New York Times & the Phantom Lapboard.
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This entry was posted on March 12, 2009 at 1:19 am and is filed under Message from the CEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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March 12, 2009 at 1:51 am
the first of many. congrats again phantom!
March 12, 2009 at 2:05 am
stock should be up in a couple of hours, too bad i didint buy more yet.
March 12, 2009 at 7:08 am
Nice article. I’m a long time investor and this is exactly the type of media exposure that will get this ship sailing…finally!!
March 12, 2009 at 7:19 am
Niiiiice. Now see guys, this keyboard goes way beyond just gaming. Think casual and business usage. Think 3D modelling, 2D paint programs, visual database design, collaboration on the same computer (one person at the computer, one person on the lapboard). There are ALL SORTS of uses for this keyboard, so it’s not just the gaming market that will be interested đ
I’ve been using the keyboard (one I was able to get from the previous run) occasionally at work on my machine and in a few meetings, and aside from the initial mouse issues (which should be gone with the new units), it’s perfectly suited for all sorts of business apps.
Just hang in there people, this is fantastic product. Give the team the credit and the time they need to get this ball rolling.
March 12, 2009 at 11:50 am
Now this REALY gets me excited !!! Especially where it said the Lapboard will be in stores this Spring !!! I just hope this shipment sells out very quickly, and a very large order can then be placed, and then the DREAM will come true—it will be sold at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sears, ect. !!!
Gooooooooooo Phantom
March 16, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hey Pheadbaq – Thank you for that vote of confidence. It is good to hear from someone more personally involved in the company who has tried the product and gives their thumbs up. I didn’t know what to think because of the mixed reviews. I don’t know – I just have this funny feeling that won’t die that if we hang in their patiently and don’t sell out too quickly after the initial jutt when the product is released, with time I think we all stand to make a pretty penny. It is hard to be patient with no news, but I understand their silence and so I sit quietly in anticipation…..
March 16, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Heh heh, I hear ya Ted. I’ve been waiting for a looooooong time, since E3 2004, the gameinformer interviews got me hooked!:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=52F8CEE919404371
It’s been a serious roller coaster, not knowing what was really going on and not having a product to click on or put your hands on. When I was able to actually buy the keyboard, that was a big confidence booster. Oh and not only did I buy the keyboard, but I had to go through sending it back and have another one sent to me, as something was wrong with some keys, there was of course the mouse issue. Every product has its problems, but at least they’re catching the issues early with small production runs (that’s actually a very fortunate way for it to have happened) and taking appropriate actions! These guys are essentially working for free, and I can’t see how they’d make money off the stock right now. Even with volume in the millions it doesn’t amount to much divided between them at current and previous stock prices, so the whole scam angle doesn’t really work anymore.
Other companies are producing some solutions with very novel keyboard/pointing device layouts, but Phantom I think has the simplest, most familiar setup (everyone is used to a full-sized or laptop-sized keyboard and the mouse), and I think average Joe home theater user, and average Joe gamer are really going to latch on to that. I’m just a stockholder with no inside info, but as far as I can tell this is THE best time to be along for the ride. The economy should be recovering within a year or so, and the home theater market is primed for this device.
…And that’s not including any revenue cut Phantom gets from the new GameStreamer and StreamServ companies. If GameStreamer can make good on their streaming games solution, and StreamServ can start virtualizing more mainstream apps that can be streamed over the net, they’ll have some serious prospects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_streaming
Hang in there!
March 18, 2009 at 1:45 pm
congrats on the hard work!
March 20, 2009 at 9:46 am
hmmm, heavy volume on the stock for the last couple of days.
March 20, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Jim, Do you have plans to put a fresh face on the website? Maybe when the Lapboard goes on sale.
March 20, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Absolutely!
March 20, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Jim
any dates on when in the spring the lapboard will go on sale? and where?
March 24, 2009 at 9:01 am
Re: NYT article
This is a great way to build mind-share and value for the stockholder
Management must find a way to engage the media to get message out
More must be done in this area.
Re: econony: If the Treasury Departrment takes the toxic loans of the books as promised, economic recovery – or at least stability – can be expected within 12 to 36 months.
