Residential video telephony may be next big thing!

[galtgulch]

" BT reseller, Intersonic for the first time, is now offering both the Ojo PVP 1000 and PVP 900 Shadow on their new Online Store. The BT certification process that Hal discussed on the recent CC must have been completed as both phones are now being offered for sale.

Intersonic is a BT provider that orders their Ojo's from BT directly."

http://www.int2one.com/demo/erol.html#52...

+++++++++

BT refers to British Telecomm which signed a deal with WGAT to offer the Ojo to BT customers in 66 countries. Hal is the CEO of WorldGate Comm, creator of the Ojo video phone.

Stock "up" today to $0.55 a share. Caveat emptor! Do your own DD. Not too late to call ojoservices at 1 877 367 6965 and ask for the Mother's Day Special: Commit to two years paying $19.95 a month (or pay annually and save another month's fee) and get the Ojo Shadow free! (before the end of June 2007) Yes you do need an Ojo at each end to enjoy UNLIMITED PROFOUNDLY REALISTIC VIDEO CALLS WITH AUDIO SYNCHRONY OVER BROADBAND CABLE WORLDWIDE on a large LCD screen which measures 7inches on diagonal.

www.ojophone.com

www.ojoworld.com

www.snapvrs.com

Edited June 9, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

Here is a link to a positive article and review of the Ojo video telephone:

http://lastheplace.com/?p=943&akst_action=share-this

galt

[galtgulch]

What follows is a recent post on the Yahoo Message Board for WGAT by someone whose posts are generally positive as is this one:

>>>"This really is an exciting time to be part of the video telephony revolution that is taking place around the world.

The recently signed agreement with BAB Communications is in my opinion a significant step in bringing Ojo video phone technology toTurk Telekom, and one more step in spreading Ojo across the entire world.

Turk Telecom is the 13 largest telecom operator in the world, with over 19 million subscribers, and over 55,000 employees. WorldGate’s management and BAB representatives have been meeting with Turk Telekom and others in Turkey as discussed in the recent press release.

Turk Telecom which was previously state owned, is now controlled by the Saudi Oger Group, and their subsidiary, the giant Oger Telecom which paid $6.6 Billion and now owns 55% of Turk Telecom.

Oger Telecom is a newly created joint venture controlled by the Saudi-Lebanese group Saudi Oger Limited. Together they now control over 27 million fixed line and mobile lines in four countries around the world.

Telecom Italia is also a partner in the joint venture and the world leader in video telephony deployments with over 1.5 million.

The many deals that are under contract negotiations with every type of provider of communications services, including VoIP providers, Telco’s, and Cable MSO’s, is just amazing. The interest level from the major players to deploy video telephony has never, ever, been at the level that it is today, and not just in the US but around the entire world.

The next few years are really going to be a blow out for video telephony and Ojo will lead the revolution around the world."<<<

[galtgulch]

Rather than wade through the plethora of posts both positive and negative on the Yahoo Message Board for WorldGate Communications, the creator and distributor of the Ojo video telephone, I have discovered who the more positive and enlightening posters are and will supply you with a link to all their posts :

Here are two shareholders who share my positive outlook for the Ojo:

http://tinyurl.com/35bga5

http://tinyurl.com/2eo3ta

galt

Edited June 17, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

I wrote to an executive at SNAP who replied that they are in the final stage of their interoperability solution and that they have sufficient numbers of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. He stated that shipping of the Ojo video telephone will be shipped 'very soon.'

It is evident that a solution to interoperability issues has been devised and has passed initial and intermediate testing and is now in the final stage of testing.

An announcement of commencement of actual shipping of the Ojo from SNAP is therefore imminent. Once this is announced one might anticipate it will have a positive impact on the share price of the company which created the Ojo, WGAT, which closed today at forty nine cents per share. The actual impact will be a function of whether the actual numbers of Ojos shipped is made explicit in the announcement and if so just how many Ojos are involved in initial shipments.

Until this tidbit of info came along there has been uncertainty as to whether the interoperability issue could be resolved or whether it proved unsolvable. Likewise the question lingered as to whether competitors had some sort of lock on the number of qualified ASL interpreters and if so whether SNAP would ever have enough qualified ASL interpreters to go ahead with deployment of the Ojo.

So this information sheds considerable light on the situation with SNAP and removes the uncertainty which had prevailed until now.

The information contained in an email from SNAP in response to an email request from me a couple of days ago was to my knowledge not made public in any announcement from SNAP but it was common knowledge that they were toiling away at interoperability issues and that they wanted to be sure they had enough qualified ASL interpreters in order to provide quality VRS or video relay service.

My boat is loaded to the point it is virtually swamped but if I had any spare change I would be pouring it in about now. But one must be cautious because it is clear that the company is simultaneously running out of cash as the burn rate is high and cash on hand is barely enough to meet payroll for another month if not another quarter.

