Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (16659)	1/28/2000 8:50:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Thanks, Frank! I saved that piece about the Mexican for the next time anyone asks why I'm retiring. It's good to know that the Mexican gets it. -Mike

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (16659)	1/28/2000 9:28:00 AM
From: JohnG	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 54805

QCOM Strategic Purchase I think the members of this thread should be sophisticated enough to understand the significance of the QCOM strategic purchase of Snap Track. First, why would QCOM spend $1 billion to buy a little privately held 60 employee GPS company called Snap Track (http://www.snaptrack.com/)up in San Jose. That is $16.66 million per employee and we know that even the best of engineers con't cost that much. Perhaps then it is the patented intellectual property. I am reminded of a quote from a famous bank robber of old who, when asked why he robbed banks, said simply that that was where the money was. Snap Track offfers QCOM the ability to offer cell phone opperators the opportunity to sell mobile location specific (possibly interactive advertising) for the first time in human history. Free TV is now the greatest advertising medium on earth. Everything we watch on TV is paid for by advertisers trying to sell their products. A little company called Gemstar has us all excited because they will be able to sell advertising over their programming guide. Snap track now provides their last generation GPS to no other than NTT DO Co MO in Japan. As you know, DoCoMo represents a pressure point for CDMA development. DDI and two other cellular companies in Japan owned mainly by KYO (who just bought the QCOM cell phone mfg facility) and Toyota (a deep pocket company for sure) are using QCOM's CDMA and have a latest generation CDMA network. Their rival vows to use W-CDMA provided by NEC and including some NTT intellectual property. But now, NTT will have to deal with QCOM's suite if CDMA intellectual property which just happens to include all future versions of Snap Track intellectual property. Also, the FCC has mandated that all cell phones sold after a certain date will have GPS capability so 911 calls can be tracked down (and possibly so the privacy of drug dealers can be invaded. So, what is so special about Snap Track GPS. Those of us who have used GPS know it is line of sight. It doesn't work inside glass and steel buildings because of signal attinuation or in city concrete canyons because of attinuatuon and reflection. Well, it turns out that Snap Track's patented CDMA does work in these extreme situations because it operates well despite signal attinuation and reflections. So QCOM just bought the only patented, proven GPS that works well where the money is--ie where the people are--ie in cities and inside large buildings. Advertising rates are expressed in terms of dollars per hunderd contacted. If advertising can be targeted to contacts that are more likely to use the product being advertised, then the rates are quite high. If only a small fraction of the contacts are potential customers, then rates are low. With QCOM's GPS technology, we have the possibility for the first time ever to target mobile people (the ones litely to spend some money) by location and by whatever phone number related data base operators are able to accumulate. Thus scuba divers might be reminded of the sale at the 51st street scuba shop when they are in the area. Local restaurant info can be made available to cell phone users in the area. Local map info can be made available to cell phone users in the area. This is very specific and customer useful advertising. As such it should command the highest advertising rates. Now we see how cell phone operators can make a fortune selling advertising while they continue to sell calling minutes. All this takes 2.5 or 3G internet data channels and QCOM patented technology. Too bad NTT Do Co Mo and flat footed AT&T don't have it. But thay do have lots of money to go with their dinasaur characteristics. They will have two choices: 1) deal with QCOM 2) don't make much money and don't provide user specific free internet info wanted by their customers. Perish for lack of vision in a fast changing world. How about free phones with limited free minutes paid for by advertisers and given avay to select customers. Move over Gemstar. Here comes QCOM. And what about MOT, NOK and ERICY. Can they survive without this patented QCOM technolgy. They need to come to mother QCOM to buy their HDR internet user specific advertising enabled ASICS. Come to mother!! Bring cash. And then you will be able to build the phones that cellular operators demand--the ones that have a litttle logo that says "Qualcom inside." Thus we have "demand pull" QCOM ASIC sales dictated by the operators--ie the customers MOT, NOK and ERICY hope to sell phones to. Now Alex Ceina of SSB can do a 180 after all of Voltaire's "Houses" have a chance to load up on cheap QCOM stock sold by uninformed investors scared shitless by the recent decline in the QCOM stock price. My question is, how many of those so called analysts that attended the QCOM conference call have been smart enough th figure out that I Jacobs was doing their employers a big for when he mentioned that QCOM earnings would be seasonably flat in Q2. Their employers now have a chance to load up on cheap QCOM stock and sell it off later. JohnG