Phantom management must follow up the launch of the keyboard with
its streaming game service asap. You know, with a bit of luck and some hard work, and a better economy ahead, Phantom will gain some economc and financial traction. I would say the stock price would break
the 1 dollar range and move to about 5 dollars very quickly.
Naturally further gains will depend on managements ability to press ahead with streaminig game services and continued delivery of an enhanced version (if that is possible) of the lap-board to a broader group of market participants.
I suggest that management consider marketing the lapboard directly to schools around the country. Obama, is going to make money
avaliable for new programs and advanced technology. This my be accomplished quickly by partnering with educational technology wholesalers that alraedy have a footprint in the educatrion market.
Also, considering ergonomics, a lap-board like this may have applications aboard the space-shuttle or the space station. The military may have use for this technology aboard its submarine fleet. Send a lapboard to NASA and the Pentagon let them play with it. See what they say.
Tapping into these market would be transformational.
Cheers!
Jim
March 24, 2009 at 11:57 am
I was kinda bummed about an article I read this morning…
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2009-03-24-onlive_N.htm?csp=usat.me
To be honest I was considering a new investment in PHEI, but this has me considering that Triumph bike I’ve been looking at. Still into keeping it positive, but I want to do what I can to help everyone stay informed on the competitive angles. I’d give my right arm for an update right about now, I don’t care if it’s about which direction the wind is blowing at Phantom HQ.
March 24, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Anybody had a look at the forthcoming OnLive gaming service?
http://www.pcworld.com/article/161852/onlive_will_it_beat_xbox_360_ps3_and_wii_at_their_own_game.html
March 25, 2009 at 4:23 am
I too have been invested in Phantom when it was infinium labs, around October 2004. I was excited to see a new type of console for us PC gamers. That has come and gone and now my question is. Where do we stand as long and short term investors with the gaming service. I can no longer find any links or mention of Phantom at hht://www.Gamestreamer.net or http://www.streamserv.com/. How and will this affect our investments.
Thank you in advance for any info.
March 25, 2009 at 8:16 am
Sorry Folks
facts are facts
more interesting news
http://www.pcworld.com/article/161930/gdc_09_6_reasons_onlive_could_be_a_bust.html
March 25, 2009 at 1:08 pm
What is “Onlive Gaming Service”? Does anyone know? I just saw them on an expose’ on CNBC advertising a wireless online game system that is supposed to work with any broadband connection. From what was said, thier system is supposed to go online in December. Does anyone know if this is somehow related to PGS, a new competitor, or something completely different?
March 25, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Hey there, Did you see the “OnLive” on yahoo today? Gaming through the tv, with just a controller and small box….
March 26, 2009 at 9:30 am
Ok, a little perspective on this OnLive thing. I’ve been playing games since I was 8, which initially sparked my interest in programming and computers, with the end goal of doing game programming (sadly, I’m not there yet). I’m no guru, but I know a little about gaming/latency/programming issues. The OnLive concept is nothing new, although it would have a certain niche market I think.
The service is, from what I can tell, frame-buffer based. They do the computations on a server, take a picture of each frame of the rendered game screen, send it over the internet to you, you respond to what you’re seeing with a controller button activation, they send that signal back to the server at the same time that the server is still rendering/sending frame(s) to you, lather, rinse, repeat. This is already being done with standard applications (take a look at the Citrix platform), and works…. okay… since latency (lag) isn’t really a big deal for a standard app. But for a game, it’s not as simple as “You tap “Start Crysis” and presto, you’re playing the every-bit-as-sweet-looking version as your online compadres.” I’m sorry, but that guy picked the wrong game as an example of what would work with that service. There’s no way you’ll find hardcore gaming masses playing THAT game (or anything like it) on THAT service. You may play it in high-res, but resolution isn’t the real issue, it’s latency.
I think THE problem is the time it takes for a signal to traverse the internet, and if you read the comments on the GDC article, many people are saying the same thing. It takes far less time for your home PC to respond to your controller inputs, and do the requisite computations than it would take an internet based frame-buffer service, simply because of the shorter physical distance.
