Novatel & Smith Micro Win from iPad at Verizon (AAPL, VZ, T, NVTL, SMSI)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has many winners and losers through time in its partnership suppliers.  The announcement that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is going to begin selling the iPad along along with the MiFi Mobile HotSpot is creating a win for at least one other technology supplier.  This is likely just the start that moves away from Apple’s exclusivity with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) as the rumors of a Verizon CDMA iPhone keep persisting.

Novatel Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: NVTL) has been a winner on and off in the mobile broadband modem market for laptops for years but shares are up 5.7% at $10.39.  The big deal here is that Novatel has a market cap of only $328 million with the stock at $10.39 and it has a 52-week trading range of $5.46 to $12.72.

Smith Micro Software Inc. (NASDAQ: SMSI) is up as MiFi is said to use Smith’s connection manager software, although we have placed a call into the company for verification and clarification on the matter to see what revenue impact this could have. The latest annual report from Smith Micro noted, “Verizon Wireless, Dell, Sprint and AT&T accounted for 65.7% of our revenues in fiscal 2009.”  Smith Micro shares are up 8% at $11.50 on the day.

At Verizon, there is a three-tier price offer for various iPad models: $629.99; $729.99; and $829.99.  Monthly access will be offered for $20 per month.  When you go to the Novatelwireless.com website, there it is… MiFi

As a reminder, many companies have won from having their products and solutions inside or along with Apple devices.  The thing to remember is that it has another side.  If that business disappears, a bear raid visits the shares of those companies.

JON C.  OGG