It has been a cliff hanger to see if actual orders of sufficient size to generate enough cash flow to become profitable would materialize in time to avoid the otherwise inevitable. There are announced deals from or with communications companies all over the world but no visible substantial orders. Another eagerly awaited event is the consummation of a deal with British Telecomm which also might happen any day or who knows when?

So before committing any hard earned money here I would urge anyone to read the Prospectus available on the company website, www.wgate.com or www.ojophone.com, consult with your financial advisor, only invest an amount you are willing to lose altogether, be sure your significant other knows what you are doing, do not use your children's college fund nor your own retirement savings and certainly do not mortgage the farm as many investors in this stock have done much to their regret, so far.

I am not a financial advisor and have only started this thread to make fellow Objectivists aware of the Ojo video telephone which might be of personal value if you have a loved one or two who live at a distance and whom you would like to actually see when you call them on a telephone. The quality of the product is superb but that is no guarantee that an investment in the company which created it will succeed as a glance at the chart of the performance of the stock will readily make evident.

The chances of success depend upon potential customers discovering its existence and its quality which is happening slowly by word of mouth as the company lacks the funds for a national advertising campaign. I am not privy to the business plan nor the marketing plan but it appears the hope has been that the advertising would be done by the various communications companies with which the company has announced deals not to mention alleged deals in various stages of negotiations with companies as yet unannounced.

Whether the SNAP order will save the day remains to be seen but it is a source of hope.

galt

Edited June 20, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

"Whether the SNAP order will save the day remains to be seen but it is a source of hope."

Well that didn't take long! Here is an announcement of a deal between SNAP and WGAT which involved an initial order of ten thousand Ojo video telephones to begin to address a huge backlog of orders by subscribers to SNAP who have signed on to receive an Ojo from SNAP as they are hearing impaired or deaf.

The stock of WorldGate surged in volume to over 1.1Million shares for the day and the pps rose eleven cents or twenty two percent to close at sixty cents a share. This on a down day for the general market.

Here then is the PR:

[June 20, 2007]

WorldGate and Snap Telecommunications Partner to Expand Video Relay Service Business Using Ojo Video Phone

TREVOSE, Pa. & PEARL RIVER, N.Y. --(Business Wire)-- WorldGate Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: WGAT), a leading provider of personal video phones and related technology, and Snap Telecommunications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aequus Technologies Corp. and a provider of Video Relay Services (VRS) that enables deaf and hard-of-hearing customers to improve the connection with people in their personal and business lives, today announced that they have expanded their relationship to work to become the premier providers of technology and services to the over eight million people in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.

WorldGate and Snap will work to identify the most desired Ojo features and capabilities that will provide the best video phone experience for the VRS user community and that will enable Ojo to be the preferred VRS video phone. WorldGate will provide development and engineering resources to accomplish these features and capabilities. As a result of Snap's utilization of the Ojo network, WorldGate will receive from Snap a usage network service fee. Snap has also placed a purchase order for 10,000 Ojos to begin to fill the current Snap order backlog.

During the last nine months, Ojo and Snap have worked together to enable Ojo to communicate with video phones using H.263 and G729 video and audio codecs and to be able to utilize the H.323 communications protocol. As a result of this successful joint effort, Ojo and Snap are extending their relationship under a new six-year agreement. This relationship provides for the use of the Ojo video phone, which offers high-quality, real-time, two-way video communications, to further expand the growing VRS market, to broaden the opportunities available to hearing impaired users in the workplace, and to expand Ojo's availability to the friends and families of individuals that are deaf and hard-of-hearing.

VRS is a form of Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) that enables persons with hearing disabilities who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment, rather than through typed text. Video equipment links the hard-of-hearing VRS user with a TRS operator - called a "communications assistant" (CA) - so that the VRS user and the CA can see and communicate with each other using ASL in signed conversation. Because VRS enables the hard-of-hearing customer to communicate in ASL, their native language, VRS is becoming an enormously popular form of TRS.

"We are very excited about the prospects of significantly servicing the VRS market and we are convinced that using the Ojo video phone will allow us to make a meaningful difference to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community," said Richard Schatzberg, CEO of Aequus Technologies, Corp. Mr. Schatzberg continued, "We believe that this new partnership with WorldGate, which is the clear technology leader in video telephony, will result in the development of unique video phone capabilities for our VRS customers and in our technical and innovation leadership in this space. We already have a large backlog of orders for Ojo, and we are only just beginning our marketing and outreach efforts to the community that we proudly serve."

"Snap has been very visionary and aggressive in establishing a strong business platform to provide the best possible VRS service to the deaf and hard-of-hearing including the establishment of a best-in-class service orientation, strong and reputable management and, of course, the best video phone - Ojo," said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO of WorldGate. "We are excited to further our relationship with Snap. The potential of this natural market for the development of video telephony is a definite foundation block for establishing video telephony and in achieving success for Ojo and WorldGate."

