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Basis of Presentation (Policies) | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Basis of Presentation | The information contained herein has been prepared by Novatel Wireless, Inc. (the “Company”) in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The information at June 30, 2015 and the results of the Company’s operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 are unaudited. The condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring accruals, which are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results of the interim periods presented. These condensed consolidated financial statements and notes hereto should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements from which they were derived and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. The accounting policies used in preparing these condensed consolidated financial statements are the same as those described in the Company’s Form 10-K. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other interim period or for the year as a whole.
Principles of Consolidation | Principles of Consolidation The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
Segment Information | Segment Information In the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, the Company and its Chief Operating Decision Maker (the “CODM”) completed a reassessment of the Company's operations in light of a series of restructuring efforts, organizational transformation and reporting changes, including the hiring of a new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. As a result of this reassessment, the Company has consolidated the Mobile Computing and machine-to-machine (“M2M”) divisions into one reportable segment. The current Chief Executive Officer, who is also the CODM, does not manage any part of the Company separately, and the allocation of resources and assessment of performance is based solely on the Company’s consolidated operations and operating results.
Use of Estimates | Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and disclosure of contingent liabilities. Actual results could differ materially from these estimates. Significant estimates include allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, provision for excess and obsolete inventory, valuation of intangible and long-lived assets, valuation of goodwill, valuation of debt obligations, valuation of contingent consideration, royalty costs, fair value of warrants, accruals relating to litigation, restructuring, valuation of retention bonus payments, provision for warranty costs, income taxes and share-based compensation expense.
Intangible Assets | Intangible Assets Intangible assets include purchased definite-lived and indefinite-lived intangible assets resulting from the acquisitions of Feeney Wireless, LLC and Enfora, Inc. (“Enfora”), along with the costs of non-exclusive and perpetual worldwide software technology licenses. Definite-lived intangible assets, including software technology licenses, are amortized on an accelerated basis or on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, depending on the anticipated utilization of the asset. License fees are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the term of the license or an estimate of their useful life, ranging from one to three years. Developed technologies are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives, ranging from five to eight years. Customer relationships, trademarks and trade names are amortized on a straight-line basis over ten years. Indefinite-lived assets are not amortized; however, they are tested for impairment annually and between annual tests if certain events occur indicating that the carrying amounts may be impaired. If a qualitative assessment is used and the Company determines that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is more likely than not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50%) less than its carrying amount, a quantitative impairment test will be performed. If indefinite-lived intangible assets are quantitatively assessed for impairment, a two-step approach is applied. First, the Company compares the estimated fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset to its carrying value. The second step, if necessary, measures the amount of such impairment by comparing the implied fair value of the asset to its carrying value.
Derivative Financial Instruments | Derivative Financial Instruments The Company evaluates stock options, stock warrants and other contracts to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivative financial instruments to be separately accounted for under the relevant sections of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification. The result of this accounting treatment could be that the fair value of a financial instrument is classified as a derivative financial instrument and is marked-to-market at each balance sheet date and recorded as an asset or liability. In the event that the fair value is recorded as an asset or liability, the change in fair value is recorded in the statement of operations as other income or other expense. Upon conversion, exercise or expiration of a derivative financial instrument, the instrument is marked to fair value and then that fair value is reclassified to equity.
Acquisitions | Acquisitions When acquiring companies, the Company recognizes separately from goodwill the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their acquisition date fair values. Goodwill as of the acquisition date is measured as the excess of consideration transferred and the net of the acquisition date fair values of the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed. While the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions as a part of the purchase price allocation process to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date, the Company's estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company records adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the condensed consolidated statements of operations. Accounting for business combinations requires the Company's management to make significant estimates and assumptions, especially at the acquisition date with respect to intangible assets, support liabilities assumed, and pre-acquisition contingencies. Although the Company believes the assumptions and estimates it has made in the past have been reasonable and appropriate, they are based in part on historical experience, market data and information obtained from the management of the acquired companies and are inherently uncertain. Examples of critical estimates in valuing certain of the intangible assets the Company has acquired include but are not limited to: (i) future expected cash flows from customer relationships; (ii) estimates to develop or use technology; and (iii) discount rates. If the Company determines that a pre-acquisition contingency is probable in nature and estimable as of the acquisition date, the Company records its best estimate for such a contingency as a part of the preliminary fair value allocation. The Company continues to gather information for and evaluate pre-acquisition contingencies throughout the measurement period and if the Company makes changes to the amounts recorded or if the Company identifies additional pre-acquisition contingencies during the measurement period, such amounts will be included in the fair value allocation during the measurement period and, subsequently, in the Company's results of operations. The Company may be required to pay future consideration to the former shareholders of acquired companies, depending on the terms of the applicable purchase agreements, which may be contingent upon the achievement of certain financial and operating targets, as well as the retention of key employees. If the future consideration is considered to be compensation, amounts will be expensed when incurred.
