SPECIAL REPORT #2: Analysis of the CORE & Press Release for Patent.
Why IMO the XYBR's CORE concept is flawed and a market blunder:
What was announced first.....evaluation below.
Xybernaut(R) Patent Solves Challenge of Mobile Device Convergence; 'Transferable Core' Solves Need For Separate PDAs, Desktop PCs, Laptops, Cell Phones FAIRFAX, Va., Mar 1, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Xybernaut Corporation (Nasdaq: XYBR), the leader in wearable computing solutions with numerous Fortune 500 customers, said it has been issued a U.S. patent (#6,029,183) for a "transferable core," which the company believes will radically change mobile computing.
The "transferable core" which will be smaller than a PDA, contains the "brains" of a PC -- processor, memory and storage and I/O circuitry -- everything but the power supply and display. When plugged into what the company calls an enclosure, which can be anything from a desktop, laptop, to a cell phone, to the dashboard of a car, the core unit becomes a true personal computer.
This breakthrough in mobile convergence will allow users to easily insert and remove the "brains" of their computing or communications device from one device to another -- including memory, processor, operating system and applications.
The "transferable core" means that business users and consumers will not need separate devices, such as PDAs, desktop PCs, laptops, cell phones, and pagers. They can have access to the information they need independent of these devices anywhere they go -- from their car, home, business, etc.
"Mobile convergence has been a hot buzzword in recent months, but this is the first time anyone has developed a way to bring everything together in one package," noted Edward G. Newman, president and CEO of Xybernaut.
"It has taken us over four years to develop and obtain the three key U.S. patents for our core computer technology. Corresponding patent applications have been filed in 26 countries around the world," stated Newman. "These patents and others will dramatically expand Xybernaut's markets because our technology will allow computer and communications companies to converge all mobile computing functions into one device."
By separating the computing functions from the input and output functions, core computing allows manufacturers to mass-produce standard cores at a low cost. The enclosures can be tailored to the environment or application needs. There will also be longer product life since the input/output devices are separate.
Analysis
1. The headline is a complete mystery, there is no explanation to why you will not need these separate devices. The core transfers between devices but does not replace the form factor....in fact the release calls the form factor "enclosures", there is no explanation of what the delta would be between an enclosure and a device.
2. The patent is for a device, (which in a separate interviews) is for a device that has no working prototype. Therefore the proposed radical change to the mobile computing industry is mere a concept of what a concept could do. This concept has no one other than XYBR speaking to it, or talking of any industry adoption.
The PR quotes no industry papers acknowledging the concept has any traction within the industry as a hole. Xybernaut a company with 3.4 Millions dollars of sales can not transform an entire industry even if they are earnest with their beliefs and designs.
An analogy: If I were to claim to have a new patent on a replaceable ink canister for pens, that has incredible benefits, I first would have to convince the manufacturers to use it, before I could have any sales. Or make my own and compete against them. I would also have to fly in the face of industry trend of disposable pens.
So far, the inventors have not built even a prototype. Message 13238148
3. The premise of easily inserting the "core" from device to device is built around the premise of adoption of the Core Standard by builders of these devices. That is a major hurdle which to date shows no signs of adoption.
4. The PR says that users can have access to information without the need for devices or need of separate devices. This is completely unexplained. What are enclosures if not separate devices?? Above they say that a enclosure is device is a cellphone etc.
This is very misleading. There appears to be no reduction in devices at all, only that the core of memory and CPU etc are modular and detachable form the device (ie enclosure)
5. The Patent has taken over 4 years to gather, however there are no tandem announcements of partners, Manufacturers or whatever. According to the New Times a prototype does not exist.
6. The company states that Manufacturers (plural) can produce cheap cores, again no means of manufacturing are offered, nor does the theorized cost saves seen any fact finding done through mockups or prototypes.
7. The PR speculates on longer life cycles of products because the input/output devices are separate. This implies that life cycles of portable exist because of wear and tear of of the I/O systems. Perhaps there is something else they are attempting to covey with this assertion.
Nevertheless, the drive for new devices and fast product life cycles is not because of the I/O or the CPU or Memory. It is driven by new functionality...these new functionalities such as WWW content or whatever often drive a new product sales. Manufactures also must often place into the product specialized chips, such as MP3 compression or other type.
The core would slow the development cycle by forcing a number of different factors upon the engineer staffs of the Manufactures.
a. The CORE forces a form factor, and standard coupling system. That form factor may not fulfill major design criteria, such as ergonomics for Cell phone shapes, or PDAs.
b. The CORE will require engineers to use a specific CPU interface, or require them to have a CPU instead of utilizing the CORE. So if a wireless Satellite standard for cell phones is adopted surrounded the StrongArm CPUs or DragonBall CPUs, a CORE enabled device would be forced either to break the standard or use the CPU.
I read the basic Premise of the Core as: portable personal data interchange able between devices.
This functionality is better served IMO by a portable non-volatile memory unit standard utilized by many many manufacturers.
Is that standard here now? No. But one company is getting very close. Sony's Flash Memory stick is now being adopted by over 64 different Manufactures of a wide diversity of mobile products, with more signing on.
The memory stick will be able to transfer data between device to device, and in the cases of interchange between devices, it will allow a common storage method that will easily allow software programmers to write efficient Data exchange utilities.
To sum it all up:
The CORE concept which has been patented by XYBR is a questionable concept that depends on multiple manufacturers to adopt to be of use. To date no PRs of any Manufacturers have adopted this prototype-less concept.
The HUGE Sony corporation is well on its way to having a new industry standard built around its Memory Stick (latest Sony PR is from two days ago on it). If Sony moves a head with the Memory Stick, as they clearly seem to be, that new standard will be made in principle and practice within the Next year. Once this is done, I think the concept of the core will no longer have a marketplace for which to test its idea.
That is my analysis.
For those of you wanting more than this "available on Silicon Investor" content, you are encouraged to seek it out.
Wolff |
