Hulu’s board of directors has hired investment banks Guggenheim Partners and Morgan Stanley to consider options for a sale of the online video startup, according to the Los Angeles Times. The possibility of a sale comes after reports of an unsolicited bid from Yahoo, and suggests that the broadcasters who own the site may finally be ready to part ways with it.

Independence from media partners and stakeholders could be good for Hulu, as it would finally give the company some freedom to go its own way. But that freedom could be constrained by its next round of content deals and effective leadership if the transition isn’t managed well.

Here are three reasons why Hulu is a tough sell:

Price: Any bidder for Hulu will have to be ready to pony up some serious moolah. The company was valued at billion when it was founded with a 0 million investment from Providence Equity Partners. It announced 0 million in revenues last year, and is expected to approach 0 million in sales this year. Last year, when it considered going public, Hulu was reported to be valued at billion. All of which suggests that any deal will be priced in the .5 billion range.

Unfinished business: Hulu is reportedly in the process of renegotiating content deals with ABC, NBC and Fox — deals that were expected to be done months ago. Any buyer will want those deals done before a purchase is announced. But since its broadcast partners would no longer have a vested interest in its success, any re-up with Hulu would have much less favorable terms than the way its current broadcast TV deals are structured. Any new owner can expect a longer wait time and shorter access period for new TV shows, which could negatively impact viewership — and ultimately the value of the property.

Management concerns: Jason Kilar has been the heart and soul of Hulu ever since he took over the startup in early 2007 2009. In a strange twist of fate, Om even suggested that Yahoo buy out Hulu more than two years ago, in part due to confidence in Kilar as a strong #2 to just-hired CEO Carol Bartz. Echoes of that sentiment can be heard these days, as the Yahoo board reportedly seeks a replacement for Bartz and Yahoo has been linked to a purchase of Hulu. The only problem is that there’s no guarantee Kilar will stick around to see Hulu through the next phase of its evolution, as word is that Kilar’s contract is up this summer. Just as any new owner would want to make sure Hulu has contact deals intact, it would probably help if Kilar stayed on board.

Hulu’s forecast of 0 million in revenues might look attractive, but there’s not guarantee that it will be able to hold the attention of viewers or continue to execute without favorable content deals and effective leadership. That is, anyone who buys Hulu right now might not actually get what it has bargained for.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Connected Consumer Q4: New Platforms and OTT’s Dynamic Duo Dominated
• Report: A Mobile Video Market Overview
• Report: The Connected TV Marketplace

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Mini Excavators have come into the construction world and taken it by force. If you were one of those folks that saw these machines and thought that a couple of guys with a spade could do more work than one of these mini machines you were not along. Mini Diggers, as they are called in Europe, have been very popular there because of the lack of space for many projects. It wasn’t until a few years ago that these mini machines hit the Northern America world by storm. If you’re still wondering why so many people caught onto the utilization of these machines and why they still remain popular yet today then read on. Here are one or two reasons why these machines became well-liked and what has kept them well liked by construction contractors everywhere. Mini Excavator

*Productivity : After taking a look at the scale of one of these machines and then believing and people actually buy them due to their productivity might be a tough sell, but it is especially true. A lot of times a contractor would have 2-3 folk doing the job that one person could do by herself or himself on a mini excavator. This equation works out very well for the contractor because hecan either use those unneeded 2 employees elsewhere or he can do the same job with less folk on site. The cost savings and productivity will outweigh the cost of the machine in an exceedingly quick period. Mini Excavator

*Size : One of the first things folk notice about these machines are their little size. It is this size that also makes these machines so preferred. Plenty of the country has been made. That implies that a lot of the work will be around already constructed buildings, housing and and so on. This fact in turn leads to tighter working spaces and narrow openings to get machines and other appliances through. Similarly, these smaller sized excavators became the ideal machine for this’reconstruction’ process.

*Tow Behind ability : you will see more mini excavators and slip steers behind a dump van now than the traditional backhoe loader.
the size of the mini excavator has made it far easier to drag and transport through giant congested towns and narrow neighborhood roads. There is no special license that the driver must have in order to transport this machine which makes it much more accessible to a wide variety of contractors working in the market today.

