This week, we saw quite a few high-profile updates from mobile companies released, some pleasant and others not so much. The news was centered mostly around Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) newly launched Kindle Fire and some concerned Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone while Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) had some notable announcements.

Kindle Fire

The past week saw Amazon release its Kindle Fire earlier than expected, pleasantly surprising millions of eager buyers who had pre-ordered the tablet. The Fire began shipping on Monday, a day early, while the Touch and Touch 3G were shipped Tuesday, six days early. Amazon’s new offering in the tablet market has generated a lot of hype, with studies showing that more people are interested in purchasing Amazon’s upcoming tablet than Apple’s tried and true iPad this holiday season.^[1] With consumers showing a lot of interest, developers aren’t left far behind. Among developers surveyed by Appcelerator and IDC in North America, 49 percent said they considered the Kindle Fire their primary target, on par with interest for the iPad prior to its launch in April 2010.^[2]

We believe that while the Kindle Fire will be a big success for Amazon and drive its content-based business to higher highs, fears (or hopes, as the case may be) that it may outsell the iPad seem a little too far-fetched at the moment. Apple’s dominance is due to its trailblazing tablet and as long as it continues to move on this path, it will be extremely difficult to unseat the iPad from its throne. It may at best lower prices and take some market share away from Apple, which will in fact be good for the industry as tablets begin to see mass-adoption.

See our complete analysis for Amazon stock here

Apple

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) released a software update for the iOS 5 operating system in order to address complaints about the battery life of the iPhone 4S.^[3] Unfortunately, the update seems to have not completely resolved the issue as users continued to complain about the battery life, with some even saying that it has gotten worse. In a statement released a day later by the company, Apple acknowledged that the software update addresses only some, but not all of the battery issues troubling iPhone users.^[4]

See our complete analysis for Apple stock here

Research in Motion

Analysts’ optimism on Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) seemed to have returned last week as first, Pacific Crest reported that they are less bearish than usual on RIM as the stock is at its life-time lows, followed by reports that Omega Advisors was hopeful that that RIM’s new operating system will help the company rebound.^[5] ((RIM: Pac Crest Still Bearish, But Less So, Barron’s, November 10th, 2011)) We expected this migration to finish by early 2012. However, according to a report, the QNX migration could get delayed beyond the official Q1 2012 release. ((RIM: Barclays Cuts To Hold On QNX Delays, Barron’s, November 8th, 201)) If such a thing happens, it will be another setback to the company and all the optimism around RIM’s comeback could vanish.

See our complete analysis for RIM stock here

Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s CEO, Paul Jacobs, announced at an investor meeting this week that the company is working with Microsoft to bring out a Snapdragon-powered Windows PC a year from now.^[6] The company has also readied its 4G LTE Gobi 4000 platform for shipment to OEMs, an announcement that started rumors about their possible usage in Apple’s next generation iPhone and iPad. ((Qualcomm now shipping 4G LTE Gobi 4000 platform, BGR, November 16th, 2011))

See our complete analysis for Qualcomm stock here