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beano/Steve...I agree with nano's comments that ABEW probably won't be 'profitable' for one year from now. BUT, you're completely missing his point.
Why don't you ask nano if he thinks the PPS of ABEW will rise dramatically BEFORE it becomes 'profitable'?
Here's a sample question for you to ask him...What do you think ABEW's share price will be once it generates, say, $500,000 in revenue from their License Agreements? (Which would NOT make them 'profitable' yet.)
DoubleK...You posted the following comments..."yes, Zigbee is still in its nascent stages and will
evolve into the next major protocol for wireless. Airbee is well positioned providing they don't make another costly blunder: Identity; secure
financing and move off the pinks."
Do your comments now qualify as "pumping" or were you just expressing your opinion?
"...just poking fun at the rampant pumping that goes on
with this company."
Reprinted from RB...
gaq22...You seem to be a genuine investor so I will try to answer your questions as best that I can.
1) "Why have there not been any substantial hard rock facts such as any of the partnership's stating that in fact yes we are using airbee and starting to ramp up?"
ANSWER: Before any our customers sign the final License Agreement with us, they usually invest a lot of time and money testing our software to determine it's compatibility, robustness, etc, with their hardware platform. This normally takes upwards of six months to complete. Once the customer feels confident about the performance of our software, negotiations ensue and they sign a final License Agreement with us. I mention this scenario because I want you to understand that our License Agreements are not done at the drop of a hat. The "hard rock facts" that you seek are right in front of you when you consider what these big companies have invested. Additionally, many of them plan to have/already have our software incorporated into their test/sample kits for their own customers!!!
2) "Other's are stating who they will be using, and how come no Word from TI in several month's on there advancement in the field of Zigbee? I belive in Zigbee for sure but are starting to wonder about Airbee success in penetrating the market."
ANSWER: Well, I think you may have lost sight of the big picture. Texas Instrument was probably the first major chipmaker to announce their full scale involvement with ZigBee by selling their RFID sensors unit and purchased Chipcon for $200 million. This was a HUGE investment and many analysts felt this was the "shot heard round the world" that ZigBee is for real. At the shareholders meeting, it was announced that Texas Instrument has been working on a new chip to accomadate the new specification that will come out in September. The fact that ABEW's software is incorporated into their sample/test kit should be proof enough that ABEW is positioned well to penetrate the market. And let's not forget about Infineon - one of the biggest silicon producers in the world. And ZMD...which I believe is the LARGEST producer of sub-1 GHz products. Then there is Radiocrafts...one of the largest module manufacturers with a HUGE list of customers.
Since ABEW has positioned themselves with these large companies, I have no worries about them "penetrating the market".
Hope that answers your questions.
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
If you've been following ABEW and the ZigBee Industry as a whole, you would know where we stand. At this point, NO ONE is making any money with ZigBee because the Alliance decided to change the specification. Once the new spec is released in September, I think you'll see a huge jump in activity.
It's very easy to sit back and criticize me because you have the luxury of not making any predictions. I, on the other hand, made several predictions based on the knowledge I had at the time of my postings. Go back and read the reports from many respected research companies and they too were just as confident about where the ZigBee Industry was heading. I didn't make my predictions based on "BS". I spent a lot of my own personal money traveling to ZigBee Open Houses and subscribing to several periodicals/reports about the technology. I even flew clear across the U.S. to attend the first shareholders meeting in Virginia so that I could get as much knowledge about ABEW as I could.
Your constant negative posts are based on ABEW's current share price. But you must be patient and let this new wireless protocal mature. Everyone is in the same boat. September is just around the corner. Give it a chance and I think you'll be pleased in the long run.
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
DoubleK, stop being so deceptive. A quick look at your bio shows that you have listed ABEW as one of your favorite stocks.
I don't think you're going to get the shares any cheaper than they are now. You definitely don't want to wait until after September 15th to buy your shares because that's when the new spec is supposed to come out and I expect ABEW to be much higher.
My latest comments regarding share price and the O/S:
The relation between our O/S (outstanding shares) and our PPS (price per share) will be relative to the gross revenue ABEW generates.
Microsoft is the largest software company in the world with a current O/S of 10,201,203,000 shares (that's 10 Billion with a "B") and their current PPS is over $25 per share. Obviously they have the gross revenue to back up their current share price.
At this point we don't know what kind of revenue ABEW is capable of generating because ZigBee is just now preparing to enter the marketplace. When you evaluate the impact that Bluetooth, WiFi, and the other protocals have made in our lives, one has to consider that ZigBee should dwarf their sales due to its worldwide acceptance and wider applications.
(BTW, do you have ANYTHING that operates on Bluetooth, WiFi, etc? I don't. And yet they are making millions of dollars with their limited applications!!!)
Now consider the enormous applications that ZigBee will have on the world and it just boggles the mind. In less than a year I believe that people WORLDWIDE will be installing smoke alarms, burglar alarms, car alarms, irrigation sensors to optimize water efficiency (ever see sprinklers turned on during a storm?), sensors of every kind around the home - all operating on the ZigBee frequency. Heck, I haven't even included the commercial applications of water meters, gas meters, electric meters, sensors in every building and bridge to detect cracks (especially after a major disaster such as an earthquake), sensors for farming for optimum water use, sensors for large commercial buildings to optimize electricity use, etc, etc, etc - all operating on ZigBee.
When you consider what is about to take place WORLDWIDE, I believe that ABEW will probably have to increase their O/S just to keep their shares from hitting the $1,000 mark...In my humble opinion, of course. he-he-he :0-)
Get ready for some fireworks folks. The show is about to start. Septmeber 15th is less than a month away!!!
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
There's more...
By: d-nc
17 Aug 2006, 12:20 PM EDT
Msg. 19864 of 19865
(This msg. is a reply to 19863 by abew4me.)
"...multiple software products for the ZigBee Wireless Industry..."