Tough sell at Taipei tech show
Technology companies feeling the pinch from Europe’s debt crisis could face a tough sell when industry buyers gather in Taipei to examine the latest whizz-bang features at the world’s No.2 computer fair.
Read more on Stuff

Tech blog: Apple TV overhaul in the works
Apple will make its next version of Apple TV more like the iPhone and iPad, according to an anonymous report Friday in the tech blog Engadget.
Read more on San Jose Mercury News

Tulare County Sheriff’s Department rolls with new tech that saves time, money
Money and hundreds of hours have been saved, fewer miles driven, money saved and less paper wasted — all thanks to new technology in a handful of Tulare County Sheriff’s Department patrol cars.
Read more on Visalia Times-Delta / Tulare Advance-Register

WWDC is just around the corner, and it’s a pretty safe bet that we’ll be seeing a brand new iPhone there. In fact, we’re all pretty sure we’ll be seeing this pretty little thing, which boasts a front-facing camera for video calls, that was leaked by Gizmodo last month. But, what if you’re the impatient type? What if you can’t wait another two weeks? Well, Walmart, eager to dump the last of its lingering iPhone stock before the launch of the new model, has slashed the price of the 16 GB iPhone 3GS to $97 with a two-year contract. That’s $100 less than the price available directly from AT&T.

It’s hard to argue with such a great deal, especially if you’re desperate for a new phone. But with the new iPhone 4G/HD/3G XTREME!!! (we made that last bit up) bound to hit shelves in the next month or two, the 3GS is going to be a tough sell. [From: AP]

Filed under: Cell Phones, iPhone

Walmart Slashes iPhone 3GS Price to $97, Still Not a Great Deal originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 25 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mini Excavators have come into the construction world and taken it by force. If you were one of those people that saw these machines and thought that 2 men with a shovel could do more work than one of these mini machines you weren’t along. Mini Diggers, as they are called in Europe, have been very popular there because of the lack of space for many projects. It wasn’t until one or two years back that these mini machines hit the NorthAmerica world by force. If you’re still pondering why so many folks caught onto the use of these machines and why they still remain popular yet today then read more. Here are one or two reasons why these machines became favored and what has kept them well-liked by construction contractors everywhere. Mini Excavator

*Productivity : After taking a look at the dimensions of one of these machines and then believing and folks actually buy them due to their productivity may be a tough sell, but it is very true. A large amount of times a contractor would have 2-3 folks doing the job that one person could do by himself on a mini excavator. This equation works out very well for the contractor because he will either use those unessential two employees elsewhere or he can do the same job with less folks on site. The price savings and productivity will outweigh the cost of the machine in avery quick time period. Mini Excavator

*Size : One of the first things folks notice about these machines are their tiny size. It is this size that also makes these machines so preferred. A lot of the country hasalready been built. That means a lot of the work will be around already constructed buildings, housing and etc . This fact in turn leads to tighter working spaces and narrow openings to get machines and other appliances through. Furthermore, these smaller sized excavators became the perfect machine for this’reconstruction’ process.

*Tow Behind ability : you will see more mini excavators and skid steers behind a dump truck now than the conventional backhoe loader.
the scale of the mini excavator has made it much easier to drag and transport throughout giant congested towns and narrow neighborhood roads. There isn’t any special license that the driver needs to have in order to transport this machine which makes it much more accessible to a wide variety of contractors working in the market today.

Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress came and went, and didn’t amount to much in the way of US cellphones. The rest of the world got some seriously nice gear, though. Here’s the best of the best of the out of reach.

HTC Legend

Why You Want It: It’s like an HTC Hero, except with Android 2.1, an OLED screen, and a brushed-to-perfection aluminum body, which may be the most stylistically interesting design choice HTC has ever made.
Why You Can’t Have It: European availability starts in April, and this phone could see a later US release date like the Hero did, though HTC hasn’t given any indication that this is true. Here’s the thing: Remember how Sprint uglified the original Hero? I wouldn’t put it past them, and more generally HTC, to tone this thing down (read: ruin it) in the unlikely event of a US release.

Alcatel OT980

Why You Want It: It’ll be a cheap Android handset in a totally under-recognized form factor. Some may see it as a knockoff of the Pre, but I just see it as a nice little messaging phone, without the restrictions of a dumbphone OS.
Why You Can’t Have It: Have you ever seen an Alcatel handset in real life? Didn’t think so. This one’s coming in May. To Yur-ope.

