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I think Apple invested more money today in the free U2 album than they ever have in LiquidMetal. Cheers, Bono
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/apple-aapl-u2-album-songs-innocence-itunes-customers/story?id=25384879
Maybe they revamped it to handle a surge in expletive rich emails from investors.
No LiquidMetal mentioned at the presentation. That doesn't mean it's not present in the IP6 or Apple Watch, only that no mention of it was made.
There is still the issue of the emblem from the video, and the Force Touch present in the watch. The FT is intriguing because we know Apple has patents related to LM in strain gauges.
If it is in there, we got screwed out of a payday. The payday will only happen if confirmation of LM in Apple comes and LMT spreads the word.
No, I wasn't expecting Cook to drop the line, "I want to give a big shout out to Steip and crew over at LiquidMetal Technologies for making the products you see today possible."
But, they certainly mentioned materials, like sapphire glass, anodized aluminum, stainless steel, 18K gold, etc. All I was looking for is "amorphous alloy." With that said, every blogger would have altered it to "Liquid Metal" because "amorphous alloy" doesn't have the same ring to it.
Sounds like Force Touch in the new Apple Watch, but if they are using LiquidMetal as the pressure sensing diaphragm or strain gauge, they didn't bother to mention it.
I guess we will have to rely on Steip to put this information up on the LMT website under "Who we work with."
All this talk about an "iWatch" has become very fuzzy to me.
Doesn't Swatch have the sole rights to use LM in watches? So Apple can't call it a watch, they have to call it something else.
But if it's described as a medical device, wouldn't that be something other than CE?
50,000 sounds like an "Iron Dome" for the US.
Yay - in the emblem.
Possibly mention of it's use in the new device "iWatch" or "iBand" or if we're sticking with the P's and it's a health related device, maybe the "iPulse" or "iPal?" But I don't think that mock-up we saw yesterday is it.
The point has been brought up before about Sapphire and LiquidMetal being tied at the hip, at least as far as some of the patents go. What's curious to me is that much speculation has gone on that sapphire glass will be used, at least in the 5.5" version. If that's the case, who's manufacturing all this LM for Apple? Surely we would have heard of some major contract with the supplier, right?
In that case, he'd be heavily invested shorting the stock and bashing the longs on this board with witty one liners and amusing twists of logic!
Mark Twain always had choice words for any situation.
And if he were alive today, he clearly would be heavily invested in LQMT.
You are correct, sir! Fuzzy math indeed! But I only based my guess on the idea that the article stated a $16,000 price tag per round? Surely a whole lot of $ can't go into the canards, versus the innards.
Again, just throwing out a number, but it still seems unlikely to break even ($20M) on that contract, even at $400 per round.
Looks like 8 canards per round, let's say at $50 a piece takes us to $200? So they'd need an order for 8 million canards. Not gonna happen unless we go to war with Russia and China at the same time. And in that case, we'd have to use tactical nukes instead.
I think we should look past canards to LiquidMetal drones, but I haven't heard about any prototyping for that.
It rises or falls based on one thing: mention of LiquidMetal either in iPhone 6 (pretty sure about this) or a future device containing the metal.
Videos of the iPhone 6 have been leaked by a couple sites now (1 Russian, 1 Chinese) that show the same device. Also, the Russian vid shows a dismantled IP6 while the Chinese shows a functioning IP6. That's confirmation of what we are dealing with.
Finally, the Russian vid shows that the Apple emblem on the back is actually a separate piece of metal - what the Russian calls LiquidMetal. Another site mentioned the emblem and said it was of an unusual quality, being extremely scratch resistant.
All this points to LM being included in the phone. As I posited earlier, the only reason Apple makes its logo - the most identifiable brand symbol in the world - out of LiquidMetal is to reveal that LiquidMetal is the future with Apple. It also demonstrates increased production capability of the metal is in place, since Apple expects to sell about 100M of these things.
I doubled down last week at .2725 and I am holding. I think the reward to risk is too great this time around. Of course it's a gamble, but one I'm willing to take.
We meet at dawn...
