HP Announces $1 Billion Investment in Cloud Projects

Hewlett-Packard plans to invest $1 billion within the next two years on cloud-computing products and services. Among its projects is the development of services for the OpenStack open-source platform for public and private clouds, which HP will make available in 20 datacenters within the next 18 months. The company also recently announced a collaboration with contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group on creating servers for cloud-computing service providers. Other companies are also investing in cloud computing. For example, Cisco Systems plans to spend $1 billion on a cloud initiative. And Microsoft is making its cloud storage for businesses 40 times larger than it is now. (Reuters)(ZD Net)

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Facebook Buys Startup WhatsApp for $19 Billion

Facebook announced it will buy mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp for US$19 billion in cash and stock. The transaction, notes Reuters, “places the world's largest social network closer to the heart of mobile communications and may bring younger users into the fold.” WhatsApp had 450 million users in five years and is now reportedly adding another million daily. It is billed as an alternative to SMS, allowing users to exchange unlimited text messages at no cost for a year. After a year’s use, a user is required to subscribe to the service, which is now 99 cents for one year. (Reuters)(National Public Radio) 

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Dish Network Bids $25.5 Billion for Sprint

Satellite TV provider Dish Network has submitted an informal $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel, upping a previous offer from Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank. Dish has offered Sprint shareholders $4.76 in cash and roughly $2.24 in stock that would be financed through $17.3 billion in cash and debt financing. SoftBank offered $20.1 billion in October 2012. Sprint—the third-biggest US cellular provider with 56 million subscribers—has yet to comment on the Dish proposal. Sprint is currently the No. 3 cellphone service provider in the United States with 56 million subscribers nationwide. (ZDNet)(CNNMoney)(The New York Times)(Dish)

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