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Product
Proposal
The following sections explore the various
opportunities offered by this patented product.
A set of questions are also answered in each
section.
Product:
PDI™ (PhoneDirect Immediate™)
Summary:
A wire-line, “smart” telephone with embedded
multimedia Yellow Pages, which becomes a person’s
electronic anchor in a home and office for exploding
communications and Internet based services.
In 2004, the USA Yellow Pages generated over $14
Billion in advertising revenue
1
and Directory Assistance (i.e. 411) generated nearly
$4 Billion
2.
Related Documents:
US Patent 5,484,586 (Assigments)
http://www.ceberg.com/patents/pdi
What is the
market niche of this product?
The proposal’s business area is PCCI™ - the
Personal Consumer Communications Industry.
Communities have undergone major changes whenever
new and more capable communications technologies
have been placed in the hands of people.
The proposed product PDI™ merges the desktop PC with
the most popular and ubiquitous communications
device – the telephone. A "killer application" is
embedded in PDI™, i.e. multimedia Yellow Pages.
What is
the problem / challenge being addressed?
PDI™ provides integrated framework solutions to two
fundamental missing links in today’s PCCI™: easily
locating timely goods and services in various
communities; and using a PCCI™ device that is
always-on and available, simple to use, simple to
maintain and safe from today’s
rampant malware.
What are
some of the current approaches to this problem?
Today the primary computer based PCCI™ devices are
PCs dominated by Microsoft operating systems (OSes),
with Apple and Linux PCs bringing up a distant rear.
Microsoft PCs are plagued by malware, which
exploit the complexity and continuing
vulnerabilities in Microsoft OSes. Furthermore,
Microsoft OSes simply do too much for the average
consumer, i.e. more than is needed in PCCI
3.
Another growing computer based PCCI™ device is the
Web-enabled cell phone. These phones are limited to
short-burst use, because of their ergonomics. Their
screens are too small and their keyboards are slow
and clumsy because of their small size and
awkwardness to use. Furthermore, embedded multimedia
Yellow Pages are currently not offered in cell
phones.
Why is this
problem worth solving or worth solving better?
People are always looking for simpler and
more reliable ways to communicate with each other.
Today’s PCs are plagued by malware, which has
lead to an explosion of identity theft and fraud.
This in turn has put off almost half of the online
community from doing any confidential transactions
on the Internet. PDI™ will have a secure OS from the
get-go. Furthermore, it resolves two fundamental
missing links in today’s personal communications.
·
- PhoneDirect™ - Embedded Multimedia
Yellow Pages:
This software service provides local, dynamic
electronic Yellow Pages that are embedded
directly into a wire-line phone. A patent has
been granted for this service, which is at the
heart of PCCI™. The directory is the network;
- PhoneDirect Immediate (PDI™):
A PCCI™ electronic device (i.e. hardware and
software) that meets the primary need of its
target market: always-on, simple and reliable
connection to the Internet and simple and
reliable communication, including multimedia
electronic Yellow Pages (PhoneDirect™), email,
web browsing and instant messaging – The
personal communicator.
How will this product
be better than previous approaches?
PDI™ is a
patented product. Let us first consider the
killer app of multimedia Yellow Pages. Today’s
provisioning of the Yellow Pages (YP) is primarily
by print, with a growing online web site market.
The primary problems with print media are the
following:
· The directories are outdated even before they come
off the printing press.
- Large printing infrastructure and
distribution costs.
- Inflexibility, i.e. cannot tailor it for
personal use based on either needs, or
shopping seasons and holidays.
- Limited market area coverage because of
physical directory size limitations, i.e.
usually limited to cover a single county
area.
- The print YP in a home, or business is
rarely found in the room when a person needs
the Yellow Pages, and all too often it is
from a year or two ago.
- Recycling of old directories is
difficult for end users and county
authorities.
The problems with the online web Yellow Pages
(YP) include the following:
· User needs to be connected to the Internet to
use the directories.
- Current online directories have limited
audience for multimedia advertising because
of end-user bandwidth requirements.
- No personalization currently available for
users.
- Internet connected PCs in a home are rarely
found in a room when a person needs the Yellow
Pages.
·Furthermore, in both of the print and the web site
solutions, the features are monolithic, i.e. other
PCCI services such as email; voice telephony,
calendaring, etc. are not available. PDI is one stop
shopping for all personal communications, including
email, web browsing, telephony, the Yellow Pages,
Instant Messaging, Chat, etc.
What is the goal of
this product?
The primary goal is to offer an always-on, simple,
secure and more reliable electronic counter-top
device to communicate with others, in voice and
digital online media.
Other goals include the opportunity to:
- Expand the product's brand and expertise in
connecting people instantly with information
that they want and need.
- Expand the company's market by partnering
with highly experienced companies in local
markets – for example, the local telephone
operating companies.
- Place a company controlled communications
device on every counter-top, which can be used
to launch new services in PCCI™.
What are
the defining features and benefits of this product?
To embed the Yellow Pages into a phone, a new type
of phone is needed, i.e. one in which a "lite" PC
has been integrated into the phone - screen,
keyboard, disk drive, modem, processor, etc.
Standard computer interfaces will also be available
to connect PC peripherals such as off-the-shelf PC
LCD screens, keyboards, printers, etc. The projected
retail cost of this phone will initially be less
than $200 (and decreasing in cost every year).