About WorldGate Communications Inc.

WorldGate Communications, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes the Ojo line of personal video phones. Ojo video phones offer high quality, real-time, two-way video communications with video messaging. The Ojo video phones are designed to conform to industry standard protocols and utilize enhancements to the latest technology for voice and video compression to achieve superior quality at data rates as low as 80 Kbps. WorldGate has been awarded patents for its distinctive design and technology and has other patents pending. This unique combination of functional design, advanced technology and use of broadband networks provides real-time video communication experiences that bring families and friends closer together, and for the first time provides consumers with a high-quality, affordable video phone. WorldGate is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol WGAT. WorldGate and Ojo are trademarks of WorldGate Service Inc. Any other trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, expressions using the terminology "may," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "forecasts," and expressions which otherwise reflect something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. No obligation is undertaken to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

Edited June 21, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

As I understand the contract between SNAP and WGAT, there will be a fifty cent per minute amount which will find its way into WorldGate coffers for customer use of the SNAP video relay service (VRS). Evidently VRS usage has been rising steadily since 2002 and promises to continue to go up. WGAT will sell the Ojos to SNAP at cost but will accrue substantial fees for provision of the Ojo to use in the VRS offered by SNAP.

Those who have used and compared webcams and the Ojo find there is virtually no comparison. The Ojo call is so realistc that it is like an actual visit. SNAP customers who receive an Ojo will encourage friends and family to buy an Ojo as well.

But the major source of substantial revenue will be the service charge for VRS use. SNAP is also going to actively market the Ojo and expects that one year from now SNAP will have as many as 50, 000 subscribers.

Once again i am not posting this thread to entice anyone to buy the stock. Rather i just wanted to make Objectivists aware of this awesome product which enhances ones relationships with loved ones who live at a distance.

If the Ojo does become widespread the company will be successful. At this point however investment in it is very risky because of their financial situation. It remains to be seen if they will be able to keep going because they have a large payroll, seventy employees, the executives are paid as if the company were already profitable which it is not, they are in debt and in danger of delisting from the Nasdaq. High risk. But the product is sensational and must be experienced first hand to appreciate it.

www.wgate.com

Check out the ojosodes and testimonials

Rumor has it that WGAT is on a multibillionaires short list or watch list and if WGAT were able to get a contract with a large telco the investor might buy many shares on the market and put his people on the board of directors in order to control the company as a major shareholder. I have no idea whether this is true or not. Reality will show!

galt

Edited June 24, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

If you have seen the Ojo at www.ojophone.com and witnessed the quality which leaves webcams in the dust you may want to purchase an Ojo before the end of June because for a commitment of two years to pay $19.95 per month you get an Ojo Shadow for FREE.

The number to call is 1.877-367-6965 and ask for the Mother's Day Special.

Remember you do need an Ojo at each end of an Unlimited Video Call over broadband cable worldwide so get your loved one to get the Free Ojo Shadow at the same time. It is worth the pittance to enhance your relationship.

Offer good only through the last day of June.

galt

[galtgulch]

WorldGate Communications Announces New Distributors in Italy and the Caribbean

TREVOSE, Pa. --(Business Wire)-- WorldGate Communications, Inc., (NASDAQ: WGAT) a leading provider of personal video phones and related technology, announced today that it has completed distribution agreements in Italy with B.F. Automation and in the Caribbean with People's Telecom Jamaica LTD. In addition, Technology Marketing Corporation's (TMC) Communications Solutions (www.tmcnet.com/comsol) has named the Ojo Shadow™ personal video phone as a recipient of a 2006 Product of the Year Award.

B.F. Automation, based in Verona, Italy, is a provider of a variety of automation and communications products for businesses. The company was started in 1994 and has developed a solid reputation for providing dependable and leading technology for automation and data transmission. The company offers integrated solutions using broadband networks. Ojo is expected to satisfy a variety of needs for existing and prospective customers of the company.

People's Telecom Jamaica LTD was founded in 2003 as an affordable communications solution for the people of the Caribbean. The company has expanded its reach gaining significant market share in the Caribbean region as well as in several locations in North America. With strong distribution in numerous countries, the company is expecting the Ojo to immediately impact the way Caribbean nationals communicate. "We see Ojo as an important product to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the communications services offered in the Caribbean," said Michael Dawson, CEO, People's Telecom. He added, "Ojo stands out as a unique way to offer our customers the best experience using the latest technology. We are very excited by the strong demand we are already seeing and this will certainly increase after we formally launch this summer."