There’s a saying I learned in my college network programming classes, “the speed of light is the speed of light.” There’s no medium currently that we can transmit data across that can convey information fast enough to make remote gaming as responsive as on-site gaming. The physics simply aren’t there for it, unless we find some phenomenal new element or material, or inter dimensional portal (maybe in 100 years, lol… anyone watch The Elegant Universe?) that we can transmit electronic signals over. The technology doesn’t exist to do it, period.
That being said, because they can still make the game look good, and because they can keep lag down to a “good enough” level, some games would certainly be playable over it, and a certain segment of the population I think would find it fast enough for those games, but nothing that uses fast timing-based gameplay elements. Twitch-shooters in the same vein as quake are definitely out, but it’s possible that something like, I dunno, a turn-based RPG could work, along with all sorts of casual stuff that’s not timing intensive.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to mention that I don’t think the idea of the phantom console should be dead for the same reason that this OnLive thing could have some popularity. Leave the console on the far back-burner maybe, but don’t kill it altogether, and don’t let it sit there for too long. There’s a market for people who don’t give a rip about hardcore gaming and who don’t want to bother with PC issues, who just want to plug it in and have a service that just works and lets them play casual or older stuff. Make the hardware of sufficient quality, yet simple enough and inexpensive enough, with the key factor being to make it inexpensively, and I don’t see how it couldn’t make money. Ok, I’ve got my plastic sheet ready to defend against tomatoes…
March 26, 2009 at 9:53 am
onlive sounds awesome but we arent doing the phantom game service, this is a lapboard, we all been waiting for years so we can go any lower i guess so hopefully we hear something soon. anyone know the stock symbol for onlive? might as well look into that too…
March 26, 2009 at 10:00 am
Have to give a little more credit to the author of the GDC article. Like an idiot, I wrote that paragraph in regards to his Crysis comment before having read his entire response to the OnLive service. I really have to stop doing that
March 26, 2009 at 3:34 pm
It would be nice to get ppl using the lapboard with the onLive if they get up and running. But I really am quite pessimistic that they will go big. It is impressive what they are doing though. It is the future.
March 26, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Better look at the blog – we have competition already out.
As noted years ago – first to market, even at 80% with no patents, reaps the rewards. Learned long ago in the product development/patent business that if youâre working an idea, there are 6 others doing so at same time. Canât delay, canât wait âtil 100% (but need to be have basic nfunctionality and be scalable, expandable for the future). Thatâs one reason we quit buying anything from China years ago, even if initial cost appeared to be cheaper – the wasted time, errors, slow change-making, even theft of ideas have ruined many a good project. Like real estate âlocation theoryâ, new product theory is timing, timing, timing. Hope PHEI/PGS can hit quick, loud, hard, and provide quick response and service to customers – otherwise the years waiting from IFLB âtil now will have been for naught. Not too late today, but sure is getting close. Since now behind the power curve, need to do a good competition analysis and then ensure our sales and marketing plan emphasizes how our system (from web site to products to service) out-performs the competition. Got a âFinal Foiurâ game ?? Letâs roll, PHEI/PGS.
March 27, 2009 at 5:47 am
More reasons why OnLive is unlikely to work:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/gdc-why-onlive-cant-possibly-work-article
March 27, 2009 at 2:36 pm
pheadbaq-
Great point about the latency. I think for most hardcore gamers that will be a deal killer if they can’t get that to work right. Let’s not also forget that if you cancel your subscription, you’ve got no games. At least with Phantom giving you the option to purchase + download, you’ve got something to play sitting on your hard drive whenever you want it.
March 27, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Thanks guys—a lot of good input from some SMART people !!!
April 1, 2009 at 3:40 pm
OnLive can’t work? Check again – see iHub #2428 – OnLive aftre several years claims to now have lag-fre … . But, this ccould/should be another opportunity for PHEI (e.g. some mutually beneficial relationship TBD ???). Dorr is “open” (pun) again
April 3, 2009 at 2:23 am
Patents pending: How do the 4 patents pending affect PHEI ingeneral and shareholders in nparticular? Have these 4 patent been assigned to,PHEI, or ???
