The HTC Rezound can now be had for $150 from Amazon’s Wireless Store (currently in beta). Previously available for $300 with a 2-year contract, the resoundingly impressive drop in price is sure to capture any Android fan’s interest.

Customers are given the option to either sign a new 2-year contract with Verizon, or use their upgrade on the HTZ Rezound to take advantage of the discounted price.

The Rezound is packed with a 4.3 inch, 1280×720 resolution super LCD screen, a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor, a 2-megapixel camera on the front, and an 8-megapixel dual LED flash camera on the back.

The phone is connected through Verizon’s famed LTE 4G network. Reports from customers on the network so far are promising, with Armando Rodriguez from PC World clocking a download speed of 11.55 megabits per second in San Francisco.

The HTC Rezound ships with a set of Beats Audio headphones (valued at $99+). These ear buds combined with the Beats Audio software enhance the user’s experience while they enjoy their songs & videos.

Battery life has thus far been the main concern for users who take advantage of the device’s substantial media capabilities. Games & movies specifically are said to be a drain on the phone’s battery life, which at the moment appears to be the price you have to pay for enjoying handheld high-definition content, regardless of the device.

Rangers Fan Falls

A fan attending a baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians fell from the upper deck mezzanine level into the field-level bleacher seats on Tuesday.

The male fan fell roughly 60 feet, and play was paused for more than 16 minutes. The umpires discussed whether or not to postpone the game, or continue playing, but the decision was made to resume play at 8:45 CST.

There is no official word yet on the fan’s health.

When play resumed, the first pitch got away from the Cleveland catcher, and Vladimir Guerrero of the Texas Rangers scooted over to second base. One must wonder whether the first play after such an event was affected by the way the players’ must have felt after witnessing such a sight.

Franco Folini, Flickr

On this day 103 years ago, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was born. Google has crafted a tribute for Kahlo on their homepage in the form of a redesigned “Google” header image. Hovering over the image will yield a message containing these words: “Happy Birthday Frida Kahlo.”

Kahlo’s full name was Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kaylo y Calderó, and she was born in Coyoacán, Mexico. Many people remember Frida Kahlo as a passionate folk artist who excelled in conveying pain and intensity in her work.

Generally speaking, Kahlo was a surrealist painter who was made famous mainly through her self-portraits, which characterize over half of her portfolio. Not surprisingly, many people hail Kahlo’s work as an accurate portrayal of Mexican culture during her time.

Frida Kahlo was married to Diego Rivera, another famous artist in Mexico. Their relationship was heavily publicized as being rocky and tumultuous, but no one doubts that the two deeply loved and cared for one another during their time together.

Kahlo died only a few days after she turned 47 years old on July 13, 1954. Her work and biography can be found in museums all over the world, including the Frida Kahlo museum in her home town of Coyoacán, Mexico, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, to name a few.

Photo taken by flickr user Tostie14 of Wikimedia Commons

Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Saf-T-Net, Inc., provider of AlertNow, a leading messaging and mass notification solution for the K-12 marketplace, for approximately $33 million in cash, excluding transaction costs and subject to certain adjustments.

“Our acquisition of AlertNow broadens our mass notification offerings, extends our focus on mobile devices and creates greater value for our significantly expanded K-12 client base.  The strength of AlertNow’s value proposition is evidenced by their rapid growth, and we believe its addition to Blackboard will further enhance our momentum,” said Michael Chasen, CEO and President of Blackboard. “AlertNow has enjoyed strong renewal rates and we look forward to delivering the highest service levels to our broader base of clients.  We are also excited to welcome our new colleagues from the AlertNow team to Blackboard.”

“Blackboard shares our enthusiasm for serving the needs of parents, teachers and administrators across the K-12 market,” said Robert Bruce, President and CEO of Saf-T-Net. “We look forward to working with the Blackboard team to provide our clients and industry with an even broader selection of communication offerings and new innovations.”

Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Saf-T-Net employs approximately 65 professional staff serving K-12 clients located throughout the U.S. With more than 2,000 K-12 clients, Saf-T-Net increases Blackboard’s commitment to the K-12 market.  In addition, Saf-T-Net provides features and functionality that will enhance and accelerate development for Blackboard’s own messaging and mass-notification offering Blackboard Connect™, including: new Parent Portal technology; enhanced survey capabilities; and multi-lingual capabilities.  The broadened capabilities and client base provides significant opportunities, and there is the potential to realize long-term infrastructure cost benefits as a result of the increased scale from the combined operations.

Guidance for the First Quarter of 2010

Blackboard management does not expect that the acquisition of Saf-T-Net will have an impact on the Company’s first quarter financial results given an anticipated closing in late March.  Accordingly, Blackboard management is re-affirming its previous guidance for the first quarter 2010 as follows:

• Revenue of $98.6 to $102.6 million;
• Amortization of acquired intangibles of approximately $8.9 million;
• Stock-based compensation expense of approximately $5.1 million;
• GAAP net income of $3.2 to $5.7 million, resulting in GAAP net income per diluted share of $0.09 to $0.16, which is based on an estimated 34.8 million diluted shares, and an estimated effective tax rate of approximately 36 percent;
• Non-GAAP adjusted net income  of $12.5 to $15.1 million, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, and non-cash interest expense, all net of taxes; and
• Non-GAAP adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.36 to $0.43 based on an estimated 34.8 million diluted shares and an estimated effective tax rate of approximately 38.5 percent.

Updated Guidance for the Full Year 2010

Blackboard management currently expects Saf-T-Net to contribute approximately $5.5 million to Blackboard’s 2010 GAAP revenue, assuming the anticipated late March closing date for the acquisition.  The Company also expects the acquisition to be dilutive to full year 2010 by approximately ($0.09) to GAAP net income per diluted share and by approximately ($0.05) to non-GAAP net income per diluted share.  Management estimates that there will be approximately ($0.04) per share of dilution in Q2 2010 to non-GAAP net income primarily related to the purchase accounting adjustment to Saf-T-Net’s deferred revenue and an additional ($0.01) per share of dilution in Q4 2010 to non-GAAP net income related to the timing of non-recurring integration costs. The Company currently expects Saf-T-Net to have a positive impact on non-GAAP net income per diluted share beyond 2010.

For full year 2010, Blackboard currently expects:

• Revenue of $429.5 to $445.5 million;
• Amortization of acquired intangibles of approximately $35.0 million;
• Stock-based compensation expense of approximately $20.2 million;
• GAAP net income of $19.7 to $30.1 million, resulting in GAAP net income per diluted share of $0.56 to $0.85, which is based on an estimated 35.5 million diluted shares; and an estimated effective tax rate of approximately 36 percent;
• Non-GAAP adjusted net income of $56.8 to $67.1 million, which excludes stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, and non-cash interest expense, all net of taxes;
• Non-GAAP adjusted net income per diluted share of $1.60 to $1.89 based on an estimated 35.5 million diluted shares and an estimated effective tax rate of approximately 38 percent;
• Cash flow from operations of $100.0 to $110.0 million; and
• Capital expenditures of approximately 4 to 5 percent of total revenue.

Corporate Presentation to Investment Community

At 9:15 a.m. ET today, John Kinzer, Chief Financial Officer and Michael J. Stanton, Senior Vice President, Finance & Treasurer will provide a corporate presentation to analysts and investors from the Raymond James 31st Annual Institutional Investors Conference in Orlando, FL.  The presentation will include commentary related to the acquisition of Saf-T-Net and can be accessible via webcast through the Investor Relations tab of the Company’s web site at http://investor.blackboard.com or at the conference web site at http://www.wsw.com/webcast/rj54/bbbb/.