"The new opportunities we have in Italy and the Caribbean are further evidence of the growing adoption of video telephony as the new standard for communication in the digital world and specifically of Ojo's desirability in the marketplace," commented Hal Krisbergh, CEO, WorldGate Communications. "We are also both proud and honored that the Ojo Shadow personal video phone has received the 2006 Product of the Year Award from Communications Solutions. "

"Ojo has been recognized with a 2006 Product of the Year Award for its excellence in technological advancement and application refinement," said Rich Tehrani, TMC President and Group Editor-in-Chief of Communications Solutions. "With the Ojo Shadow personal video phone, WorldGate has proven they are committed to quality and excellence in solutions that benefit the customer experience as well as ROI for the companies that use them. I am pleased to honor their hard work and accomplishments and look forward to more innovative solutions from them in the future."

The seventh annual Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award recognizes the vision, leadership and attention to detail that are the hallmarks of the prestigious award. The most innovative products and services brought to market in 2006 have been selected as recipients of this year's Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award for their groundbreaking achievement.

The 2006 Product of the Year Award winners can be found on the Communications Solutions website (www.tmcnet.com/comsol).

More information on WorldGate and Ojo Personal Video Phones can be accessed at www.WGATE.com.

About WorldGate Communications Inc.

WorldGate Communications, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes the Ojo line of personal video phones. Ojo video phones offer high quality, real-time, two-way video communications with video messaging. The Ojo video phones are designed to conform to industry standard protocols and utilize enhancements to the latest technology for voice and video compression to achieve superior quality at data rates as low as 80 Kbps. WorldGate has been awarded patents for its distinctive design and technology and has other patents pending. This unique combination of functional design, advanced technology and use of broadband networks provides real-time video communication experiences that bring families and friends closer together, and for the first time provides consumers with a high-quality, affordable video phone. WorldGate is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol WGAT. WorldGate and Ojo are trademarks of WorldGate Service Inc. Any other trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners.

About TMC

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) publishes four print publications: Customer Inter@ction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY Magazine, IMS Magazine and Unified Communications (launching summer 2007). TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. Ranked in the top 0.003 percent of sites in the world by alexa.com*, TMCnet serves nearly two million unique visitors each month, according to WebTrends. TMC is also the first publisher to test new products in its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs. In addition, TMC produces INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO, Communications Developer Conference, IMS Expo and Call Center 2.0 Conference. TMCnet.com publishes more than 15 topical online newsletters. (*alexa.com is an amazon.com company that ranks Web sites by their traffic levels. Neither alexa.com nor amazon.com is affiliated with TMCnet.)

For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, expressions using the terminology " may, "" will, " believes, "" plans, "" expects, "" anticipates "" predicts, "" forecasts, " and expressions which otherwise reflect something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward- looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of products and technologies, the ability to fund operations or raise additional capital if needed and the other factors described in the Company ' s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. No obligation is undertaken to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

If you have seen the Ojo at www.ojophone.com and witnessed the quality which leaves webcams in the dust you may want to purchase an Ojo before the end of June because for a commitment of two years to pay $19.95 per month you get an Ojo Shadow for FREE.

The number to call is 1.877-367-6965 and ask for the Mother's Day Special.

Remember you do need an Ojo at each end of an Unlimited Video Call over broadband cable worldwide so get your loved one to get the Free Ojo Shadow at the same time. It is worth the pittance to enhance your relationship.

Offer good only through the last day of June.

galt

[galtgulch]

My major reason for starting this thread was to make fellow Objectivists aware of the Ojo video telephone which I do believe is a disruptive technology which will be the way most people around the world communicate in the 21st Century and beyond. Human beings are "visual" creatures and much information is lost when we are unable to see the person with whom we talk on the ordinary telephone. The Ojo enables us to see friends, relatives, loved ones or business associates as if they were in the same room even when they are thousands of miles away. The LCD screen is at eye level, the picture resolution is fairly high and motion is smooth without pixelization or breakup, and the voice which we hear is in synch with the movement of the lips with no discernable lag which makes for a profoundly realistic encounter.

I have alerted everyone here to the high risk of any investment in the stock of the company which created the Ojo. The company does not have the money to market the product but has used judicious inexpensive means such as product placements on "24" and NCIS as well as deals with various retailers, e.g. CompUSA, Tweeter, Frye, Hammacher Schlemmer, RCS, etc., and telecommunications companies around the world, e.g. British Telecomm, Novatech, Mototech, Israel Comm, Express Telecomm, Global Touch, New Zealand Telecomm, Alta Vista, and others in various stages of negotiations, to help spread the word and awareness of this marvelous invention. WorldGate does have U.S. Patents for the design and the video system as well.

A recent initial order of 10,000 Ojo phones from SNAP (www.snapvrs.com) which provides video phones free of charge or service fee to the deaf and hearing impaired community appears to assure ultimate success and profitability in the not too distant future. However WGAT is short of cash and is at present exploring a number of options to raise money in order to carry them over until revenue is sufficient from sales of the Ojo. Consequently the share price has dwindled below one dollar and the Nasdaq listing is in jeopardy.

