The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Intel, Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Apple

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Jun 10, 2014, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the Intel (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report), Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO-Free Report), Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report) andApple (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Technology Stock Roundup

With two big events in five days and another one coming up tomorrow, there was plenty of excitement last week. Here's a recap of the top stories:

Intel Enables The Thinnest, Lightest Tablets

At Computex, one of the largest computer expos in the world, Intel (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report) showed off the world's first 14nm reference design. The much-awaited Broadwell chip (Core M) appears to have delivered as promised, with the fanless design enabling significantly thinner and lighter convertibles. The reference design is just 7.2 mm thick and much lighter than existing devices. Broadwell is expected to ship in time for the holiday season.

Intel announced 130 Android and Windows tablet designs that would ship this year and said that 35% of Atom-based tablet designs included Intel communications. Other announcements included the first SoC called SoFIA for smartphones and the 4th generation Core i7 processor for enthusiasts.

Flicker Gets Rid of Google/Facebook Logins

Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO-Free Report) will be removing Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) and Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report) logins from its popular Flickr photo sharing app. The company had previously announced that only Yahoo logins would be active on both Fantasy Sports and Flickr. While the changes have already been made to Fantasy Sports, they will become effective on Flickr by Jun 30. The change will not affect paid services like Flickr Pro.

Companies generally go for Google and Facebook logins (as Yahoo did in 2011) when they want to increase the user base. But using a Yahoo account for all Yahoo services will enable better personalization, which will help retain users. The change indicates that Yahoo's user base has attained critical mass, so focus is shifting to retention. No wonder share prices went up.

Apple Focuses on WWDC

Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report) Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) updates included iOS 8, OS X 10.10 Yosemite, Healthkit and a new programming language called Swift.

The new OS includes a redesigned user interface much like the previous version, but with additional features enabling seamless integration between Mac and iOS devices and a new cloud storage system called iCloud Drive. The seamless integration between the phone and computer could be a competitive differentiator as it is something both Google and Microsoft could find hard to replicate (Android has limited presence in computing and Windows has limited presence in smartphones). The convenience on the other hand is something customers could get used to, thus helping retention.

The Swift programming language is simpler, faster and more interactive, which should encourage younger and less-experienced programmers to develop apps.

Apple also announced better maps, weather data and improved Chinese-language input, as well as support for the lunar calendar, all targeting China.

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

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