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I like that $2.3M profit goal! EOM
DD I'd buy that for a dollar!
22 February 2006
http://www.telecoms.com/itmgcontent/tcoms/news/articles/20017337570.html
People will pay a premium for mobile content if they can get what they want, when they want it.
That's the side I come down on in the ongoing debate over whether people will shell out extra cash to mobilise content services such as mobile music.
For example, Verizon Wireless recently launched V Cast Music service enables users to download full tracks in Windows Media Audio format to their PC for $0.99 but a download to their handset (with backup PC copy) costs $1.99.
Why, the critics ask, would anyone pay $1 extra to download a song to their handset when they could get a better deal by downloading the song to their PC and then simply transferring it to the handset via USB cable? Well, I'm willing to pay the extra $1 for immediate gratification.
I learned that after a flight back to the U.S. following the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. The onboard entertainment system kept playing a song that grew on me over 10 hours of travelling. It was Shakira's "Don't Bother," a tune I would probably never have heard (much less liked) if I hadn't had it force-fed to me repeatedly on my long flight.
By the time I landed in Denver, I was hooked on the song. Fortunately, Verizon Wireless had loaned me one of their LG VX8100 EV-DO phones that features V Cast Music. So, back in Denver, I grabbed the handset, found Shakira's song on the "What's New" playlist, downloaded it and listened to my heart's delight. Admittedly, Verizon is covering the cost for my song downloads while I trial their service, but I would have willingly paid to download that particular song to the handset right there and then.
That, however, brings up a complaint about V Cast Music.
I haven't found a lot of other songs that I want to download at any price. Verizon says one million songs are supposed to be available by this spring but I hope they're not counting in that total all the multiple versions of a single song (live, album, single, acoustic, etc.) that they are offering. I'll gladly pay, but only if I find something that I want to play.
On similar note, I was speaking with a fellow in Barcelona who is convinced that streaming video is unacceptable on a mobile handset because of quality issues. I agree that there are problems with choppy video, skipped frames, poor synching of audio with video, etc. But I don't agree that makes streaming video totally undesirable.
Some 20 years ago, I was a radio disc jockey. An engineer at the first station where I worked taught me the primary rule of broadcast radio: A listener will stay tuned to a radio station that is playing a song they want to hear almost regardless of how bad the reception is. In other words, given a choice between a station with crystal clear clarity playing music you aren't in love with and a station you can barely pick up, that's full of pops and static, but which is playing your favorite song, you're going to stick with the latter.
In short, the key to listener loyalty was programming.
Likewise, if breaking news of a major event that I want to know about is streamed to my handset, I'll probably put up with the poor synching that makes the anchorwoman look like she's mouthing over-dubbed words in an old Godzilla movie.
The bottom line regarding delivery of mobile content is what we've already learned from mobile voice. Dropped calls, calls full of static and strange echoes, as well as calls that connect but deliver only silence are part of the average mobile phone user's daily experience. But 2.18 billion mobile phone users worldwide tolerate the problems because they feel the tradeoff for mobility is worth it.
Similarly, mobile users will endure a lot of delivery hiccups to get content they want (provided they don't have to make 30 keystrokes to reach it, but that's fodder for another column).
The key for the mobile music and video businesses is the same as the time-tested tenet for broadcast radio. All the technological leaps in the world won't make up for a poor programming lineup, but if you deliver something the user actually wants to see and/or hear, you're much closer to having a winner.
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JP and Czak, Well said.
I am glad to have been introduced to Neom by TS as a charter member of his Microcap subscription service (2 years ago this month), and found I-hub shortly thereafter. Had I not found I-hub and the great folks like JP, Koko, Success, SOG, Lupetto, WilliamFL, Movieguy, Yellowjacket, Clawmann, St. Andrew, Hangdog, JoeDimaggio and so many other great contributors, I probably would have sold long ago because of a lagging pps. Instead the Lord allowed me to find I-hub...I learned all that I could about Neomedia and its industry...accumulated many shares, and am so pleased to be still long at this early stage.