One significant sign of confidence in the outlook is the purchase of additonal shares by directors of the company. One director bought over 153,000 shares yesterday and here is a link to that:

http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1030058.htm

Notice the quote attributed to Peter Lynch of Fidelity Magellan fame to the right on that page.

If this company manages to stay in business and larger orders for its two Ojo phones do materialize and find markets and customers worldwide WGAT might become a lucrative investment. Notice that sentence began with the word "if." There is no guarantee that will happen. If any of you are sitting on enough millions to be willing to engage in a deal at this time to keep them afloat you might want to see what terms they would accept by calling them at 1 215 354 5312 although Joel Boyarski the CFO is on vacation at the moment. Other numbers are on the website www.ojophone.com.

Here is a link to a graphic display of sales rank of the Shadow Ojo at Amazon. The purple line indicates trend of sales and the lower the number the better:

http://tinyurl.com/ytg9e5

Growth of VRS (video relay service) usage is climbing at a steady rate. The deal with SNAP indicates that WGAT will receive ten percent per minute of VRS charge which is over $6 per minute thus about fifty cents for each minute of use of VRS. SNAP ordered ten thousand Ojo phones from WGAT and projects about fifty thousand Ojos to be given to SNAP subscribers within a year's time.

galt

Edited July 4, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

View from the Top: Video telephony

Most people living today do not remember a time before radio, television, and telephones. High school students cannot recall a time before personal computers, and kids entering first grade this September will not remember a time before mobile phones.

In a few years, people will be hard-pressed to remember the era before "video telephony" -- industry jargon for what most people refer to as video phone calls.

Indeed, we are on the cusp of a radical transformation in how people communicate; a revolution decades in the making, yet poised to sweep the world in the very near future.

Video telephony is the ultimate friends-and-family plan. It connects people face to face, over any distance, to share milestones and precious moments. Imagine grandparents in Florida seeing and talking to their newborn grandchild in California -- in real time, at eye level and with lifelike clarity -- all without leaving their living room.

In this age of e-mail, instant and text messaging, video telephony shares the personal nuances that only come from experiencing face-to-face communications. Inflections, expressions, and other non-verbal cues that are lost in cyberspace are preserved with video telephony, helping reconnect people during life's important moments.

The concept of video telephony has been around for more than 50 years, but only recently has it come to fruition. The basic technology required to transmit images and sound over the global communications network was feasible, but the infrastructure required to support practical video telephony was inadequate.

Now, a technology trifecta has made video telephony not only possible, but affordable and practical. First, the sweeping availability of broadband digital networks allows people to send massive amounts of information in real time.

Second, computer processing power has doubled every 18 months for the past 40 years, while processing costs fell to near commodity prices, and component size shrunk. Computers that once filled rooms can now fit inside a mobile phone.

A $400 handheld computer sold in 2005 is roughly 1,000 times more powerful than a $5,000 desktop PC sold in 1981. If automobile technology had advanced at the same rate, a new car would cost $10 and deliver 1,000 miles to the gallon.

Last, the ability to compress (make smaller) and decompress (return to original size) video and audio data -- in real time, with perfect synchronization, over present-day broadband networks using low-cost computer chips -- only recently became a reality.

The technology that does the compression and decompression of data is called a "codec," for COmpressor/DECompressor. Highly efficient codecs are a crucial link in the video telephony chain. Without them, real-time video telephony would simply not be feasible.

Yet, with all these technologies in place, video telephony is not without challenges. One of the biggest is the need for greater broadband network bandwidth (that is, speed plus capacity), as people around the globe flock to adopt video phones as their main communications tool.

As more and more people depend on the Internet for sharing documents, photos, videos, software, and multimedia content, the Internet will naturally slow to a crawl unless bandwidth continues to expand.

That is precisely why the major telephone and cable companies are now deploying faster, higher capacity broadband networks. It will be an ongoing, symbiotic process: the need for bandwidth will drive deployment of higher capacity networks, which will enable even more bandwidth-demanding applications, which will catalyze further bandwidth upgrades, and so on.

The move to video phones is inevitable, but it could take a few years for the technology to reach critical mass. The initial adoption hurdle -- a classic chicken-or-egg problem -- must be overcome. Owning a video phone is pointless if nobody else has one.

Early adopters will jump in first, and purchase video phones for a small group of friends, family, or business associates. They will be the Johnny Appleseeds of the video phone era, seeding the market, and pushing it towards the tipping point of mass adoption.

It is a process that occurred with the original telephone in the early part of the 20th century, with the personal computer in the 1980s, and again with the Internet in the 1990s. Next up: video phones.

As dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of people experience the low-cost, high impact pleasure of face-to-face video communications, adoption momentum will expand exponentially. It will be a slow process at first, but incredibly rapid once underway. Communications again will be revolutionized.

