Margin Check: Google, PlayStations, Wal-Mart and more

Editor’s Note: Welcome to On the Margins, a feature for RCR Wireless News’ new weekly e-mail service, Mobile Content and Culture. Every week, the RCR Wireless News staff considers events in the wider business world and how they could affect the wireless industry.
–Google announced plans to buy enterprise e-mail security firm Postini for $625 million. Although the deal does not mention any wireless e-mail security solutions as yet, the purchase signals Google’s intention to become a stronger presence in the enterprise space-and enterprises increasingly are going mobile.
–Sony dropped the price of its PlayStation 3 by $100, which analysts say is a nod to the success of Nintendo’s Wii gaming console and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox. What does it mean to wireless? WiMAX proponents are betting that their chips will go beyond traditional wireless devices like phones and into new applications like gaming consoles, digital cameras and recorders, essentially creating a new market. Perhaps a third-place player like Sony, which is very familiar with wireless thanks to its handset joint venture with Ericsson, would be more easily persuaded to include something like a WiMAX chip to differentiate itself from the gaming pack.
–According to Reuters, Wal-Mart Stores said it is seeing success with its “site to store” service, which allows shoppers to order products on the Web and then have those items shipped to Wal-Mart stores for free. The news is simply another marker in the booming market for online shopping, and is further evidence that shoppers are comfortable purchasing goods on the Internet. However, it’s unclear whether shoppers will eventually use their cellphones for shopping with the same level of ease.
–Merrill Lynch analyst David Rosenberg said that the United States is seeing an increase in jobs thanks in large part to tourists, according to Reuters. Rosenberg said that the growth in the number of U.S. jobs is due successes in the “leisure-hospitality sector,” with bars and restaurants catering to tourists. An increase in the number of tourists to the United States could stand as a major opportunity for those mobile content companies focused on travel, route-finding and other tourist concerns.
–Microsoft is spending $1 billion to repair troublesome Xbox 360s. Whether that effort will cut into Microsoft’s efforts in the mobile space-including its MSN Mobile and Windows Mobile operations-remains to be seen.