The advantages to embedding the Yellow Page (YP)
listings electronically and directly into a phone
are as follows:
- Timely updating of listings (add, delete,
modify, suspend), e.g. monthly, weekly,
Holidays, etc. = increased revenues.
- Expansion of offerings' timeliness based on
current events, e.g. Super Bowl pizza delivery
ad's, etc.
- Expansion of YP advertising media types,
e.g. including video (TV ad's), audio (radio
ad's), text and pictures (paper YP) = increased
revenues.
- Easy language translation of YP keywords,
e.g. for use in hotels and immigrant
communities.
- Dynamic listing prioritization based on
fees, e.g. "Z'" could easily come before "AA".
- Targeted pop-up ad's, in addition to YP
listings that assist the user to make a decision
- similar in concept to ad's stuck onto the
front of a number of published YP books, but
more targeted.
- Integrated, timely, directory merchant
listing coupons.
- Easy aggregation of listings into
categories, e.g. creating categories such as
"Moving House", "Children's Entertainment",
“Buying a PC”, “Family Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza
shopping”, etc.
- Updates via the Internet, i.e. minimal
distribution costs = reduced costs.
- YP users (consumers + businesses) need an
ISP - opportunity for selling Internet Services.
- Embedded multi-media YP is independent of
ISP connection speed, i.e. is as responsive for
a narrowband connection as it is equally for
broadband ISP connection.
- Instant YP availability, i.e. always-on,
and use is independent of the phone-line and ISP
connection, i.e. no connection is needed to look
up info, even info that has video ads. Because
PDI is always on, the YP is always available.
- Small footprint for the user - one stop
shopping, i.e. the YP is always co-located with
a phone and the Internet.
- Brand recognition in connecting people with
information that they want and need -
instantaneously.
Other integrated features of PDI™ will include,
straight out of the box:
- A personal address book
- Email software
- Calendar software
- Task list software
- Web browser
- Instant messaging
- Fax capabilities
- Voicemail integration, e.g. multiple,
individual voicemail boxes for a family
- Call management
- VoIP easily integrated at any stage
- Integrated Internet Search capabilities
- PC and cell phone network connectivity /
synchronization
- Secure computer-based operating system to
reduce malware
- A controlled platform for new offerings
- Word processing, spreadsheet and
presentation software
- Phone call doodling games
What are the
revenue opportunities for this product?
The revenue opportunities for embedding the Yellow
Pages (YP) directly into a phone are considerable.
In 2004, the USA Yellow Pages generated over $14
Billion in advertising revenue
1
and more than $26 Billion in the 27 leading global
markets
1
(3.5% growth over 2003). Directory Assistance (i.e.
411) generated nearly $4 Billion
2.
Consider today's YP print listing rates. The
monthly rates that one, multi-state local phone
company charges its Yellow Pages' customers are as
follows:
|
Monthly Cost |
YP Listing
Space |
| $ 16.00 |
Regular listing |
| $ 10.50 |
Extra line |
| $ 35.00 |
One line listing in
bold |
| $ 110.00 |
One inch space |
| $1,346.00 |
Half page |
| $2,473.00 |
Full page |
The Yellow Pages are primarily sold to small and
medium business enterprises (SME).
In the USA there are over 10 million SMEs and over
1.5 million large businesses.
So, if each business in the USA simply has a regular
listing in the Yellow Pages today, that generates
about $2.2 Billion in revenue per annum. If only 50%
of businesses have an additional line in their
Yellow Pages listing, this would generate an
additional $724 Million in revenues.
If only 10% of US businesses have a full page
listing in the Yellow Pages, then this would
generate revenue of over $3.4 Billion per annum. If
a further 10% of US businesses have a half-page
listing in the YP, then this would increase revenue
by more than $1.8 Billion per annum. The price for
multimedia listings would be commensurately more
than today's print Yellow Page listing prices.
In 2004, SBC Communications earned $2.1 Billion in
operating income on revenues of $3.8 Billion.
BellSouth Corp. earned $954 million on $2 Billion in
revenues
4.
It is no wonder that over the past five years, the
Yellow Pages have been a favorite target for Private
Equity companies to snap up all over the world.
What are the main
business risks of this product?
· Failure to form a partnership with existing Yellow
Pages companies, resulting in a loss of experienced
and knowledgeable local sales forces.
- Inability to ignite consumer and business
interest in the product.
- Competition from Microsoft, as well as phone
handset vendors.
- Patent infringement and resulting litigation
costs.
- Product failure will result in loss of start
up costs, which are projected to be about $20
Million.
What are the main
rewards of this product?
The market opportunity of PDI™ is immense. In the
USA there are:
All of these various market segments use the
telephone as the primary means of
communicating in PCCI.
PDI™ thus is addressing a large and growing
addressable market, with the PDI™ device providing
an opportunity for broad and deep penetration of
that market.
ceBerg’s
patented wire-line phone Embedded Yellow Pages
(PhoneDirect™) opens new opportunities for directory
services. This software service enables always-on
and available, dynamic, timely, multimedia
information for the Yellow Pages that does not
depend on broadband Internet connectivity.
This service is also easily adapted to provide
electronic multimedia catalogs and other information
sharing services, to businesses and the public.
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