I will see you soon -- literally -- on the other end of the line.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.com

[galtgulch]

I was just curious so I clicked here on Objectivist Living Forum and then on Links.

Kat has a link there to Affiliate links which help Objecitivist Living so I clicked on that.

Turns out I was able to find the Ojo video phone on two of the listed links there:

It is availiable at Buy.com where you can enlarge the picture of the Ojo but you have to enter ojo video phone in the search box

It is also available at thenerds.net where the Ojo costs less at $304 the Shadow Ojo is even less.

I think that if you access either site from here that OL will benefit if you buy your Ojo or Shadow Ojo

galt

[galtgulch]

WorldGate. the creator of the Ojo video telephone, has contracted with Broadvoice which features the Ojo and the Shadow Ojo on its website here:

http://www.broadvoice.com/features_ojo_support.html

Rumors abound that a financing arrangement is about to be announced or that a buyout by a major telecommunications company, perhaps AT&T is about to happen or that the company is running out of money and is on the verge of chapter 7.

I reiterate that I only started this thread to make individuals here aware of the product which is superb if you happen to have a loved one who lives at a distance and whom you want to see when you talk with each other. As an investment this is certainly very high risk so one must be prudent and if one cannot afford to lose at all one should not invest in this company as appealing as the product may be. Businesses of every size may find the Ojo an inexpensive way to communicate as well.

The pps has crept up each day from an intraday low about 38 cents up to 52 cents today on low volume and with no news. Perhaps oversold but the burn rate is high and cash on hand is running out. We await the second quarter revenue release in early to mid August. Either a financing deal will be announced and/or more orders from existing or new deals expected.

I will keep updates coming as they become material.

galt

Edited July 14, 2007 by galtgulch

[Brant Gaede]

I don't particularly want to see the person I'm talking to. I want to concentrate on the voice and the thoughts.

--Brant

[galtgulch]

I don't particularly want to see the person I'm talking to. I want to concentrate on the voice and the thoughts.

--Brant

It is nice to have the choice in case someone comes along, a grandchild perhaps, whom you do want to see. And when that happens the Ojo provides the most realistic picture with smooth motion and audio synchrony.

Check out the ojosodes at www.ojophone.com not to mention the testimonials.

galt

[galtgulch]

The following is part of a post by an anonymous poster on the Yahoo Message Board for WorldGate:

>>>"WorldGate is managed by group of very skilled and experienced managers that spent most of their careers at major corporations in various Executive roles. Take Martin Jaffe, a member of WorldGates Board Director since 2002. Mr. Jaffe is the Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, one of the leading investment advisor groups which provide asset management services to investors of substantial means.

The average individual clients wealth under management is nearly $40 MILLION and the company manages nearly $8 BILLION in total assets, so if you would like Mr. Jaffe to manage your assets you may have to settle for just having him on your Board of Directors. He was Chief Operating Officer of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, for nearly 20 years, and also served as Chief Financial Officer of Credit Suisse Asset Management Group.

He and Dr. Lemuel Tarshis, also a member of WorldGates Board of Directors are brothers-in-law. Dr. Tarshis is also on the Board of Aequus Technologies, the parent company of SNAP.

The Board of Directors of publicly traded corporations are assigned the Duties and Responsibilities for ensuring that the corporation has adequate resources and that they manage those resources effectively.

The board is specifically charged with the Duty to acquire sufficient resources for the organization's operations and to finance the products and services adequately.

If funding was going to be a problem, cost containment programs would have been implemented long ago to conserve capital, including salary reductions, employee layoffs, and many other efforts, none of which were apparently needed.

The future success of WorldGate has little to do the recent share price contraction, which is more related to how novice investors handle uncertainty. The smart money is smiling all the way to the bank."<<<

I still urge caution if anyone is considering a purchase of shares in this high risk venture. My main hope is that someone reading this thread might find the Ojo video telephone to be helpful in enhancing their communication with loved ones or business associates. Do your own Due Diligence. Read the Prospectus available at www.wgate.com or www.ojophone.com Check out the ojosodes and testimonials there too.

galt

[Brant Gaede]

The following is part of a post by an anonymous poster on the Yahoo Message Board for WorldGate:

>>>"WorldGate is managed by group of very skilled and experienced managers that spent most of their careers at major corporations in various Executive roles. Take Martin Jaffe, a member of WorldGates Board Director since 2002. Mr. Jaffe is the Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, one of the leading investment advisor groups which provide asset management services to investors of substantial means.

The average individual clients wealth under management is nearly $40 MILLION and the company manages nearly $8 BILLION in total assets, so if you would like Mr. Jaffe to manage your assets you may have to settle for just having him on your Board of Directors. He was Chief Operating Officer of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, for nearly 20 years, and also served as Chief Financial Officer of Credit Suisse Asset Management Group.