Convertible Debt | Convertible debt The Company accounts for its convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash upon conversion (including partial cash settlement) by separating the liability and equity components of the instruments in a manner that reflects the Company's nonconvertible debt borrowing rate. The Company determines the carrying amount of the liability component by measuring the fair value of similar debt instruments that do not have the conversion feature. If a similar debt instrument does not exist, the Company estimates the fair value by using assumptions that market participants would use in pricing a debt instrument, including market interest rates, credit standing, yield curves and volatilities. Determining the fair value of the debt component requires the use of accounting estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions are judgmental in nature and could have a significant impact on the determination of the debt component and the associated non-cash interest expense. The Company assigns a value to the debt component equal to the estimated fair value of similar debt instruments without the conversion feature, which could result in the Company recording the debt instrument at a discount. If the debt instrument is recorded at a discount, the Company amortizes the debt discount over the life of the debt instrument as additional non-cash interest expense utilizing the effective interest method.
Fair Value Measurement | Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). A fair value measurement reflects the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability based on the best available information. These assumptions include the risk inherent in a particular valuation technique (such as a pricing model) and the risks inherent in the inputs to the model. The Company classifies inputs to measure fair value using a three-level hierarchy that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. The categorization of financial instruments within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The hierarchy is prioritized into three levels (with Level 3 being the lowest) and is defined as follows:
Level 1: | Pricing inputs are based on quoted market prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets (e.g., NYSE or NASDAQ). Active markets are those in which transactions for the asset or liability occur in sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.
Level 2: | Pricing inputs include benchmark yields, trade data, reported trades and broker dealer quotes, two-sided markets and industry and economic events, yield to maturity, Municipal Securities Rule Making Board reported trades and vendor trading platform data. Level 2 includes those financial instruments that are valued using various pricing services and broker pricing information including Electronic Communication Networks and broker feeds.
Level 3: | Pricing inputs include significant inputs that are generally less observable from objective sources, including the Company’s own assumptions.
The Company reviews the fair value hierarchy classification on a quarterly basis. Changes in the observability of valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy.

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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for completed business combinations (purchase method, acquisition method or combination of entities under common control). This accounting policy may include a general discussion of the purchase method or acquisition method of accounting (including for example, the treatment accorded contingent consideration, the identification of assets and liabilities, the purchase price allocation process, how the fair values of acquired assets and liabilities are determined) and the entity's specific application thereof. An entity that acquires another entity in a leveraged buyout transaction generally discloses the accounting policy followed by the acquiring entity in determining the basis used to value its interest in the acquired entity, and the rationale for that accounting policy. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 05 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (a)-(d) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6909625&loc=d3e227-128457 + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy regarding (1) the principles it follows in consolidating or combining the separate financial statements, including the principles followed in determining the inclusion or exclusion of subsidiaries or other entities in the consolidated or combined financial statements and (2) its treatment of interests (for example, common stock, a partnership interest or other means of exerting influence) in other entities, for example consolidation or use of the equity or cost methods of accounting. The accounting policy may also address the accounting treatment for intercompany accounts and transactions, noncontrolling interest, and the income statement treatment in consolidation for issuances of stock by a subsidiary. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=18733093&loc=d3e5614-111684 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 810 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (SX 210.3A-02) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27015204&loc=d3e355033-122828 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph k -Article 1 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02, 03 -Article 3A + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for intangible assets. This accounting policy may address both intangible assets subject to amortization and those that are not. The following also may be disclosed: (1) a description of intangible assets (2) the estimated useful lives of those assets (3) the amortization method used (4) how the entity assesses and measures impairment of such assets (5) how future cash flows are estimated (6) how the fair values of such asset are determined. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 350 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26713463&loc=d3e16265-109275 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51655414&loc=d3e18780-107790 + Details
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