Chinese Leak of iPhone 6 looks the same as Russian one in the vid from last week. This one isn't broken apart the way the Russian one was, but it is shown functioning (not some mock-up.)
So you all know what that means... LiquidMetal emblem.
http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/07/is-this-the-first-video-review-of-the-iphone-6/#more-339429
Been there done that with aluminum, plastic, glass and steel? Yeah, those materials never took off. And Gorilla Glass - that can't make money for anyone. Not to mention sapphire glass - what a boondoggle! Nothing to see here!
So Google wants to buy LQMT...
The question is why? Google makes a fortune from online advertising, but has been deeply interested in everything from driverless cars to robotics to AI.
There is that connection to DARPA, of course, but I assume that is mostly on the AI front. Then again, after purchasing Boston Dynamics, one gets the idea that the driverless cars, AI, robot solider stuff has confluence.
Then there is the Google employee with cart blanche, old Ray Kurzweil, who predicts the "singularity" occurring in 15 years, the idea, strangely enough, going mainstream in the film T2, which featured a literal "Liquid Metal" AI-bot, and you have to wonder what Google is up to?
This all sounds fanciful, but so do Kurzweil's ideas of becoming immortal and transferring his soul to a computer and even resurrecting his departed father based on old writings! If Google takes this guy seriously (they do,) I'm guessing he will want an indestructible body for that computer brain of his. If you believed in all of this, what would you want your immortal body to be made out of? Probably something stronger than titanium, right?
You certainly wouldn't want Lenovo handling the task!
Should be an interesting 3 days, 19 hours around this message board.
http://www.apple.com/live/
The Longs and the Long Knives are at it again. The tension is palpable! Something's gotta give on Tuesday - we either sink or surf that day.
26 range isn't so bad. Consider that about 15M shares changed hands between 26 and 28 from late Tuesday to close Thursday, then 4.5M traded around 26 today.
I think that's people taking quick profits from 24 to 26, that's all. Probably another 5-6M gets dumped in the 25-26 range on Monday. That means of the Tues-Thurs volume, 1/3 sold out today, 1/3 will sell on Monday, and 1/3 will hold for what they hope is a payday on Tuesday. No Tues News means we go back to the 22-24 range.
So now we hear that LMT has manufactured parts for Apple (and got paid for it.) Wouldn't this fall under the category of prototype? But a prototype for what? I'd say a simple Apple emblem that fits neatly into a pre-cut iPhone case.
Reminds me of someone who posted that he spoke to Chung last week and they both had a chuckle about Hauck being very busy in the next two weeks. Hmm...
It is news to anyone who owns shares of LQMT. Heading into Apple release shows, LQMT spikes. News of Apple/LMT partnerships, LQMT spikes. News of Apple patents related to LM, LQMT spikes. See a pattern?
Yes, it is same-old-same-old. But that SOSO translates into real dollars. Why get upset about that?
Thanks for posting the agreement! I hadn't picked up on the language before, but the agreement now automatically renews every year for a one year period, unless Apple opts out.
Either way I think the one year time frame is telling. Clearly, Apple has invested much in this material and made significant headway toward their goals. The in perpetuity renewal may reflect the fact that Apple may find additional uses for LM beyond their original goals. If and when Apple has exhausted their development needs, they can terminate the partnership.
LMT stands to profit via additional patents - so it's a win-win situation.
LMT's original licensing program with Apple was for 2 years, then extended another two years, and most recently extended for only a single year.
To understand the significance of this, keep in mind that the purpose of the agreement was to get LMT to place all of its intellectual property assets into Crucible, so that Apple could commercially develop those in the field of Consumer Electronics.
What the 1 year extension tells me is that Apple had a goal in mind and they fully expect that goal to be realized by February 2015 (sooner, actually, since I'm certain Apple would not cut itself short. If Apple is not so close, then why not extend another 2 years?) Once the R&D is completed for their purposes, they don't need the arrangement any longer because they have achieved their goal, which entails commercialization.
Never forget... the greatest single near-term catalyst for LMT is the use of LM in Apple products. The lack of revenues from the Apple deal does not matter. This is about the application of LM on a massive scale, proving its worth. Prototypes are fine, but you can bet prospective clients will be much more eager to use LM for their non-CE purposes when they see Apple use it successfully.