Recent filings have revealed that ABEW is working BEYOND only ZigBee.
"With the trend toward convergence in wireless communications products, our software will likely cross over multiple categories, offering us new opportunities..."
This statement IMPLIES 'not only ZigBee':
"We also announced a new product that facilitates low-power radio frequency (“RF”)application development for mesh networks including ZigBee."
- - - - -
Here's another post I copied from RB in response to the success rates of companies listed on the Pink Sheets:
Heck, I'll go one step further and estimate that most pink sheet companies are destined to fail anyway. They are listed on the pink sheets for a reason. Most are in the beginning/developing stages of their existence and usually have SEVERAL hurdles to overcome before they succeed. The #1 reason they fail (in my opinion, of course) is the lack of revenue coming in until their project gets off the ground...that's why soooooo many of them issue millions of shares to survive.
However, IF the company has a viable product that is in great demand AND manages to promote it properly, the odds of its success go up dramatically and the O/S (outstanding shares) are usually offset by the enormous profits coming in from their sales. THAT is the reason why I am upbeat about the future of Airbee Wireless...
1) They have the License Agreements in hand to generate revenue.
2) They have a viable product that is in great demand or we wouldn't continue getting License Agreements from the Big Boys AND their customer lists.
3) ABEW's management team has built this company from a few software engineers with limited knowledge, to a huge team of 40 engineers with multiple software products for the ZigBee Wireless Industry - which happens to be one of the hottest technologies worldwide!!!
It's one thing to have a viable product that is in great demand, but it's a totally different situation when your product is already integrated into the electronic components of SEVERAL major chipmakers and semi-manufacturers that are about to produce their products in mass quanities.
How many companies would love to be in our position - whether they be Pink Sheet/OTCBB/AMEX/NASDAQ/NYSE???
Will ABEW become part of the 5% who make a huge success? I believe they will. And YES, I have put my money where my mouth is. I think this show will be starting sooner than we think!!!
Good luck to all longs.
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
The Good, the Bad, and the Naive:
The Good: Woe, where do I start?!!!
In one year's time, ABEW has transformed itself into one heck of a software company with almost 40 software engineers, multiple software products, and License Agreements with some of the largest chipmakers/semi-manufacturers in the world. However, for THIS evaluation I will use the information in the recent 10-Q and add my own opinion as to what I believe is taking shape.
As stated in the 10-Q..."As validation of our strategy, our engagement with Texas Instruments ("TI") has picked up activity this quarter and we believe TI will become a significant customer." Let me repeat that last part: "our engagement with Texas Instruments ("TI") has picked up activity this quarter and we believe TI will become a SIGNIFICANT customer." [emphasis mine]
Now, as you may recall, after the shareholders meeting I specifically mentioned that the President of ABEW-India, Mr. V.V. Sundarem, announced the hiring of a very experienced Human Resources person to prepare them for an influx of business. I also mentioned that our V.P. of Sales, David McCartney, has increased his correspondence with our India Operations by phoning them every Monday morning for a conference call. It is evident that this increased activity between our Sales V.P. and our Operations in India was the beginning stages for the increased work-load from our TI/Infineon/ZMD/Radiocrafts relationships.
"...and we are working with ZMD and Infineon to set up a similar process. We note similar progress with our ZigBee module partner Radiocrafts, which now has more than 35 OEMs using our ZNS stack and ZAPP (SPPIO) application. We anticipate many of these will go into production in the coming quarters." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh can you say revenue?!!!
------------------------------------------------------------
Now for the "Bad"...
Would love for them to announce SEC approval and financing but, according to the remarks by Gene Sharer on the Airbee web site, all SEC filings have been submitted and they await their response. Also, according to the recent 10-Q, they are talking with several institutional banks to secure our financing.
"Numerous discussions with investment bankers throughout the country lead us to conclude that additional financing will be available."
------------------------------------------------------------
Now for the "Naive"...
Folks, as you well know, the ZigBee Alliance has decided to revise the specification from 1.0 to 1.1. In doing so, almost every single company associated with ZigBee has had to delay the production of their products for several months.
Additionally, because of this delay, one would have to be very naive not to expect ABEW's financials to show an increase in their indebtness. (The fact is that even Ember announced they needed to raise another $12 million for their company.) The good news is that ABEW has survived in this dry climate for the past four years and now it appears that they are ramping up their productivity for the big pay-off.
Their strategy of aligning themselves with the Big Boys has been nothing less than sheer genuis. We continue to sign up more and more international corporations which, by there actions, validates our sofware. This "increased activity" with our customers leads me to believe that the ZigBee Industry is just months away from mass production. When that happens, you can expect our "debt" to disappear and our profits to rocket skyward. And oh yes, our PPS should follow suit very quickly!!!
Just my two cents for what its worth.
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
Thought I'd share this post for all to read:
By: sludad
15 Aug 2006, 03:14 PM EDT
Msg. 19823 of 19833
A couple of thoughts...The quarterly report does overall indicate more positive news than negativeIMO. Granted debt is high and still looming but sales are moving forward albeit at a slower pace than what we would like but forward none the less. The new spec for Zigbee will allow the forward momentum to continue as soon as some more testing and compliance is acheived. The industry is slowly growing and the uses are massive and many of which we have yet to discover. RF interference is considered one of the few concerns with Zigbee however, we have now established a lab setup to address these potential issues. Improved radio design is eliminating this concern very rapidly as well. The pluses for the protocal vastly outweigh any negatives.