Patent (pending) applications are:
2006/0007131 A1 filed 6 May 05, published 12 Jan 06
2006/0007159 A1 filed 6 May 05, published 12 Jan 06
2006/0069796 A1 filed 29 Sep 04, published 30 Mar 06
2006/0017698 A1 filed 6 May 05, published 26 Jul 06
April 3, 2009 at 2:37 am
Cleaned up my previous blog – hope this is good news especially since the lapboard received the design award:
Patents: Asked question before but no answer, so here’s a more specfic question that shareholders deserve to need to know about:
There are 4 patent(pending)applications filed under individuals but assigned to Infinium Labs with the USPTO that relate specifically to the lapboard:
Patent (pending) applications are:
2006/0007131 A1 filed 6 May 05, published 12 Jan 06
2006/0007159 A1 filed 6 May 05, published 12 Jan 06
2006/0069796 A1 filed 29 Sep 04, published 30 Mar 06
2006/0017698 A1 filed 6 May 05, published 26 Jul 06
How do the 4 patents pending affect PHEI in general and shareholders in particular? Have these 4 patents that were assignd to Infinium now been transferred to PHEI?
The latest design does make significant changes/improvements (e.g., wireless, laser), but much of the board ergonomics and functionality
April 7, 2009 at 11:40 am
Ok, let me rephrase. I shouldn’t have said that it’s unlikely to work, because I think it will to a certain degree. Don’t think I’m underestimating OnLive either here, but I think they’re taking some liberties with the whole way they define lag (perceptive vs technical definitions). My guess is they’re banking on being able to serve up titles that wouldn’t be affected much by timing (LEGO Batman, etc), and several years down the road, the US will finally have the fiber infrastructure to close the lag gap even more.
Keep in mind, there are a ton of games that could work, but stuff like Crysis, I remain unconvinced. I watched a video of their press conference, Crysis didn’t seem to do so well, since in the game they were, what, 2 feet apart? And the Eidos guy wiggled the mouse around a bit… Ok, great. So you can see the result of you wiggling the mouse around in 60fps over the net, but what’s the round-trip delay from the time of your input to the time that the corresponding frame gets to the microconsole? And how will that be under true internet traffic conditions that average Joe experiences on a daily basis?
Also, they’re not explaining their new “psychophysics” buzz word. Since they’re connecting it with “psycho,” I would bet this simply means that people can get used to a certain delay, and the brain just goes with it. Some multiplayer FPS games are already like this. You play Halo on Xbox over the net and you can tell when connecting from a certain physical distance that your inputs are delayed, and the response on screen doesn’t happen as quickly. But as long as the game itself moves smoothly (as opposed to responding quickly), you can go with it, to a certain point.
Bottom line for me, there will be lag, period. Question. Will people notice it enough to care? What types of games will people readily be able to play? If it ends up being low-requirement games, there’s a chance OnLive could be threatened by another company (ahemcoughPhantomcoughahem) releasing a low-cost game-streaming console that can play the same types of games that OnLive can. That’s why I keep harping on at least a low-cost version of the phantom console. If you want to really get into people’s living rooms and get a slice of gaming, you’re gonna need a box. The lapboard I think is going to be a smash hit, what’s the next step after that? đ đ But this is just me blather and looking ahead.
April 12, 2009 at 11:39 am
happy easter everyone!
April 14, 2009 at 10:31 am
In previous posts I have discussed the economy and its potential negative impact on Phantom. Well, it appears that Obama, the Federal Reserve as well as our trading partners seem to be getting the global economy moving in the right direction.
I believe Phantom – based on publically avaliable information – now has a window of opportunity of about 12 months to solve its business problems and become a viable company. Naturally, additional information from management re: progress along important business metrics is an important step in building positive shareholder relations
I understand the importance of not building investor expectations that are not supported by operational facts; Important legal ssues are involved.
However, one can be overcautious to such an extent that current and potential shareholders will begin to correctly wonder if Phantom is making
any real or sustainable progress.
For what its worth
Jim