Motorola XT800

Why You Want It: It’s got the brains of a Droid, without the keyboard. Plus, it’s got support for dual SIM cards—a rarity in Android phones—and HDMI output.
Why You Can’t Have It: It was introduced alongside an explicitly Chinese-only phone, and Motorola has made no indications that a North American release is coming. And even if it did, a dual-SIM international phone without a keyboard might be a tough sell to carriers, which usually market travel phones to businesspeople.

General Mobile Touch Stone

Why You Want It: Remember the HTC Touch HD2? The one with the orgasmically beautiful hardware, and categorically disappointing software? This is pretty much that, with Android.
Why You Can’t Have It: General Mobile made their name selling knockoff phones. While the Touch Stone isn’t a knockoff phone at all, it comes from a company that doesn’t—and will probably never—have a foothold in the US.

Acer beTouch E110

Why You Want It: When Android phones are available for free on contract, this is what they’re going to look like. The specs on this thing are underwhelming, so it might not be accurate to say that you’d want it for you, but you might want it for your tweenage kid.
Why You Can’t Have It: Acer currently has no plans to bring the beTouch stateside, and Acer’s other phones don’t exactly have a history of showing up in the US unannounced.

The Puma Phone

Why You Want It: The first phone designed entirely around a sporting lifestyle. Oh, and it’s got a solar panel!
Why You Can’t Have It: Initial launch plans have it released in Europe in about two months, with further availability TBD. US prospects aren’t great though, since Puma doesn’t have nearly the brand power here it does in the UK and elsewhere. (Fun fact: British people pronounce Puma like “Pyoo-mah.”)

LG GW990

Why You Want It: It’s the first phone with Intel’s Moorestown chip, and the first with the hybrid Maemo/Moblin OS, called Meego. And seriously, come on with these specs: A 4.8-inch screen at 480 x 1024 pixels? A 1850mAh battery? Intel’s Atom-based system-on-a-chip? This phone is pornographic.
Why You Can’t Have It: Let’s face it: It’s a tech demo. The Korean market tends to be more receptive to over-the-top phone like this, which is why they’re the only ones getting it for now, and even there, not for another half a year. Can you imagine a Verizon or an AT&T picking up something this absurd? And can you imagine how much it would cost unsubsidized?

Samsung Wave

Why You Want It: Its Bada OS may be underwhelming, but it’s a nicely spec’d phone with a couple game-changing features: the first “Super OLED” screen, which doesn’t look like ass in direct sunlight. It’s also the first handset with USB 3.0, which is, you know, fast.
Why You Can’t Have It: UK availability starts in April, and Samsung hasn’t even bothered to include a “further markets will be announced by x” blanket statement. It could happen, but don’t bet on it.

Toshiba K01

Why You Want It: It’s essentially the TG01 with a slide-out keyboard, which makes it the thinnest slide-out-QWERTY smartphone of its kind. (Its kind being massive, massive phones.) It’s a proud, final signoff for the entire category of ultraspec’d Windows Mobile 6.x phones.
Why You Can’t Have It: The TG01 never made it stateside, and there’s no reason to believe that its keyboarded followup will either. And besides, this phone is a lustable piece of hardware, but with WinPho 7 on the horizon, it’s hard to recommend buying a 6.5.3-based phone.

Sony X10 Mini

Why You Want It: The Xperia X10 done had itself a baby! An adorable little baby! You get the full Sony Ericsson Timeline interface overlaid atop Android, in a much more compact package. And it’ll probably be cheap.
Why You Can’t Have It: The X10 is taking forever to make it to market here, and other miniaturized phones, like the N97 Mini, don’t seem to fly with American carriers. Accordingly, Sony Ericsson hasn’t said a thing about a US release.

Samsung i8520

Why You Want It: Ignore everything else: This phone has a built-in projector. Ha!
Why You Can’t Have It: Samsung’s science fair project is going to be very, very expensive, and besides, it won’t even be available in Asia and parts of Europe until Q3 of this year, with a wider release possibly in the cards. Possibly.

Texas Instruments Blaze

Why You Want It: Look! Look at this thing! Two 3.7-inch screens, the OMAP 4 chipset based on the ARM Cortex A9, three cameras, a keyboard—this thing is outright insane.
Why You Can’t Have It: It’s developer hardware, so it’s not even meant for wide sale. I suppose you could buy one if you wanted, but unless you engineer cellphones or write mobile OSes for a living, you really shouldn’t.