One of the things that quite frankly humors me is the glass half full verses the glass half empty scenario. It appears that a neutralizing affect on the emotional side of viewpoints concerning this company are mandatory for us forum members. You know...dissent is one thing but overlooking the acheivements made to draw one's self as an expert seems silly to me. I undertstand a fair amount about business in general but do not claim to be an expert but of course on this board I know we are all experts right? Gotta enjoy the back and forth though as it does reveal those who do know and don't , those who have faith and those who like holding stock they think will tank but hold anyway.(that would be considered a revealing of those who don't know business)
In closing all I have to say is that I have seen over the last four years a company that bravely entered a market that was non-existant and stayed the course to the point that now it is clear the market will be huge over the coming years. A company that went from developemental to revenue producing, struggling to stay alive to capitalize on the future of this industry. The only pure Zigbee company to offer stock in an accelerating market that will EXPLODE in 2 to 3 years and gain strong momentum prior to that. Heck we have shown revenue growth over the previous quarter of revenue acheived and even that was our first dollars coming in the house.(Reckon the first dollar is framed on the wall?)
Either you support Airbee and wish them success or you can go home and find a new equity or fund to get involved with but if you think whining on a public forum or making suggestions on same is a positive input by yourself to Airbee's success then you are mistaken. Suggestions should be made to the company not to all of us. Criticisms should be made to the company not to all of us. An informative discussion with relevant info and ideas and news should be discussed by us. Deluging new investors or interested people with sob stories not only colors first impressions to the negatives but hides the successes. Something to consider......................
- - - - -
Now, concerning our future...
"As validation of our strategy, our engagement with Texas Instruments ("TI") has picked up activity this quarter and we believe TI will become a significant customer. Since the announcement of our agreement with TI, we have downloaded nearly 500 copies of our limited network size stack to TI customers for evaluation. We operate an online help desk to support these prospective customers as they evaluate the product for their application and use, and we are working with ZMD and Infineon to set up a similar process. We note similar progress with our ZigBee module partner Radiocrafts, which now has more than 35 OEMs using our ZNS stack and ZAPP (SPPIO) application. We anticipate many of these will go into production in the coming quarters.
We began training programs for Infineon to train their field application engineers. We expect this will result in increased opportunities with our partners' customers. In addition, we participated in the ZigBee Developers program this June where we taught new developers how to use our stack to develop applications. We have also established a RF laboratory at our development center in Chennai, India, which has already produced data about RF interference issues in the ZigBee environment."
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
Concerning our finances per the 10-Q:
"We believe that revenues will increase during the last half of 2006 from our licensing and other agreements. However, we shall be dependent upon financing to accelerate our marketing activities and continue product enhancement. We anticipate monthly expenses of approximately $165,000 to $185,000 over the next several months. This amount includes costs of our SEC reporting obligations, which were approximately $190,000 for the year ending December 31, 2005. Cost of SEC reporting obligations includes all filing costs and professional fees."
"The Company expects to be able to satisfy its past-due accounts payable when additional financing is obtained and intends to negotiate lump-sum payment reductions with the larger vendors (MindTree excepted). The bulk of the Contractual Obligations in the table below are employment contracts with current management. Given management's commitment to the success of the Company, it is not anticipated these contracts will be an impediment. The long-term debt listed in the table is the secured convertible debenture, which the Company expects will be paid off or converted when substitute financing is arranged."
"Numerous discussions with investment bankers throughout the country lead us to conclude that additional financing will be available."
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
I especially liked these excerpts from the article:
-- ZigBee Specification: With more than 29,000 free downloads since June 2005, it ranks as the third most downloaded IEEE 802 standard. Only the well established 802.11 and Ethernet have earned more downloads.
"With six of the world's top 10 semiconductor manufacturers as members and a number of other talented chip makers, the Alliance enjoys the strongest, most diverse supply chain possible. With these top companies shipping so many kits, you can bet the floodwaters of ZigBee products will be deep" said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance.
"We are 100 percent committed to ZigBee and as a promoter company in the Alliance, and we are aggressively supporting the Alliance's efforts, along with our own, to push the Alliance's agenda in getting ZigBee certified product to market" said Jim Sekinger, director of business development digital systems Philips Lighting Electronics.
It's only interesting if you plan on developing lighting products...
"Lutron is quietly but successfully protecting their intellectual property assets in the area of wireless lighting control; any company that hopes to establish markets in this field ignores Lutron at their peril. To be aware of Lutron’s tactics and expertise is just plain smart business," says West.
Really? I think you may be underestimating one very important development.
Airbee Wireless has managed to attract the attention of the top tier of financing - an Institutional Bank. (Notice that they refused to sign with a Cornell or Montgomery. They also refused to sign with a venture capitalist.)
So what does this Institutional Bank mean for the future of our PPS?
First, you have to understand how an Institutional Bank operates to appreciate how this will affect our share price. Institutional Banks usually have a very guarded list of special investors ranging from wealthy individuals to very large fund managers. These entities allocate a certain portion of their funds to invest in various types of companies - especially tech companies in a high-growth industry. (Can you say ZigBee?!!!)
Once the Institutional Bank has verified the potential of a prospective tech company (ie; Airbee Wireless), they will set up private meetings with their clintele to decide how much money they want to invest. (In my opinion, what attracted the Institutional Bank to sign on with ABEW was their ever-growing relationships with major corporations such as Texas Instruments, Infineon, Jennic, etc. These relationships are just too big to ignore and the Institutional Banks don't want to lose this opportunity for their clients.) Obviously ABEW's management team will have face-to-face meetings with these entities to explain the huge potential ABEW is about to encounter.
The more face-to-face meetings ABEW's management team has, the more exposure ABEW will get for potential buyers of our stock. And remember, these are not your average investors we're talking about!!! These entities represent huge amounts of money!!!
Once these entities have agreed to a specific amount of money, they then negotiate a seperate deal with Airbee's management.
Now, if that's not exciting enough, think about this for a while...
...what do you think the people BEHIND these "entities" will do once they've made a deal with ABEW's management?
Do you think they'll keep their mouth shut about their new "deal" or do you think they're going to tell their friends and family about it? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Now, having said all that, I do agree that getting off of the pinks will help facilitate our meetings with these entities. But in the end, I believe our relationships with TI, Infineon, Radiocraft, Jennic, etc... will be our biggest selling points!!!
