Opinion – The current financial crisis may offer a short term opportunity for some very interesting hostile takeovers. If there was ever truth to the rumor that Apple was interesting buying Sun, Apple could scoop the company up for pocket change. Intel could get rid of AMD for even less and even AMD could use its recent cash infusion to take a shot at Nvidia. But the hottest ticket may actually be RIM – It is not quite in reach for Apple, but Microsoft may be looking at a huge bargain. Are we looking at a period of big mergers?

Opinion - With Nintendo’s recent announcement that it has developed a new and better version of the already successful DS handheld, I decided I might do a little research. I enjoy keeping up on game consoles and try to get my hands on new technology early. So, is this new system something I should purchase? Is this the new face of mobile gaming? Let’s look - I can’t be left behind in the technology world.

Analyst Opinion - AMD was in significant trouble: Up against a vastly larger and better funded competitor, the company was increasingly outmatched in recent months.   This is because it has simply become too expensive to keep up the technology race. Sony, Texas Instruments, and Freescale had to exit the microprocessor segment, because the costs of staying in remained too great. This massive drop in competitors put AMD on a very ugly list and created a situation where it seemed that only one vendor could be driving the market in future and limit the amount innovation in a quickly changing, critical market.

Opinion - It was about time. After months of uncertainty, Sprint’s Xohm unit was finally ready to roll out WiMax in Baltimore earlier this week. The network appears to be working as planned, but it seems that the promises made by the carrier are a bit exaggerated and there are many variables that need to be pinned down to enable consumers to make a decision whether they should subscribe to such a service or use 3G or wait for LTE instead. Right now, I believe there is very little that makes WiMax a compelling offer for the U.S. consumer. Of course, I invite you to disagree and join the discussion why WiMax is exactly what you were waiting or why you can live without it.

Opinion – We had almost given up hope that any of the five largest cellphone makers would be able to come up with a true iPhone rival that could match its appeal and functionality. But Nokia’s 5800 came virtually out of nowhere and seems to have all the right ingredients to challenge Apple. From what we have seen so far, this is one fantastic, cool device with very few compromises. It looks great and beats the iPhone effortlessly in audio and video features. It comes with a full year of free, unlimited access to songs on the Nokia Music Store service. It is expected to be available as an unlocked phone that will cost about 25% less than the iPhone. No doubt about it: This one looks serious. Apple should be worried.

Opinion - On Wednesday, Slide, the Widget start-up primarily responsible for delivering individuals photo slideshows and videos announced that it would be hosting video from CBS, Warner Brothers, and Hulu on Facebook. This is the beginning of a new Facebook application that is being worked on in partnership with FunSpace Channels that will open today. Facebook and TV? Does that go together?

Opinion – Real Networks and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have filed dueling lawsuits in U.S. courts with one side trying to protect the RealDVD DVD copying software and the other trying to kill it. And while one may be wondering what MPAA executives were drinking before coming up with the idea to sue a DRM-riddled software, a second look reveals why the movie industry is upset, and rightfully so.

Analyst Opinion – It was a scary day. NASDAQ down more than 9%, the Dow Jones index almost 7%. Shares were in free fall, led by Apple, thanks to downgrades by financial analysts who are concerned with the fact the U.S. consumer is probably putting all of his, or her, money under their bed for safe keeping at the moment. There is no doubt that the technology industry will be affected by what builds up to become a perfect storm for the U.S. economy. Rob Enderle has a closer look at the industry and examines whether we should expect changes in the IT industry and which ones are most likely.

Analyst Opinion - I just came back from a trip to Budapest and a deep dive with Acer, which has about the same market share in the U.S. as Apple, but is substantially larger world wide. However, Apple is substantially more profitable and, particularly under the current market conditions, I’d put profitability and valuation ahead of market share as a way to measure the success of a company.   Others clearly don’t and given these two firms are actually very close to each in market share, I believe it is interesting to compare them with a closer look.

Opinion – Samantha Rose is the resident cellphone enthusiast here at TG Daily. Having bought more than 15 cellphone over the last two years, some might consider her a cellphone addict, but others, like us, believe that she can compare the value of a cellphone to the user much better than most of us and her opinion on a new cellphone certainly carries weight. So we asked her to line up her impressions on T-Mobile’s Google phone, the G1.