He and Dr. Lemuel Tarshis, also a member of WorldGates Board of Directors are brothers-in-law. Dr. Tarshis is also on the Board of Aequus Technologies, the parent company of SNAP.

The Board of Directors of publicly traded corporations are assigned the Duties and Responsibilities for ensuring that the corporation has adequate resources and that they manage those resources effectively.

The board is specifically charged with the Duty to acquire sufficient resources for the organization's operations and to finance the products and services adequately.

If funding was going to be a problem, cost containment programs would have been implemented long ago to conserve capital, including salary reductions, employee layoffs, and many other efforts, none of which were apparently needed.

The future success of WorldGate has little to do the recent share price contraction, which is more related to how novice investors handle uncertainty. The smart money is smiling all the way to the bank."<<<

I still urge caution if anyone is considering a purchase of shares in this high risk venture. My main hope is that someone reading this thread might find the Ojo video telephone to be helpful in enhancing their communication with loved ones or business associates. Do your own Due Diligence. Read the Prospectus available at www.wgate.com or www.ojophone.com Check out the ojosodes and testimonials there too.

galt

Typical MB BS.

Take your money to Vegas and bet it once on red or black, then go home. If you won in Vegas take your winnings, not the principal, and buy this stock at .50/share and forget about it.

--Brant

Edited July 15, 2007 by Brant Gaede

[galtgulch]

If you are at all interested in purchasing a couple of Shadow Ojos you might find that the offer at Hello Direct is worth a look:

http://tinyurl.com/2oaqo4

Here is a link to 101phones.com:

http://tinyurl.com/2tqbz4

I still urge caution if anyone is considering a purchase of shares in this high risk venture. My main hope is that someone reading this thread might find the Ojo video telephone to be helpful in enhancing their communication with loved ones or business associates. Do your own Due Diligence. Read the Prospectus available at www.wgate.com or www.ojophone.com Check out the ojosodes and testimonials there too.

If Hank Rearden had an Ojo and if there was an Ojo in Galt's Gulch, Dagny might have given Hank a call and he would have been able to see for himself that she was alive and well. Of course there would have been the problem of getting John Galt's permission and the fact that there was no broadband in those days. But we have it and the Ojo enhances relationships of loved ones who live at a distance.

galt

Edited July 15, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

Please take a look at this Press Release which does mention the Ojo video phone used by SNAP which has secured additional funds from a particular Fund :

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/jul06/073106.htm

Here is the relevant paragraph:

>>>"In May 2006, Snap Telecommunications became certified by the Federal Communications Commission to provide VRS and is therefore eligible for government reimbursement for its service. Although approximately 8.4 million people in the U.S. are defined as deaf or hearing impaired, presently a very low percentage of them use VRS. By equipping Snap!VRS subscribers with an Ojo video phone, which provides a unique calling experience unlike any existing options available today, Aequus expects continued adoption of VRS will expand the opportunities for users who are deaf and hard of hearing to engage in education programs and seek gainful employment."<<<

Despite the pathetic share price the outlook for the company which created the Ojo is enhanced because of deals with SNAP www.snapvrs.com and nearly a dozen other communications worldwide including British Telecomm which recently announced that it had "certified" the Ojo to operate on its systems.

Once again I would rather that you be angry with me in the near future for not encouraging you to invest

in this company if and when it skyrockets in share price than for you to be furious with me if you do invest and the company doesn't succeed. The decision is entirely your own. i am not an investment advisor just an utter amateur investor who discovered this Ojo product before it was on the market in January of 2005 when the stock shot up to $6.89 before the Consumer Electronics Show in which the Ojo won the coveted Best of Innovations in Design and Engineering Award and when Motorola had an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with WorldGate WGAT. Many things have happened since then.

If anything the product is better positioned now than it was then but orders have not been as large as hoped and the company is burning money faster than it is coming in necessitating further dilution and concomitant assumption of debt.

But check out the ojosodes and testimonials under Community at www.ojophone.com to see the product in action in case you missed it on NCIS this season or on "24" a couple of seasons ago. www.ojoworld.com

The Ojo was also featured on HSN, and given away on the Ellen Degeneres show, Rosie O'Donnell's The View, and others. The Ojo keeps improving its sales rank on Amazon and is on numerous etailers sites as well as select Electronics outlets nationwide.

Hope springs eternal and the cost of the product has come down to affordable prices.