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
Atmel Offers Seamless 802.15.4/ZigBee Migration for AVR-based Embedded Sensor
Atmel Corporation has announced an 802.15.4/ZigBee solution that offers seamless migration to wireless networking for the more than 30,000 AVR-based designs in automotive, industrial, and building control applications. The AVR Z-Link solution includes Atmel's low power, high sensitivity 2.4 GHz AT86RF230 802.15.4 radio, a low power ATmega1281 or ATmega 2561 AVR microcontroller, and a small footprint, compliant media access control (MAC) software applicable for the AVR architecture. Network and application layer software are provided by the Atmel's network of expert third-party vendors who offer solutions in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and the ZigBee protocols.
Atmel's AT86RF230 Z-Link radio is available now in a 5x5mm QFN package. The ATmega1281 and ATmega 2561 microcontrollers are available now in 9x9mm QFN packages. Atmel's AVR 802.15.4 chip set is available in the following bundle configurations, in quantities of 10,000 or more units: ATmega64RZA Bundle of ATmega644 and AT86RF230 $4.93; ATmega128RZA Bundle of ATmega1281 and AT86RF230 $6.78; ATmega256RZA Bundle of ATmega2561 and AT86RF230 $7.63; The RZ502 AVR Z-Link Accessory Kit is available for $99.00; The RZ200 AVR Z-Link Demonstration Kit is available for $499.00.
(Sure hope ABEW is going to be part of this arrangement. I do know for a fact that ABEW received their certification using an Atmel chip with a Chipcon radio.)
Well, as I recall from my conversations from Richard, he claims that ABEW owes him a certain amount of money that includes a certain amount of options and/or stock. ABEW is disputing those amounts because they claim that Richard failed to meet the terms of his employment contract.
I'm sure their are other issues but I'm not privy to them. In the end, it all boils down to money. (Incidently, this is the type of law suit in which the attorneys end up with the fattest wallets.)
abew4me
I agree with atco's post. eom.
Thanks donpat. Just passing on what I've learned at the ZigBee Open House and the Shareholders Meeting. Some of the stuff I've learned along the way but I'm sure you would do the same if you were in my position. I figure that a person should know as much as they can about the company they've invested their hard-earned money in.
Makes one sleep better at night as well, aye?
That is true. Raj said that even if ZigBee were to somehow collapse, Airbee Wireless would continue because the software engineers are highly skilled in the low-power mesh industry. There are many frequencies that are in the low-power band.
Additionally, thanks to the leadership of V.V. Sundarem, Airbee's engineering operations have evolved into many different areas to accomodate the needs of our customers. We now have a "knowledged-based" support system that is available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week that is second to none. This support system is incredibly effecient in terms of the Q & A's that our customers require. Our engineers have also completed several customized designs for our customers that require a great deal of skill to accomplish. Heck, just porting our software onto a hardware platform can be an enormous task because just about every hardware platform is different in terms of the code that it comes with. All of this "stuff" has to be evaluated in a step-by-step process. That's why our software engineers are now divided up into teams. Each team takes a portion of the process and breaks it down to its beginning stages so that our software will "port" onto each stage exactly the way it should. When it's done properly, the customers hardware product - whether it is a toy doll that cries on command, or a home alarm system that squelches when activated - should work flawlessly with our software sending the signal via the ZigBee frequency. It's my understanding that Texas Instruments has not had a single complaint from their customers even though they've sold over 1,000 development kits. This is an incredible accomplishment because the last thing Texas Instruments wants to hear is a complaint from one of their customers that their software is screwed up. (Now you can see why Infineon wants to set up the same kind of scenario with their customer list. I'm sure Atmel, STM Micro, and the other big companies will follow suit when they become licensees as well.) Like I said before, our reputation for being the premier software company is becoming more and more widespread. These major corporations realize that we can deliver on what we promise.
I hope that answers your question. Sorry for all the details but I wanted to explain it in terms that everyone can understand.
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
Forgot to give you an update on the Atmel/Crossbow PR.
Unfortunately, now that the shareholders meeting is over, ABEW's corporate office has gone back into "silent mode". The only thing they said was that their negotiations with Atmel are ongoing and that they were confident in the outcome.
Therefore, I had to do my own DD on the Atmel/Crossbow PR. So far, this is what I've found out...
1) Crossbow does not claim that their software is hardware agnostic.
2) Crossbow does not claim that their software has even been certified by the ZigBee Alliance.
3) Crossbow seems to be more of a module company then a software company - much like Ember.
The bottom line is that there have been many companies that have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating a software stack for the ZigBee specification. Unfortunately for them, they built their software stack around ONE hardware platform and must rely on that specific platform for all of their sales. In the long run, these companies know that their software is limited and I believe that is the reason they create a module to further their sales.
ABEW has focused on being the premier software provider for the low-power mesh networking industry - which includes, but is not limited to, the ZigBee industry. I am confident that they will succeed once the ZigBee industry gets into high gear because that is where they are most experienced. Until then, they will probably stay alive by doing individual projects as clients request them.
Recently, the ZigBee Alliance announced that they would upgrade their specification from 802.15.4.0 to a new spec ending in .1 Therefore the new upgrade will become 802.15.4.1
The reason for this upgrade is to make the spec more user friendly towards the HA industry. (HA is short for Home Automation - which is indeed a huge industry.)
Unfortunately, in doing this upgrade many of the ZigBee Alliance members have complained that the OEM's and other manufacturers are holding off from mass production until the new specification is done. Which makes perfect sense. Why would you mass produce your products in 1.0 when the 1.1 spec is right around the corner? The new spec is slated to be finished by September 15th.
Anyway, it is the unanimous belief that once this new spec is completed, the OEM's and other manufacturers will start producing their products in mass quantities.
In the meantime, TI's customers continue to purchase the ZigBee development kits and register their corporate names with AirBee Wireless for support. Soon, we will have the same situation with Infineon's customers. Next, we should have the same set-up with Atmel and STM Micro. September 15th is fast approaching!!!
