Here's the 2nd day review of the SF Telecom 2000 attended by RPRoberts as posted on SI: Thank You Mr. Roberts
CHINA TELECOM 2000 DAY 2
Fascinating day. I was in error, Tegic was there in the form of Dr.Pim Van Muers , Director of Computational Linguistics, from the Netherlands, with whom I had an extensive and friendly chat. The attendee list wasn't available yesterday, hence my error. He did talk with Zi, I wasn't there.
In a nutshell, Tegic hasn't touched the set top market where the real opportunity lies, nor have they an interest in computer input.They are focused on phones.
After my talks with Dr Van Muers and Dr. O'Dell, my not so humble opinion is that the patent infringement is a non issue which is on the back burner for both companies.The dissmissal was clearly a screw up by the lawyers who missed a deadline (this is my opinion, unconfirmed , of course) The appeal is going forward and no one appears to be in a hurry. SO SHORTS, GIVE IT A REST !!!!
Indeed, at this time it would burn up time and money which neither company wants to spend. They both have better things to do , Tegic, of course, will IPO, who knows when.
Zi has rightly focused on the Chinese market with phones and settop boxes, and the JV with the MOE and the deals with MII and most recently the Labor Department with whom Bejing Oz has a good relationship (I was astonished at how good, sorry , can't elaborate )
Tegic has focused on other , non ideographic languages only on phones, and we all remember the glowing review Tegic received on their english version. (LOL)
The market will decide.
The O'Dell patent is VERY broad and predates Tegic's.
(granted on my Birthday no less !!! cue the twilight zone music)
Dr. O'Dell is working on some very exciting projects and is a personal delight to talk with.
China.com cancelled. Get this, they are too cheap to pay for conferences !!
The jerk from ING Bering who was sceduled to give a presentation on where to invest in the internet boom in China was a no show, no call, no paper, NOTHING, his office didn't even return calls, people were pissed and the conference organizers were terribly embarrased.
I am furious cause that's the main reason I paid my $1500.
Also the 5 Vs 8 stroke is a non issue for Zi because the underlying architecture allows for an Ez user switch between the two. Listen to the recent CC for further details. I also thought that a 5 stroke would be inherently better than an 8 stroke, not so ! ( I had to laugh, Dr. Van Muers response when I asked him the difference between the 5 and 8 stroke inputs he said 3 ) we had a good laugh.
The unscheduled Enreach (set top OS) presentation was an eye opener.
One of the first slides referenced the inherent obstacles for massive Chinese internet use: Language, keyboards and cost. Enreach said they designed their system to be point and click as much as possible. I asked what they used for input for email. He said PinYin,
I asked if this was a major problem for the vast majority of the population that didn't know Pin Yin. He said yes,
then, get this, he said they were looking for strategic partners. Needless to say , he and Frank were huddled in a corner for a long time.
One of the largest growing group of internet users worldwide is Grandmothers emailing their kids and grandkids with pictures.
The Chinese culture is based on the 3 Fs, Food, Family and Face. Grandma won't learn Pinyin, What better application for ZI !!!!!! Who else, besides ZI is addressing this ? Yup NO ONE!!!!!
Too tired to post more, suffice it to say that Zi's future is very bright because they are addressing an inherent need, confirmed by every thing I learned at the conference.
The shorts may have their day after Q3 earnings, I have plenty of cash to add to my substantial position.
Lobsinger said profitability is just around the corner.After 2 days of intense information from the best minds available, I have no doubt that this will happen and I would not be surprised to see Zi above 50 2nd half 2000.
Frank is on his way to Bejing, BIG board meeting !! There was no time to make his presentation BUT, get this, the conference organizers will post it on their website and make it available to all conference attendees.
THANKS AGAIN TO BEAR FOR MAKING US AWARE OF THIS CONFERENCE WHICH
WAS IMMENSELY SUCCESSFUL FOR ZI, AND PERSONALLY REWARDING FOR ME.
GOOD WORK.
GO ZICA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
