) at VMworld 2011 today discussing how Equinix implemented a smart development cloud to accelerate its software development and test cycle. The session is at 5:30 p.m. today.

With this integration, Electric Cloud and VMware jointly address the challenges both development and IT face by providing a smart development cloud solution that automates development on top of cloud infrastructure. ElectricCommander automates the entire build-test-deploy process with an intuitive workflow automation solution, executing the operations and coordinating hand-offs between teams. ElectricCommander integrates seamlessly with VMware vCloud Director 1.5, allowing IT to automate the setting up, configuring and tearing down of virtual machines as they are needed to improve cloud resource utilization and eliminate VM sprawl.

"The constantly fluctuating resource demands of software development make it an ideal fit for the cloud, but without automation it's not enough," said Mike Maciag, Electric Cloud CEO. "By pairing the end-to-end automation of ElectricCommander with VMware vCloud® Director's superior cloud resource management, we can enable smart development clouds that support the 'bursty' nature of development, giving developers ready access to resources as they are needed, and automating the entire build-test-deploy cycle for faster, smarter development."

ElectricCommander provides increased visibility into resource usage, providing IT with the information they need to optimize resources. For developers, a smart development cloud powered by ElectricCommander and VMware vCloud Director means automated development that allows faster iterations and continuous integration throughout the build-test-deploy process. Ultimately, customers enjoy faster time to market and improved software quality.

"ElectricCommander and VMware vCloud® Director work hand-in-hand to enable application development on the cloud," said Dan Chu, vice president, Cloud Infrastructure and Services, VMware. "Taken together, they optimize self-service and elasticity for developers, and comprehensive resource management for IT."

Equinix Implements Smart Development Cloud

For Equinix, a provider of global data center services, ElectricCommander and VMware vCloud Director have proven to be the solution to challenges including error-prone manual processes, disconnected development environments and manual hand-offs between teams. Equinix implemented a smart development cloud supported by ElectricCommander and VMware vCloud Director that tightly couples the development process to its internal "private" cloud infrastructure.

Implementing a smart development cloud with ElectricCommander and VMware vCloud Director has allowed Equinix to create development workflows that enable its software developers to automatically provision resources for both development and test environments. Multiple projects now share a common development framework and the same private cloud infrastructure, while retaining unique processes and tool integrations as needed. This smart development cloud also enables resources to scale for peak usage and allows multiple tests to be run in parallel.

"Electric Cloud and VMware have allowed us to create a smart development cloud that reduced our time to execute development and IT infrastructure processes from hours down to minutes, reduced environment set-up from a week to two hours, and reduced our errors to almost zero," said Equinix CIO Brian Lillie. "Our smart development cloud has also increased visibility and transparency throughout the development process, and allowed our team to better collaborate and more fully align to reach our common goals as one integrated team."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/electric-cloud-partners-with-vmware-to-build-smart-development-clouds-2011-08-30

Crucial Paradigm expands cloud services with Equinix

from www.arnnet.com.au:

>>Web hosting company, Crucial Paradigm, has moved into global data centre services provider, Equinix’s new SY3 International Business Exchange (IBX) datacentre in Sydney.

The move will enable Crucial Paradigm to deliver an expanded range of Equinix’s cloud services to its managed service provider customers.

Toshiba rumored to be announcing ultra-thin tablet at IFA

from Engadget:

>>According to Notebook Italia, Toshiba's expected to announce a new ultra-thin tablet at IFA this week, swapping full-size USB and HDMI ports for micro-USB, micro HDMI, and microSD slots in order to shave off a few millimeters from last year's model, leaving the new device with a sleeker, much more appealing design.

waterproof Fujitsu tablet to be released in September

from datacider.com:

>>Waterproof Fujitsu tablet expected from NTT DoCoMo launched in September this year "ARROWS Tab F-01D" was leaked specs and product brochures. Is expected to be formally announced at the presentation of the September 08 Winter model.

Jamba Juice To Open Its First Two Canadian Stores In Toronto

On May 23, Jamba Juice (JMBA) announced an agreement with Canada Juice Corp. to develop 80 stores across Canada over the next 10 years. The first Jamba Juice Canadian locations were anticipated to open in late 2011.

Thanks to PostCity, we now get more details about the first two openings:

The first Canadian Jamba Juice will open in three to four weeks in The Annex, at 495 Bloor Street West, in the former home of Walk in Wok Out. The second will be in Yorkdale mall. While these two locations are the only confirmed ones to date, “there is not a province we will not be in over the next 24 months,” Aaron [Serruya] says. The Canadian locations will be identical to their American counterparts.

Aaron says that Jamba’s fruit smoothies are addictive and that people are anticipating their arrival. “Customers will come everyday. It will be an alternative to coffee.”

The expansion of its international franchise stores is key to Jamba's growth – and, given the business model, future earnings and cash flow generation.

Right now, Jamba Juice operates about 310 locations, while 436 shops are franchise-owned.

The company, as James White, the CEO, remarked during the last conference call, intends to strongly expand the number of franchised locations in the next few years:

Let's move now to store expansion via our franchise system, which allows us to accelerate our growth, increase our brand presence, improve our overall margin and reduce capital requirements. Our ambition for international is significant, but very actionable and on track. We're focused on 10 priority markets where we can open 50 to 100 units in each market. We'll sign a master franchise agreement with a strong local partner who has a successful track record as a premier operator and brand developer.

A similar strategy is being pursued in the USA, as remarked in the Q&A session:

Gregory McKinley - Dougherty & Company LLC

Okay. And what's your franchise pipeline look domestically here now that the refranchising transactions are complete?

James White

For us, our market plan, as we look into the immediate future, so call that this current year and through '13, we would expect in the 50- to 70-unit range for that set of 3 years, it will be largely...

Gregory McKinley - Dougherty & Company LLC

Per year, 50 to 70?

James White

Per year. It will be largely franchise. We'll end up opening 8 or 9 company units this year. That will probably be cut in half as we look to the following 2 years, and we'll focus more on development with our current franchise partners as we fill in. We will continue to grow in our nontraditional venues, airports, college campuses and those kinds of venues moving forward.

Jamba Juice recently reported Q2 results that were much better than expected. While the company remains in the middle of its turn around plan, and shares are also suffering some pressure as two large shareholders are liquidating their position, even a partial execution of this growth plan (that also includes licensing Jamba branded consumer products, now in over 25,000 outlets) could deliver, in a few years, a completely different company, capable of reporting good earnings and a strong cash flow.