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
ABEW Shareholders Meeting Part IV
For those of you interested in our share count, Gene Sharer said that our total O/S is 72,852,000 shares. (Although my handwriting is not perfect, I think that's pretty close)
Anyway, the most important part of the total share count is that 76% of them are RESTRICTED SHARES!!! That's right. Over 55,367,000 shares are off the market.
And, only 23% of them are in the public float free trading. That's a little over 16,755,000 shares. That's it!!!
Good night.
(Voluntary Disclosure: Position- Long; ST Rating- Strong Buy; LT Rating- Strong Buy)
Hey wampuscat. Good to hear from you. I'll do the best I can to answer your questions but I'm pretty tired right now.
1. Did you receive any information regarding gross margins of the various Airbee products?
ANSWER: I've asked that question before and they said it was "previledged information" that is too sensitive to be shared with the general public for competitive reasons. They did say that most software companies have very high margins built into thier products.
2. Was there a 2006 fiscal year revenue target mentioned?
ANSWER: I believe they said $5 million, but I was writing things down very fast and I could be mistaken. (Heck, some of my notes are so bad that I can't even read some of my own handwriting. lol)
3. How many people were in attendance?
ANSWER: A total of 12 people were in attendance.
4. Were there any questions regarding our competition, and how we are stacking up?
ANSWER: Yes. It was my understanding that our competitors are not as talented or skilled as our engineers. Nor do they have the ability to scale up or down their staff to accomodate a multitude of projects. Many of the big boys are talking with us because they know we can deliver for their customers without jeoperdizing quality and service - which is EVERYTHING when it comes to software. Additionally, it was my impression that no one has positioned themselves with the big semi's and chipmakers like we have. Fundamentally, we are in a very strong position within the ZigBee Alliance. Everyone knows who we are because we've been around for 4 years and have stood the test of time. Having License Agreements with Texas Instruments, Inifineon, Jennic, Radiocraft, etc, also helps to bolster our reputation as THE premier software company for ZigBee.
One last comment...it was announced at the SH meeting that a "very large european company" (probably one of our Licensees) will be deploying a 50,000 node project in the next 3 - 4 months. This should make some BIG HEADLINES because no one has deployed anything close to that. I personally think that will open the flood gates to multiple projects that will be similar in size and our sales will go through the roof - providing it is successful of course. Stay tuned!!!
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
Well, it seems a little strange that Atmel would put out a joint PR with Crossbow if they were about to sign a License Agreement with Airbee. Rest assured I will get answers tomorrow.
Too tired to post anything tonight folks. Very rough day. Another of my drivers got into an accident and had to be taken to the hospital. He's going to be okay but it really puts a strain on my entire staff when something like this happens.
Can't really think clearly enough to post anything. I have a lot more to share, but I just don't have the energy to concentrate and type it all out.
Good night.
ABEW Shareholder Meeting (Part III) Sales & Marketing
Okay, where did I leave off? Ah yes. I remember now...How we are obtaining new License Agreements by accessing the customers that purchase devlopment kits through Texas Instruments. Soon, we will have the same set-up with Infineon's list of customers. Genuis, I tell you. Pure genuis!!! (And don't forget we should be signing an agreement with the #1 silicon chip-maker in the world...Atmel Corporation. I'll bet their list of customers should be enormous.)
In my opinion, Airbee's management team is working like a well-oiled machine. Conference calls between top management has been increased to keep each department updated. David McCartney said that he gets up very early every Monday morning for a special conference call with VV Sundaram in India to coordinate their operations with his marketing efforts. Now that the software engineers are divided up into teams, they are better able to streamline the different projects that Sales & Marketing sends them. Did you know that many of our current software products are the result of countless hours of Q & A's from our customers? In fact, one of the most promising software products that ABEW's engineers are working on right now is called SPPIO.
The SPPIO software product practically eliminates the need for our customers to write complicated code to interface with the MCU. This is a HUGE achievement because this opens the door for many more manufacturers to use the ZigBee Standard (and our software) in their products. Without SPPIO, the customer would have to spend tens of thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars and several months with their own software engineer/s to write code for their products to interface with the MCU. (For more details, go to our web site and click on the "Products" link. Then click on ZAPP.)
This is just one example of how our Sales & Marketing team communicates the needs of our customers to our Operations/Engineering team in India. The end result is a powerful software product that will help countless manufacturers develope their wireless products...and more sales and royalties for ABEW!!!
As I've said before, when ZigBee finally takes off, Airbee Wireless will have positioned themselves to be the leader in software products.
To be continued...
abew4me
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
ZigBee Adds Huawei Technologies, Schneider Electric and STMicroelectronics to Board of Directors; Addition of Giants Increases Global and Market Momentum, Endorses Standards Approach
SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 27, 2006--The ZigBee(TM) Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in home, commercial and industrial applications, today announced the addition of three industry-leading companies, Huawei Technologies, Schneider Electric and STMicroelectronics, to "Promoter" level. These companies join BM Group, Ember Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Philips, Samsung, Siemens and Texas Instruments on the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors.
"Building a comprehensive ecosystem of chipset manufacturers, application developers, and device manufacturers is key to nurturing the market for low power, wirelessly networked monitor and control systems in both home and industrial applications," said Jonathan Gaw, research manager for the Consumer Markets: Home Networking program of IDC, a leading provider of global IT market research and advice. "Technologies such as ZigBee will provide the foundation for a networked home that goes beyond PCs and home entertainment to appliances, lighting, heating and cooling, entryways, and other elements of the home."
Adding original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to the Alliance as well as platform providers expands synergy and expertise within the ZigBee ecosystem while preparing for large scale introductions of new product. ZigBee already offers the largest selection and most robust supply chain of any wireless control technology with 12 compliant platforms. OEMs are actively selling end-user products based on ZigBee for the medical, automated meter reading, marine safety and home automation markets.
