Calypso Wireless (fka CLYW)

[qed]

Michael: I’m glad you brought up your questions and this explains your reservations. I would also not go big on anything I’m not 100 % convinced of. The best way to find out is to try out the technology yourself. It looks like you are not using Wi-Fi or VOIP telephony at home. Get it right now, it’s cheap easy to install and might make you a lot of money: I’m using 8x8.com’s (NASD: EGHT) packet 8 internet phone adapter. All you have to do is plug it in between your high speed internet modem and your phone and sign up for their service. The phone works great 90-95% of the time, it sometimes gets a little bit static though. For $20 per month you get unlimited local and long distance calling within the US and incoming phone calls will even follow you if you plug in the adapter at a hotel room.
Wi-Fi is the greatest thing since sliced bread. You can connect to the internet anywhere in the house, on the couch, the patio and in your bedroom. It is super fast and several users can be online at the same time. Wi-Fi is unstoppable, routers are extremely cheap, easy to install and most laptops come with pre-installed modems. Bests of all, once you’ve invested those $50 for the router it’s free.
Calypso’s technology basically allows you do make VOIP phone calls through a Wi-Fi network. Additional benefits are the fast download speed which allows you to download bandwidth rich content including streaming video.

The following is a link to a good article about Wi-Fi phones:
http://www.forbes.com/2003/04/28/cx_ah_0428tentech.html

Still not convinced? Check out this article. It seems like the whole world is working on Wi-Fi switching phones:
http://telephonyonline.com/ar/telecom_seamless_mobility_ultimate/

Get the items above and you will be convinced.

The following are my answers to your concerns:
1. Revolutionary/breakthrough technology:
Many experts considered seamless switching from cell to Wi-Fi impossible. If you read the articles in the links above you will realize how many companies are working on this. CLYW made seamless switching possible and that's why it is legit to call it a breakthrough.
Another very important point is that most WAN including Wi-Max work best outdoors or in an unobstructed environment and have limitations in buildings. When I get calls on my Blackberry cell phone at home I have to step outside to get better reception. Where do you do most of your internet surfing? If the answer is indoors you'd be better served with a combined Wi-Fi/cell device than cell or Wi-Max only.

I personally would buy a device with Calypso’s technology in a heartbeat:
I’m a heavy Blackberry user. It’s always online, works as a cell phone and I use it for 80 % of my stock research including this message board, stock quotes and about 40 % of my email. The only disadvantage is that it’s painfully slow, the cell phone service is expensive and doesn’t work well indoors. A Calypso powered, Wi-Fi compatible Blackberry phone would solve all these problems. I also just signed up for T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi plan for $20 a month (for existing customers) for unlimited internet access within the US which would also cover all Wi-Fi phone calls made in within their hotspots.
Down the road you will be able to watch streaming video while at an airport, in a hotel lobby or at your local Starbucks. IMO Wi-Fi phones make more sense than camera cell phones, which are a big revenue generator for handset manufacturers. People see cell phone as status symbols these days and are willing to spend a lot of money just to be first. I think Calypso is ahead of the game in Wi-Fi switching phones and I’m not aware of any other company that has them or is as far advanced as Calypso. Correct me if I’m wrong and let me know of what companies you are aware of that are working on network switching Wi-Fi phones.

2. $500 Mio Deal with China Telecom:
I only saw articles in the media but never the original press release. So I can’t tell from what sources they got their information from but I admit that the articles are upbeat. However, the article I found of Nov. 29, 03 states that China Telecom PLANS a combined phone/WiFi mobile network with Calypso – I take “plan” as not signed yet.
http://www.newswireless.net/articles/031129-calypso.html
Calypso's stand is that the ball is in their court to supply China Telecom with 30-35 proto-type phones.
http://www.ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=CLYW&read=1219
I think someone here on this board gave a good explanation about the nature of the deal. I do believe that they might have signed something, especially since I learned from other sources that China Telecom is planning the roll out of a Wi-Fi network. We’ll know more in a few months.

3. Execution:
From my own experience of manufacturing technical products I know that shipments of new developments are always late. Honestly I would not be surprised if we’d see many more delays. But you brought up a valid point and that is one of the reservations I have too. I think making phones in their own factory in Nicaragua is a mistake. I’d rather see them using an experienced OEM manufacturer such as Flextronics or Solectron. I would not bet my house on the manufacturing part of their business.
That’s why I was very pleased to hear that they added licensing of their technology to their business model. Since they have working mock ups and soon prototypes they can offer licensees solutions and know how to get their products faster to market. This comes close to a Qualcomm style business model.

4. Multiple PRs:
There were differences in the PRs like they covered different industries and customer groups. But I agree, the primary goal of the repeated announcements was to boost the stock price. On the other hand I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this, at least they got their name out, boosted the stock price and will meet the listing requirements with AMEX. This will make it easier for them to attract well connected personalities from Wall Street or the telecom industry which I think is crucial for a fast and successful execution. It will also be easier to raise additional money in private placements and at least they will get more money for their shares.
You also want to be invested in a company that has good communication skills. What good does it do if a company does great things but doesn't talk about it?

5. Feedback at Trade Shows:
I wouldn’t be worried about his. I’m sure the meetings took place behind closed doors and the involved companies have a strong desire to keep their product developments secret. I’m sure we’ll see plenty coverage once media representative will be able to see and test actual phones.

IMO any suspicion of fraud is far fetched. It is very unlikely that someone would go through all this including obtaining a patent just to boost the stock price. Why would you? The patent and it’s underlying technology can be worth billions. If any of the PRs regarding the field tests would have been fabricated the involved companies such as China Telecom, Enitel or T-Mobile would have had publicly protested by now.

For me the patent and the potential business from licensing are Calypso’s biggest asset.
The patent is our safety net. It is awarded, has value and the failure of the Metrix report to do any damage made it only stronger.
I evaluate the value of the patent on what it would be worth for companies such as Cisco, Intel or even Microsoft. I’m comfortable with a market value of $1.4B ($155B industry (source WSJ), 10% of phones using the technology, 3% royalty, evaluation: 3 times of annual IP revenues).
IP licensing business: Calypso seems to be ahead of the industry in the development of seamless Wi-Fi network switching and they have a working mock up phone available and prototypes coming in. I see this as their biggest advantage to win OEM licensees for their technology. Their sales team seems to work hard, they do the right things to create relationships and I’m positive that we will see results soon.

I hope that helped.
What is your and everybody else’s take on the value of the patent?

q. e. d.