In all my years of investing, I have never seen such a well orchestrated plan come together. Chas and his team are to be congratulated. They are great visionaries as well as leaders. Combine our IP, which is powerful and brilliant, with Chas' vision, and we now have all of these mobile marketing companies and their talented people lining up with Neom. And, the deals are structured such that their future wealth is tied to creating shareholder value. Wow! What more could a shareholder ask for at this early stage?
I look forward to watching their plan continue to unfold. Somehow I just wouldn't be surprised that we "ain't seen nothing yet". I think the "best is yet to come".
Congratulations to all longs! Have a super day!
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Chartist1, Thanks for the heads up on the ascending triangle. EOM
Hangdog, great job with the new year's predictions so far. I look forward to your updated crystal ball happenings.
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Allin, nice summary of events, and I like the ending as well.
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Clawmann, Thank you. Good explanation. EOM
Bodreaux, I agree with your comments about Sponge.
Also, good question regarding insider trading that I am not qualified to answer.
Can one of our legal folks (Clawmann, Lupetto, etc) answer Bodreaux's question:
Is it insider trading if, in the course of the courting process with these companies that we're buying via stock, to disclose ongoing negotiations (with the big players approval of course) regarding a partnership with an SP or someone like Yahoo?
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OTT Post 59678 / Success Post with 8K:, I agree 100% with you. All of these companies being acquired are taking a huge leap of faith that the share price will increase significantly, and I have got to believe that they believe it will do so in the relatively near term. And, as you said, they obviously know something that we do not yet know, but it must be something very big IMO.
Even more impressive is that this not a LOI...it is a purchase agreement with the closing expected in two days. Wow! We have come a long way since the BSDS acquisition. I sure do love that these are private companies and we don't have to mess around with all the SEC red tape to get these deals done.
I hope we get to see a financial proforma soon so we can get a much better perspective of what we have acquired, or will soon acquire. Should we expect to see that in an upcoming SEC filing?
Again, Exciting times!!! Congratulations to all longs being part of this ground floor opportunity. I bet it won't be too long before the word gets out to more main stream Wall Street folks, and John Q. Public as well.
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SRM, Good post. EOM
DD Bigger and brasher but 3GSM 2006 insulates itself from reality
20 February 2006
http://www.telecoms.com/itmgcontent/tcoms/news/articles/20017336941.html
How will 3GSM 2006 in Barcelona be remembered? Mobile TV put in a strong performance; the airwaves hummed with mobile broadband; and no one needing a fix of FMC went home disappointed. Adrenalin coursed through the corridors, hospitality suites and conference floors at the Fira exhibition centre.
At times it felt like 1999 all over again.
Even King Juan Carlos of Spain made an appearance. Industry leaders assumed celebrity status and singer Craig David waxed lyrical about 3G. The only thing missing from the GSM Association's award ceremony was a prize for the construction firm that erected a single Motorola advert around the outside of a bull ring like a giant soup tin wrapper. There were a third more visitors and stands than at 3GSM's Cannes swansong.
3GSM has always had its share of mutual back slapping but it's now morphing into an enormous operator-infrastructure vendor love-in that the mobile industry's performance and prospects do not necessarily merit.
There are two faces to the mobile communications business in 2006.
On the one hand we have an industry that has sold more phones and subscriptions than anyone could ever have imagined. A phenomenon that is sweeping across the developing world, connecting towns and villages in some of the world's poorest economies and making a tangible contribution to their economic development. Economists were wrong to coin the phrase "digital divide". They should have been talking about the "mobile divide". And the number of people on the wrong side of the mobile divide is shrinking by the day - by the minute - as the mobile industry moves effortlessly towards its three billionth customer and finds ways to make money from people with mobile phone bills of less than $2 per week.
The other face of the mobile sector in 2006 is an industry steeling itself for the onslaught of wireless VOIP and with it, the onset of Internet - as opposed to mobile economics.
But this was not the mobile industry on show at Barcelona last week.
The 3GSM event has become a wireless technology and gadget show palace, a field of dreams and one big sweet shop for the mobile operator CTO. You don't find too many people at 3GSM that want to talk about the business of mobile communications, shareholder value or the aspirations and frustrations of the world's 2.3 billion mobile consumers. If you did they would paint a different picture of the mobile industry than the one that was on display beneath the Palace of Montjuic and in bars and restaurants up and down the Ramblas.