"Adding three industry leaders like Huawei Technologies, Schneider Electric and ST as Promoters and to our board of directors provides additional expertise, resources and global support for this thriving ecosystem of companies," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "One company can do a lot of good on its own, but the strength and synergy of 200 companies working together is unsurpassable. The ZigBee Alliance continues its growth largely because of its universal standards approach, low cost of entry and industry leading price points."
Huawei Technologies was a Participant level member and opted to increase its position within the Alliance. Huawei Technologies is now a leading company in the migration to fixed mobile convergence technology innovation. The company is committed to utilizing wireless sensor technology in telecommunication networks and providing 3G solutions for mobile operators.
"ZigBee is a global well-developed technical standard for emerging short-range wireless connection market," said Lixin Sun, head of wireless research and standardization of Huawei Technologies. "We are expecting more and more potential applications be found when adding ZigBee into our innovative portfolio for integrated fixed and mobile networks."
Schneider Electric was a Participant level member prior to joining the board. Schneider Electric is a major player in building automation and is pursuing selective targeted acquisition strategy to further expand its business and worldwide presence. It is building ZigBee technology into its building control and ultraterminal products.
"Schneider Electric's evaluations and first experiences prove that adding ZigBee technology will be cheaper than developing and maintaining proprietary offerings," said Claude Ricaud, senior vice president of Science & Technology of Schneider Electric. "When you consider the innovation happening within the ZigBee Alliance, the argument for ZigBee becomes even more compelling."
STMicroelectronics was previously a Participant level member of the ZigBee Alliance. ST produces a broad portfolio of semiconductors, ranging from extremely complex system-on-chips to simple diodes, and possesses a global manufacturing network.
"ZigBee is both an open and highly robust standard for wireless control and sensor networks," said Jean-Claude Kaire, director, Wireless Control and Sensor Networks Business Unit, STMicroelectronics. "Hence, it was an easy choice for ST to base its product development for these markets on ZigBee. ST's global presence and large customer base will make a significant contribution to the emergence of new applications and also strengthen ZigBee's drive to become the leading wireless control and sensor network standard."
About Huawei Technologies
Huawei Technologies is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and serves 28 of the world's top 50 operators, as well as over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and potential growth for its customers. Huawei's products and solutions include wireless products, core network products, network products, application and software, as well as terminals. Major products are based on Huawei's self-designed ASIC chips and shared platforms to provide high-quality and cost-effective products and solutions with quick response.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is the world's power and control specialist. Through its world-class brands, Merlin Gerin, Square D and Telemecanique, Schneider Electric anticipates and satisfies its customers' requirements in the residential, building, industry, energy and infrastructure markets. With 92,000 employees and operations in 130 countries, Schneider Electric generated sales of EUR 11.7 billion in 2005 through 13,000 distributor outlets.
About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength, Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets. The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2005, the Company's net revenues were $8.88 billion and net earnings were $266 million. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.
BTW, in my previous report, I referred to T.I. and Infineon as silicon 'sensor' producers when I should have just referred to them simply as 'silicon producers' - at least that's how everyone else refers to them.
"Future Horizons reports that ZigBee technology is now appearing as silicon and these chipsets target the low-power low-datarate part of the data network market."
Yup. And guess which software company is going to have an agreement with the top three silicon producers in the world?
Atmel Corporation ranked #1
Texas Instrument ranked #2
Infineon is ranked #3
We already have a License Agreement with #2 and #3!!!
When I have more time, I'll try to finish up on my report from the shareholders meeting. Right now, I'm swamped. Waaaaaaaaaaaay too much work for me and my transportation company to handle. (Maybe it's time for me to sell? LOL!!!)
ZigBee ready to take off
The supply chain and broad industry support required to deliver ZigBee is now in place and will enable the market to quickly reach large volumes.
Leading semiconductor analyst Future Horizons believes that the supply chain and broad industry support required to deliver ZigBee is now in place and will enable the market to quickly reach large volumes. Future Horizons' 'Semiconductor applications market report 2006' reports that ZigBee volumes are expected to reach 50 million units by the end 2006 and that unit shipments will accelerate to 750 million units per annum by 2010. ZigBee is a cable replacement technology that will enable homeowners to install wireless light switches, thermostats and security systems for tens of dollars rather than thousands.
Future Horizons reports that ZigBee technology is now appearing as silicon and these chipsets target the low-power low-datarate part of the data network market.
Manufacturers are targeting the substantial domestic heating and lighting control market, as well as consumer equipment control, medical monitoring and industrial sensor applications.
'In order for this emerging market to grow fast the technology needs widespread industry support'.
'ZigBee already has a wide variety of semiconductor, module and software sources to make very high growth to be possible', said Chris Ryan, semiconductor market Analyst, Future Horizons.
The ZigBee market is one of 26 market applications explored, and quantified, in Future Horizons' 'Semiconductor applications market report 2006'.
Shareholders Meeting (Part II) Sales & Marketing
The presentation by David McCartney regarding ABEW's Sales & Marketing was very thorough and enlightening.
ABEW's initial goal was to license it's software with as many of the big chipmakers and semi-conductor producers as possible. By acomplishing this, ABEW hoped to access the enormous list of manufacturers that purchase from these corporations. The plan has worked flawlessly. Texas Instruments has announced that they have had OVER 500 of their customers (some of these customers are HUGE multi-national corporations) that have requested ZigBee software from their web-site for beta-testing on their products; which has led to over 1,000 development kits sold through Softbaugh; which will require the prospective customer to register their corporation with Airbee Wireless because the software in the development kit is from us!!! Do you see how we are connected in this chain of events? (Incidently, that is how we gained Sensi-tool, Inc. as a customer of ours. It all begins with a development kit purchased by one of T.I.'s customers.)
Now, here's where it gets really exciting...
