I just returned from the shareholders meeting. Jim C. and Chris were there and they will probably post also.
The big news was that NCII has signed a letter of intent to merge with Voice-It. I'll copy the release here in another note, unless someone beats me to it.
CEO Bob Root began the meeting by going over some of the past year's events. He explained that a year ago, the company was almost "dead" and in 1995, the company faced bankruptcy six times. The co. had no business plan, no marketing strategy, no organized sales force. It was a company that sold a "gadget" and the gadget didn't really work.
In the past year, the company has become a "new technology" company that is positioning itself into an OEM company. (That will be accomplished with the merger with Voice-It.) These are the companies that are now in negotiations with NCII regarding licensing the NCII operating system: Polaroid, Olympus, Kodak, Lanier, Philips, Grendig, and Psion. The strategic partners in the OEM business (so far - other talks are being held) are: Centennial, Microsoft CE, Intel, SanDisk, Thinstor and MSystems.
Computer City and CompUSA will sell the Mobile Planet, but the product is not in stores yet since NCII had to go through a distributor to sell in these stores. This has held things up.
(I should mention here that the auditorium we were in was dark, and we were watching a multi-media presentation, so it was VERY hard to see what I was writing.)
NCII is also working with Iomega on a new ZIP disk and conference microphone which would allow recording directly onto a hard drive. NCII is developing a device called FIREWIRE which holds an Iomega ZIP cartridge and allows you to record right onto the ZIP. This would give 100 MB of storage and allow for 33 HOURS of recording time. The ZIP disk, of course, is portable. They are also working with Iomega on a 2" square cartridge that would store 20 MB.
IN THE FUTURE:
The "next generation" product (after Flashback) was demoed. It's a little larger, but has much more functionality. Called teh PBP2000, it uses Compact Flash and record up to 6.6 hrs. on a compact flash chip. The Compact Flash chip lets you download to the computer without the use of a Flashback. The chip fits right into the VoiceLink. A separate base unit for the PBP2000 (Called Desk Mate) allows for recording (through the PBP2000) directly onto the hard drive.
A guest speaker was introduced. Gib Springer, CEO of ThinStor in San Jose, explained their new "World's Thinest Disk Drive". It's a 95MB disk drive which is slightly larger than a postage stamp and about 1/8" thick. (Cost - approx. $150) This disk drive will fit into the PBP2000.
They are looking at various markets for this technology: Auto GPS systems, flight recorders, digital cameras.
All-in-all, there was a lot to look forward to from what was presented. However, after the meeting, reactions were mixed. Some people said "it's the same old hype" while others were very impressed. I personally feel optimistic -- the main reason being that there is now one VERY BIG DIFFERENCE in the company now from what it used to be: There's very able leadership and a good business plan. If the company succeeds in becoming an OEM, they can concentrate on the development of products and not worry about distribution.
I'm sure others will have more to add here. This is about all I could write in the dark.
Betty |