The mobile industry assembled at Barcelona was one that has complete faith in its continued growth and prosperity. Not even Nokia's (very) public announcement of new wi-fi devices, Skype's looming presence, Vodafone's deal with Google or progress in GSM-wi-fi roaming were enough to challenge this view.
When mobile executives get back to their desks this week will they feel quite so confident?
More than 95% of mobile operator revenues come from voice and text. But at 3GSM the focus was music, television and broadband. The designer gadgets that were on show at 3GSM: all-in-one MP3 players, digital cameras, mobile televisions, GPS devices and Internet browsers, have taken the mobile business into the consumer electronics mainstream but away from mobile operators' core business. And yet it is the mobile operators with their subsidies and distribution channels that make device manufacturers more profitable than brown goods manufacturers and allow them to compete in the consumer electronics space.
When cameras first appeared in mobile phones operators tried to build a picture messaging business around them. That failed but the incorporation of two, five and even seven mega pixel cameras into mobile phones continues apace. Is music going the same way? The mobile phone could still be an ipod killer but it doesn't mean that people will buy their music over mobile networks. The same goes for mobile TV.
Operators will argue that it is still too early to judge 3G and that with HSDPA upgrades and speeds of up to 1mbps mobile broadband is just around the corner. But the problem with such an assertion is that every 3GSM World Congress seems to bring the same promise of jam tomorrow. And there's no getting away from the fact that we are well into the second year of WCDMA and are still waiting for the first successful 3G consumer application.
In the past operators could console themselves with the robustness of their basic voice and text businesses. But wi-fi and VOIP have now made even these businesses vulnerable.
The 3GSM World Congress this year was a marvellous shop window for wireless technology and gadgetry. But it would be naive to view it as a barometer for the wellbeing of the mobile industry. If this is what the 3GSM Congress wants to become then it needs to accept the inevitability of IP, Internet economics and new players and value chains.
Mark Newman is Chief Research Officer of Informa Telecoms and Media
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DD Top 10 cell phones from MSN & CNET.com
http://msn-cnet.com.com/Top_10_cell_phones/4520-6022_1-102337-11.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=re_1-10...
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Saskwatch, I noticed that also. Neomedia does need to do a much better job with mistakes in SEC filings and other public documents such as this career opportunity posting.
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MenaMike, I know PP announced WR last September after the Neom PR. What else are you referring to here?
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Neomrocket and Hangdog, both Yellowjacket and I had the same observations Friday evening.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=9780740
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=9781944
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pvc, I agree with you in principle. As I said in my post yesterday (link below), NMPR is needed now to provide much needed cash flow. When the timing is right sometime downstream, I think it would be appropriate to spin it off so Neom can focus all of its energies on its core Mobile Marketing business. My point being that if indeed that is Neom's long term plan (i.e., eventual spinoff of NMPR), they wouldn't necessarily make an effort to talk about the paint business in the bio.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=9784511
I also did state the converse in my post to give an "out" where I stated "Or conversely, NMPR is a patented technology that Neom is marketing internationally." This would be in line with your thinking that the NMPR and Systems Integration Business Units are not what Neom considers to be the core business.
So, in general, I think we are aligned in our thinking.
Best regards,
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clawmann, Neomedia Technologies is not a division or business unit. It is the corporate umbrella for the Paperclick Business Unit, System Integration Business Unit, and Micropaint Repair Business Unit.
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Is this a new position - Corporate Attorney?
http://www.neom.com/doc/careers/neom/Corporate_Attorney.pdf
Notice the Company Bio makes no mention of NMPR. Perhaps this does imply that eventually NMPR will be spun off. Or conversely, NMPR is a patented technology that Neom is marketing internationally.
NeoMedia Technologies, Inc. is a developer and international marketer of software and patented technologies, including the PaperClick (www.PaperClick.com) platform, PaperClick for Camera Phones and the PaperClick Mobile Go-Window which provide One Click To Content connectivity for products, print and physical objects to link directly to specific desired content on the mobile Internet. NeoMedia. NeoMedia also offers a variety of mobile enterprise solutions, including expertise in homeland security and e-authentication applications, and its Systems Integration.