Infineon, which is the largest semi-conductor manufacturer in all of Europe, wants to set-up the same scenario with their customers as Texas Instruments. (This is HUGE folks!!!)
In terms of silicon sensor manufacturers, Texas Instrument is ranked #2 and Infineon is ranked #3 in the world. Who is ranked #1 in the world? Atmel Corporation...which happens to be very close to signing an agreement with Airbee Wireless as well!!! (Actually, David McCartney said we should have an agreement in place with them in a matter of weeks. That would mean we would have the TOP THREE silicon sensor producers in the world using our software!!!)
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many, other companies that have HUGE customer lists that we can access. One such customer is STMicro. (You remember them don't you? There was a recent PR about STMicro and Ember about a month ago.) Anyway, when I was at the ZigBee Open House, I personally witnessed a representative of theirs confront David McCartney to request help with their customer list. When I asked David McCartney for an update as to why they would need our help when they signed with Ember, here is what he said at the shareholders meeting...
STMicro is the 5th largest microprocess manufacturer in the world with an enormous list of international customers. If these customers start ordering thousands of microprocessors for ZigBee, they want to have a software company that can handle all of their customers. Remember, Airbee Wireless has approximately 40 highly skilled software engineers with real-world RF experience based on ZigBee that no one else has. Additionally, V.V. Sundaram announced that he just acquired a top notch HR person from a very large corporation to help hire and expand our software teams as we start to ramp up our production for the future. He said that Ember does NOT have the same capabilities that Airbee Wireless has when it comes to porting software on various hardware platforms. (We're talking about different kinds of radios to send the signals, various microprocessors, 8 bit, 16 bits, 32 bits, etc... it is a very complicated process.)
As an example, it used to take up to 60 days before AirBee's engineers could port our software on only one hardware platform. (Even though our software is "hardware agnostic", it still requires a great deal of "tweaking" before it is properly ported onto a hardware platform.) However, now that our engineers are much more skilled and experienced in what they are doing, they can now port our software in a matter of hours!!! That's why STMicro came to us for help. Who else has the highly skilled software engineers that can handle hundreds of customers with different hardware platforms???
Wish I could go into more detail but it's past my bedtime.
Disclaimer: All comments are just my opinion and should NOT be considered as factual.
Much more to report. Haven't even touched on the sales and marketing aspect yet. Need to catch up on my work. Will report later on.
DonPat...Turns out you were right on the money!!!
Because of your question, there were many, many talking points that were derived during the Q & A!!!
I don't want to get ahead of myself so I'll start from the beginning.
This years shareholders meeting was much more organized and structured compared to last year. (Last year, Raj gave a simple powerpoint presentation based on goals.)
This year, the meeting was divided up into five catagories and what goals were achieved. Here is a breakdown:
1) Company Overview - Presented by Raj
2) Administration/Finance - Presented by Gene Sharer, President
3) Sales and Marketing - Presented by David McCartney, V.P. Sales
4) Engineering and Production - Presented by V.V. Sundaram, President, Airbee - India
5) Q & A - BY ALL OF THE ABOVE. (BTW, the Q & A was wide open and had NO TIME LIMIT!!! It was extremely informative.)
I had several questions of my own, but I promised to get the answers to fellow investors first. Here are the answers to your questions...
1) Do we expect any ZigBee products out by Christmas with our software in them? ANSWER...YES.
2) Do you have any plans to reduce the number of outstanding shares? ANSWER...NO.
3) From donpat: What I had in mind was ABEW's thrust into the non-zigbee wireless stuff. I don't expect them to abandon ZigBee...far from it - what I want to know is how advanced they are in this new avant garde field and where they think it is leading and when? ANSWER...See below.
Airbee Wireless now has approximately 40 engineers with multiple PhD's and MSEE's that are now highly skilled in various forms of low power RF mesh software. These software teams have now completed several different types of projects that involve ZigBee and OTHER low power projects. This type of knowledge is NOT taught in schools and can only be learned in an RF evironment that was based on numerous projects from many of our clients. According to David McCartney, he doesn't know of ANY OTHER software company that has accomplished - or can be duplicated - what Airbee has done over the past 3 - 4 years.
Because of the huge demand for software engineers in India - especially TALENTED engineers - many companies are gobbling them up right and left. (As an example, Cisco just hired the entire graduating class of engineers from a prominent university to help fill the void of one of their facilities.) Many, many more companies plan on moving their software facilities to India to take advantage of the highly skilled and low wage engineers...but the supply and demand ratio is taking its toll. However, because of Airbee's reputation as a well-established entity, they are able to attract (AND KEEP!!!) the core of talented engineers within their company. Apparently, in India, if you are well-established within the community, you become well-respected amongst the people as well. My point is, that it would be very hard for a start-up company to open it's doors in India and try to duplicte what took Airbee to accomplish in 3 - 4 years. (Hiring the right talent, dividing them up into software teams, training them with an RF environment on real-world projects WITHOUT losing those same engineers to another firm!!!)
The bottom line is that Airbee has built a world-class technical team that is well-respected and very hard to duplicate. They are highly skilled in numerous forms of low power software using different frequencies. Airbee is MUCH MORE than just ZigBee!!!
Now, on to my questions...
1) What is the status of our application for the OTCBB?
ANSWER...We are currently waiting to hear from the SEC regarding what we think is the last set of questions. We hope to have some kind of response by tomorrow!!!
2) Where do we stand with our financing?
ANSWER...We have completed the bridge and have now signed with a well-established institutional bank. (No other details can be discussed at this time.) BTW, Raj said that Cornell has made several offers for a SEDA to be set up. The last offer was for $20 million. However, Raj said that he didn't feel it was in the best interest of the company or its shareholders to use their form of financing. (I wonder how many other companies would have taken that offer??? Hmmmmmmmmm)
I'm sure that I'm missing more details, but I'm too tired to type anymore.
Good night all.
abew4me
btradin...Here's a pretty good article that I copied from RB. Perhaps this answers your question regarding the availability of ZigBee products by Christmas. Here it is...