And today I doubled down at open after realizing the significance of an LM emblem on the iPhone 6. There is no reason on God's green earth to go through the complicated process of fashioning the Apple emblem out of LM unless your point is to make a point! Apple's way of saying "This material is coming!"
If it was just some gimmick the design team dreamed up, it would have been quashed by management as a too-time-and-labor-intensive effort and too expensive an effort (i.e., production machines for ramped up effort) to even make the first design cut.
No, the LiquidMetal emblem is the emissary on 9/9 - make no mistake about it.
And you are spot on, Gorgol, that placing a metal emblem on the back of the phone - one that is not covered by cases (since Apple consumers like everyone to see the status symbol, hence an opening for the logo) is prone to scratching. Why would Apple want the symbol of their company hanging out there to get scratched up? The answer is that it is no ordinary metal and it can be no other metal - it is LM!
Not having to finish it is the key. I mentioned sheets in connection with the emblem because I thought What is the easiest way to produce it? Seems cutting from sheets would be easier than pouring it into 100 million molds. Then again, I'm no metallurgist.
Any insight from the board appreciated.
And when I think of 100 million Apple emblems being produced, I imagine them being cut from sheets...
Okay, so of all the recent LQMT/iPhone rumors, the one that repeats is the Apple emblem being made of LiquidMetal. I have seen pictures and now video of that little plug, which should not be taken lightly by anyone. In fact, it is a profound tell.
So far Apple has only used LiquidMetal for the SIM card ejector tool. Neat little piece of the stuff to hold in our (investors) hands, but most iPhone owners probably threw it out with the box.
Now, I say it is a profound tell because Apple chose to make the emblem of its company out of the stuff, putting it front and center for the world to see. That tells me Apple is communicating in no uncertain terms that LiquidMetal is the future of its products from 9/9 forward.
In fact, I expect an announcement from Apple regarding the future use of LiquidMetal in it's products next Tuesday. The LiquidMetal emblem is the emissary for the announcement. By making the emblem from LiquidMetal, Apple is backing the material with the full faith and credit of its brand name. That little emblem is not just an emblem, but a sneak peek of things to come. Further, it serves as proof that Apple (or a partner company) has ramped up it's production capabilities to put this material in 100 million iPhones.
Enough said!
Let's look for a couple million shares to fly off the shelves in the last 5 minutes
Looks like the .24 manipulation is coming to an end.
Has anyone considered that Aspire may have been the entity manipulating the stock until LMT consummated the deal? Perhaps the increase in AVG VOL today is LMT ordering Aspire to purchase shares. With the artificial ceiling removed, we should see a run on this heading into next Tuesday.
Word to the wise... royalties or not, AAPL using LiquidMetal in its devices is the single biggest catalyst for LQMT on the horizon. The question isn't IF they use it, it's WHEN. Is Tuesday the planned announcement? Anybody's guess, but we are closer to that day than we have ever been before. AAPL hasn't spent tens of millions on rights and development, not to mention over 4 years of time, to not use this metal. It IS coming, and when it does, watch out!
Unfortunately, the embedded logo is covered in scratches.
Ok, I need to back off my earlier statement because I made an incorrect assertion - that is, that LQMT is selling non-float shares, when in fact they are Authorized shares.
Yes, increasing shares is by definition dilution, but the end result depends on the use of the $30M received in return. If the $30M is tossed around for bonuses, then we're all sunk. If the $ is put into tangible assets, then I don't think it has that great of an effect on share price, since $30M has been injected into the company. Ultimately, the market will determine that.
From the last CC, I didn't hear any talk of a need for more funds to keep operations going, which makes me think this has something to do with increasing production capabilities from near zero to revenue generating levels. That, in turn, would mean the prototypes are about to pay off in a measureable way.
So we hope...
Doesn't anybody know what dilution is???
This is NOT dilution, pure and simple, it is the raising of capital by selling company owned shares, which means Aspire Capital Fund has entered into an agreement to INVEST in LQMT, the same way you and I do, only they will pony up $30 million!