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Schep, Excellent find! Hmmm...If Cingular registered "ringtones", is there more to the Cingular story coming in terms of eventually licensing PC?
http://www.cingularsounds.com/
http://www.cingular.com/about/company_overview?id1=portal
Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless company in the United States, with more than 54 million subscribers who use the nation's largest digital voice and data network. Cingular is dedicated to providing customers with wireless technology designed to enrich their lives.
Best regards,
SS9173
Joe, Thanks for posting your perspective. Glad to see your still holding all those shares. I have stopped accumulating now at over 1.5M shares. What I really like about what I see happening is that Neom isn't waiting any longer for the camera lens issue to be resolved, or 3G to broaden its reach; instead, they are now going after the opportunity at hand by acquiring mobile marketing companies or other related enabling technology companies that will allow them to get a strong foothold in this space right now.
I am also excited about the quality of talent being brought into the Neom organization. That's a tribute to CF's leadership. In fact, more and more, I am seeing that CF, CJ, and MC are great leaders with a great vision, and more importantly, they are now demonstrating that they can execute their grandiose strategic plan in a much timelier manner than what we have seen previously.
The fact that PC and Go Window are live as of last evening is a huge development. I am expecting more PR's next week and continuing for the next 30 to 60 days. Licensing by Yahoo, Ebay, Microsoft, News Corp and wireless service providers now seem imminent. And, when that is announced, Wall Street will take notice...and shareholder value will increase significantly.
I am personally OK with NMPR for now. Recent developments with China and elsewhere will start bringing in much needed cash flow. When the time is right, a spin off would seem appropriate so Neom can focus all of its efforts on its core mobile marketing strategy.
As all this comes together, Neom will get its opportunity to get back on the NASDAQ. I will predict that to happen by mid-2007. TS will start promoting them on Fox TV. CNBC will be interviewing Chas Fritz and/or Chuck Jensen. Neom will become a household name.
Some years later...you and I, well I don't know about you but I will be planning early retirement at some undisclosed warm oceanfront home location.
Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Best regards,
SS9173
Joe, Until today you haven't posted since January 19th. I have always well respected your viewpoints, and would be interested in your perspective on Neom's recent developments.
Best regards,
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Joe, I think "playboy" is going to a demo site. EOM
Koko / Success: Cool
http://www.pricegrabber.com/
http://www.pricegrabber.com/about.php
PriceGrabber.com is the industry innovator in online comparison shopping. Millions of consumers use PriceGrabber to quickly obtain free and unbiased information about products, services, merchants and sellers before making a purchase decision. Through continued innovation and consistent focus on providing the best comparison shopping experience on the Internet, PriceGrabber has established itself as the most trusted and effective online destination for savvy shopping.
At PriceGrabber.com, savvy shoppers can instantly find and compare millions of unique products and services contained in 22 channels, such as Apparel, Autos, Babies & Kids, Books & Magazines, Cell Phones, Plans, & Accessories, Computers, Home & Garden, Photography and Travel. The website also offers shoppers the ability to view and compare over thousands of merchants and sellers and their respective pricing information for products and services, thereby enabling users to ultimately find the right product from the right merchant at the best price. The Company connects its online shoppers to merchants and sellers of all sizes and scope, from large traditional merchants, such as Best Buy, Office Depot and Walmart, to smaller local merchants and individuals through PriceGrabber Storefronts.
PriceGrabber’s innovative comparison shopping services make it a valuable ally for any shopper; they include: BottomLinePrice calculations (tax and shipping included in price), Storefronts marketplace (individuals without a website can sell their own products), merchant ratings and reviews, detailed product information and reviews, side-by-side product comparisons and email notification of the best prices and availability on the Internet.
PriceGrabber.com provides unparalleled marketing and sales opportunities to 21 million active, qualified and ready to buy shoppers on a monthly basis.
http://www.pricegrabber.com/home_wireless.php
You're in your local electronics superstore, and there's the DVD player you want. Can you get the same thing online for less?
The answer's right there in your wireless phone.
With PriceGrabber's new wireless Web access, you can get price comparison information anytime, anywhere. Select the PriceGrabber Wireless Web site, enter the part number or product name (or browse, if you'd prefer) and the answers are at your fingertips.