Zigbee-Based Home Automation Lags Industrial and Commercial Adoption
By Jessica Davis -- Electronic News, 6/21/2006
When the Zigbee Alliance made its debut, the organization heavily promoted its new networking protocol as a home automation tool – one that could enable a futuristic home that took monitoring and control of functions such as security and lighting to a new level of sophistication for the modern homeowner.
The alliance’s Zigbee standard, built on top of the IEEE’s 802.15.4, was created so that network nodes made by different companies could interoperate. Homeowners could use the technology to designate which lights would be on and off and dimmed for parties, or a night at home alone, or while away on vacation. Security applications could monitor potential breaches. Sprinklers could turn off or on depending upon the moisture level of the soil. And the home owner could easily control all of these functions from a central control.
But a funny thing happened. While Zigbee was being promoted heavily as the infrastructure for the home of the future, commercial and industrial product companies were quietly creating applications of their own. It turns out these applications are more popular among early Zigbee developers and adopters. Indeed, most of the vendors at last week’s Zigbee Open House event in San Jose were offering solutions for the industrial and commercial space. And the keynote speaker, Dick Braley, of Federal Express, discussed how his company planned to use Zigbee to track its assets, the performance of its equipment, and also track some high value packages.
So what happened to the consumer applications?
“With any emerging market you put feelers out,” said Brett Black, operations manager for the radio products division at Freescale Semiconductor. “Now some key applications are starting to bubble up.” And while the consumer space can be enticing because it offers a quicker time to market – six to 12 months – “overall, margins for the industrial space are better in the long term,” he said.
That said, Black and others agreed that consumer products will begin to appear at the end of the summer. For example, he said, Hawking Technologies and Crabtree Electronics are expected to soon offer home server devices that would allow consumers remote access to their home Zigbee networks. For example, while away on a business trip, a user could access his or her home Zigbee network over the Internet and turn on the hot tub, turn off the air conditioning or turn on the security system.
Other companies are looking to Zigbee as a replacement for infrared remote control devices that are now used in the home. For example, the high-end purveyor of audio systems, Niles Audio, is now advertising a Zigbee-based remote control.
Freescale itself is working on offering Zigbee functionality for cell phones – turning that ubiquitous device that has been a phone, a camera, an MP3 player and a PDA into yet something else – a remote control for every Zigbee-enabled home appliance.
Other Zigbee-enabled consumer devices are less obvious. One of the first customers for U.K.-based Jennic’s Zigbee devices was Triton Showers, a maker of high-end shower heads. More than just your run-of-the-mill shower head, these devices allow users to set a specific water temperature.
It wasn’t an application that Jennic’s CEO ever envisioned. Really, companies are coming to Jennic with interesting ideas for new applications, not the other way around.
“Those who are going to market now are those who want a microcontroller with wireless functionality,” said Jim Lindop, Jennic CEO. Such products may never be advertised as being Zigbee-enabled, he added. Rather, Zigbee will just be used as a wireless protocol for communication to and from the device. And that makes for a diverse end market.
“We are seeing all kinds of applications for Zigbee, but no one of them is category leading.”
Geographically, Lindop said, Jennic’s Korean prospects seem most focused on the home automation space. Prospects from China and India are more interested in Zigbee’s energy conservation benefits, as the technology can be used to program appliances to be used more efficiently and the nodes themselves require very low power. And in the United States and Europe, developers are most interested in broadband applications.
“We’ve got no focus or control over different markets,” said Lindop. “Our embedded wireless microcontroller can be built into everything.”
But consumer markets are more cost sensitive than the industrial and commercial spaces, making them less attractive to some Zigbee chipmakers. Silicon Laboratories is one of many companies targeting the commercial and industrial space to start, according to Gary Franzonsa, marketing manager for interface products in the MCU division of the company. The company chose those markets because they offered higher margins than the cost-sensitive consumer space.
Crossbow also specializes in the industrial space.
“That’s where customers came to us first,” said Shana Jacob, a sales engineer with the San Jose-based company. “But probably we will eventually go into the consumer space.”
Tendril Networks of Boulder, Colo., has also put its initial attention on non-consumer markets because they are “more lucrative,” according to CEO Tim Enwall. “The Zigbee Alliance is doing a lot to promote the consumer electronics space and doing a great job of it, but that is not a business opportunity for us,” he said.
“We have definitely seen more interest from the commercial and industrial space,” said Alex Leonov, marketing manager for Moscow-based MeshNetics. In particular, his company has seen interest from systems integrators, transportation companies and utilities interested in automated meter reading.
As for consumer electronics products that are promoted as Zigbee-enabled, those are likely to hit the market later this year. However, they may not take hold in the mass market right away. Remote controls for Zigbee-based home automation won’t make sense until homes have an installed base of Zigbee nodes, said Jennic’s Lindop. And high volume production of such nodes requires low pricing for the consumer space. Prices still aren’t where they need to be for that to happen, he said.
Okay. Thanks for for the details. I will add your question (verbatim) to my list. I just hope it's not a long drawn out answer or else I'll probabaly need a tape recorder. lol
How should I phrase your question to ABEW's management? How about this...
How do you see wireless technology shaping the future of our lives by this time next year? Will ZigBee play an important role or will another frequency such as RFID, Wi-Fi, or UWB take the leading role?
(What do you think?)
Good question. I'll ad that to my list.
I'm leaving Monday morning to attend the shareholders meeting in San Jose. I'll be asking a lot of tough questions regarding the following topics:
1) Financing
2) OTCBB status
3) Revenue from our licensees
If anyone wants to add to this list, let me know asap.
abew4me
horny_toad...Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope everything is okay and your other investments are doing well.
abew4me
LOL. Do I get some kind of prize or something?
BTW, it's good to see the old crew over here. Sometimes I forget all about the I-Hub site. Frankly, it's a much more dependable site than RB.