Dilution occurs when the company issues ADDITIONAL shares of stock, not when it sells existing stock. If this were not the case, then everyday ANY stock traded on a company it would equal dilution.
This is GOOD news, since LQMT now has the ability to raise $30 million in rapid fashion, for such capital expenditures as expanded production operations (facilities, machines, etc.) Instead of relying on royalties, LQMT can increase in-house production and keep all the profits.
So ask yourself... why would LQMT be interested at this time in increasing production capabilities??? They might just be in the hunt for a fat slice of that Apple pie when the order for 35M iWatches or 120M iPhone LiquidMetal chassis' goes out.
Barron's briefly reported... LQMT up to $2.97 a share. Wow, that was some conference call! Sadly, typo profits don't pay out that way. I see they just corrected it to .236 per share
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2014/08/12/liquidmetal-rising-prepares-for-commercialization/?mod=yahoobarrons&ru=yahoo
I think LQMT will take off, but not for several months and not before another drop. So, as for my money, I sold off 85% of my LQMT holdings on Friday at .226 and bought up silver. I'm betting on that better known metal this summer.
So Apple renewed agreement for another year... why not 2 years, like the previous 2 agreements?
This tells me Apple is close to perfecting whatever it is they want to use LQMT for, which, by all odds, is not a stinking bezel (how hard is that to perfect?) but something along the lines of a LQMT extended life battery. Samsung already doubles Apple battery life in phones, but what if the promise of an LQMT battery is true, that one could power an iPhone for a month without charging? Remember, once upon a time there was a start up company named Liquid Metal Battery that changed its name to Ambri back in 2012. The name described the process - not material - involved in the technology, and I still think Apple lawyers had a hand (heel of boot?) involved in the name change.
So what's in it for LiquidMetal? I heard recently that insect-sized military drones are fully developed, but for one small ingredient: no one can figure out how to keep the things powered long enough to make them useful. That's where LQMT extended life batteries become very valuable, and supplying them to defense contractors certainly falls outside of CE.
Who are the two brokers that Yahoo! claims are covering this company? Low price target of $2 and high of $2.72? Those are lofty valuations.
Wait, that sort of coincides with what Steipp said to Gentry about LMT becoming a several BILLION dollar company. Maybe Steipp and Gentry are the brokers...
Now there's the best idea for LiquidMetal I've heard in a long time: razor blades. Those are pretty spendy, especially if they keep their edge for months on end. Can we get R&D on that right away?
The iPad Air is much thinner than the iPad 4 - and for that matter, much larger than an iPhone - but it isn't made of LiquidMetal. Why would a thinner iPhone have to be made from LM? Car engines are made from aluminum alloys these days, so it's not as if a thinner iPhone couldn't be.
The best thing going on with the IHUB LQMT board yesterday was that the sentiment turned from sunny to suicidal. It's that creeping, nagging feeling that you've been robbed (coming after the SOTU speech, the feeling was doubly so.)
But keep in mind... conventional wisdom in this world is often wrong. When LQMT dropped to .0521, this board was filled with dozens of grumpy old men (in the Dana Carvey mold.) The stock exploded after that. I swore three times now I would get out on top of the next run up, only to let the three P's (potential, promise and pie-in-the-sky) keep me from selling. I eventually sold and made profits, but only 60-70% what could have been.
I see an outside chance this takes another run at .38 by Monday, but after that I'm not holding any bags unless it just keeps sinking from here. In at a blended .20 - missing that rarified air around .40.
Always remember to never forget: if a stock rises sharply on NO NEWS, take the money and run! Insider trading is illegal - MM manipulation is not!
I think this post nails it down. Apple can use LQMT vendors without paying royalties, since they paid a licensing fee already.
Also, Steipp mentioned once upon a time that they expect no future revenues from the Apple deal. The only way to get more money out of Apple directly is to sign an extension to the agreement that is about to expire. Of course, last time LM didn't get one red cent to extend it.
That said, when Apple uses LiquidMetal for more than SIM ejectors (say in the chassis or batteries,) the publicity will be worth more than a $20 million licensing fee.
Nice volume today at least