Search the million-item PriceGrabber database by part number, description or any other criteria of your choice.
Browse any product channel; look item-by-item, at featured items or at the most popular choices.
Search the million-item PriceGrabber database by part number, description or any other criteria of your choice.
All information is formatted especially for the screen on your wireless phone.
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SS9173
Perhaps, pure speculation, that with hotmail and MSN working we have some keyword registry by Microsoft. And, if that's true, what else would Mr. Softie be planning?
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Allin & JB6: Agreed. EOM
N E O M, No I can't get "movies" to work. EOM
Boldini, see the attached link. JP has a demo version of PC loaded on his Motorola v557 smartphone. His postings tonight appear to indicate that go window keywords just went from demo urls to what we now believe to be live urls.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=9356050&txt2find=demo
Hope that helps.
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Every word that appears to be live is still "available" according to the "search keywords" on the Paperclick Keyword Registry url:
http://www.paperclick.com/registry/
Hopefully, this is just a timing issue with getting the registry url updated. Thoughts?
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Koko, Oh Yeah, I forgot...LOL. I am just so excited I just wanted to recommend that he buy as much as he could afford to lose as quick as he could. Again, JMHO, and he or any other newbie needs to do their own DD.
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dlethe01, we may very well see some sort of PR with EBAY as well very soon. Neom is on a roll, and I think there is much more to be announced over the next 30 to 60 days. Perhaps with what we are witnessing tonight next week just might make this week's PR's seem tame. JMHO.
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JB6, Do your DD this weekend, and then if you feel comfortable buy whatever number of shares with funds you can afford to lose at the open on Monday. Nothing is a sure thing, but IMO the reward/risk ratio for Neom is very favorable. Again, do your own DD. Start with reading and digesting everything that's in the board header. JMHO.
Good luck,
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YJ, I agree as well. IMO, there are too many dot connections with Yahoo to not believe we will see some sort of PR announcing either a 20% equity agreement or licensing of PC. And remember, Rick Szatkowski - VP, Business Development, NeoMedia Tech., Inc. and S. Murray Gaylord - Vice President Brand Marketing, Yahoo will be participating together at the eMarketing Association panel on April 25.
Best regards,
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SOG, Super Duper Post. I am looking forward to next Friday's edition. If we thought this week was a heck of a week, boy with PC and Go Window now appearing Live, just imagine...
:>)
Have a great weekend!
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KGR, HOME RUN! TD!! GOLD MEDAL!!! Yahoo Mobile is LIVE!!!!
"Quote" appears to be live as well...again to Yahoo. EOM
Koko, I can't get "food" to connect. What did you find?
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Try Disney...at first it appears it might be a demo, but then it goes to Disney Mobile. Do you think its LIVE?
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Virgin appears to be live as well. EOM
Type in weather. It's Live to Yahoo. Then go to set location. Type in your zip code and press to, you have your local weather report.
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DrMyke and Success, Here's a link that gives a little background on Neomedia's PR firm, The Kaminer Group.
http://www.emsnow.com/newsarchives/archivedetails.cfm?ID=7437
CirTran retains The Kaminer Group for PR, Marketing and IR Support
by
Jan 12, 2005
CirTran Corp. has said it has retained The Kaminer Group (TKG) of White Plains, N.Y., for public relations, marketing and investor relations services and consulting.
Headed by David A. Kaminer, TKG serves IT industry companies, associations and events around the world. Since its founding in 1991, TKG clients have included: Automatic Data Processing , the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, CMP Media, Comcast Cable Communications Inc. (part of Comcast Corp.), JIAN (BizPlanBuilder), IDG World Expo, NeoMedia Technologies Inc., Programmer's Paradise, Sylvan Prometric (a division of Sylvan Learning Systems Inc., NASDAQ: SLVN), and SOFTEX (Brazil's software marketing initiative).
Prior to founding TKG, Kaminer was vice president-public relations for The Interface Group.
"Dave Kaminer brings a wealth of expertise, experience and energy to CirTran," said Iehab J. Hawatmeh, the company's president and CEO. "He will help shape and deliver messages about CirTran's growth and capabilities as we move forward to what we believe will be our most successful year ever, with business growing in both the U.S. and in Asia."
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