Hasn't anyone else here besides me bought an Ojo or Shadow Ojo? Once you do you will wish you had bought one sooner. That is the line my son used to encourage a classmate to read Atlas Shrugged!

galt

Edited July 17, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

>>>"In May 2006, Snap Telecommunications became certified by the Federal Communications Commission to provide VRS and is therefore eligible for government reimbursement for its service. Although approximately 8.4 million people in the U.S. are defined as deaf or hearing impaired, presently a very low percentage of them use VRS. By equipping Snap!VRS subscribers with an Ojo video phone, which provides a unique calling experience unlike any existing options available today, Aequus expects continued adoption of VRS will expand the opportunities for users who are deaf and hard of hearing to engage in education programs and seek gainful employment."<<<

SNAP will provide a free Ojo Shadow video telephone to hearing impaired or deaf individuals. Go to www.snapvrs.com

to enter application ...no monthly fee

For those not deaf one of the least expensive sources of an Ojo Shadow video telephone is www.thenerds.net

where the Shadow is just $227 marked down from MSRP of $299 monthly fee of $9.95

galt

[galtgulch]

"Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise"

- Peter Lynch

Re: Mr. T Buys another 31,000 shares Yesterday

20-Jul-07 09:52 am

Here is the link if you don't have one.

http://xml.10kwizard.com/filing_raw.php?...

The pps (price per share) of WGAT moved up to fifty cents a share or about eleven percent on what was a down day for the market as a whole.

Purchase of shares by a member of the WGAT Board of Directors today certainly suggests that he has reason to believe that there will be happenings in the near future to move the stock higher.

Mr. T referred to above became a member of the WorldGate Board of Directors after he accumulated enough shares over several months as documented in mandatory SEC filings available at the Investor Relations section of the www.wgate.com website or www.ojophone.com.

Still urge anyone interested here to do their own Due Diligence. www.ojoworld.com is a good place to access info. The Prospectus is worth reading naturally as it lists all the things which can go awry. Never invest more than you are willing to lose altogether. It is usually wise to limit investment in a high risk venture such as this to an exceedingly small percentage of your assets. Do not mortgage the farm nor sell everything you own to take a large position here as it could easily evaporate despite the wonders of the product.

I keep repeating that I only wanted to make fellow Objectivists aware of the Ojo in case any of you have a loved one who lives at a distance whom you want to see when you call. I do own shares in the company but people who own the Ojo in a growing number of little networks all over love to be able to see their grandchildren often, a parent who might be in a nursing home or just alone in another state, or find a use for the Ojo in their business.

I encounter people almost every day who thank me for making them aware of the Ojo to use to see a relative or friend. Not everyone is interested of course but many are. One time purchase of the Ojo and then flat monthly rate of about ten bucks a month for unlimited video calls over broadband cable or DSL or satellite etc is unbeatable.

You have to see the Ojo in action to appreciate it but a visit to the www.ojophone.com website to check out the ojosodes and testimonials under Community heading on the menu might give you an idea.

Second quarter revenue report is coming up in middle of August will be available on the company website where the first quarter report is available now.

galt

Edited July 21, 2007 by galtgulch

[galtgulch]

"Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise"

- Peter Lynch

The following is from a post on the WGAT Yahoo Message Board. In other words someone's speculation regarding potential revenue from the deal between WGAT and SNAP which just purchased an initial order of 10,000 Ojo phones to distribute to qualified hearing impaired and deaf subscribers:

>>>"SNAP Application Specialist - Working 7 Days a Week

Looks like the pre registered applicants are being asked to contact snap prior to the Ojo being shipped to them. Most likely to make sure that they are properly quailfied to receive a free Ojo, and that SNAP will be able to bill for the VRS service.

Until the large back log of pre registered application are serviced, I do not expect SNAP to open the program up with a National Launch, they have their hands full now, just getting the current applicants on line.

Those 65 million minutes of VRS that the FCC has budgeted for the July 2007-2008 year, will produce over $450 MILLION dollars for VRS. If SNAP captures only 30% to 40% of the 100,000 users, SNAP will generate revenue of $135-180 MILLION.

That would translate to sales of 30,000 to 40,000 Ojo's for $6-8 MILLION, and a network user fees of 20-26 MILLION minutes at $.50, or $10-13 MILLION. That's $16-21 MILLION for WorldGate, and cash flow positive just on this deal alone, not to mention the many others in place and to be announced.

SNAP Communication:

We have your application, but we need you to contact us before we can send your Ojo.

Please call us on your VP if you have one as soon as you can by dialing the IP address: call.snapvrs.com. Or Instant Message (IM) us at AskSnap.

Ask the interpreter for an "Ojo Application Specialist." They are available Mon-Thurs 8am-8pm EST and Fri-Sun 9am-5pm EST."<<<

IF you know anyone who is deaf consider encouraging them to sign up at www.snapvrs.com to take advantage of this free opportunity to won an Ojo and to be able to access Video Relay Service at no charge to them.

I just posted this to show that WGAT is in a position to become profitable if all goes according to plan. SNAP will be ordering additional tens of thousands of Ojo phones and distributing them to their subscribers.

Additional "deals" with telecommunications companies worldwide might lead to additional sales.

Please do your own Due Diligence before investing if you are inclined to explore this venture which is high risk.

galt

[galtgulch]

"Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise"

- Peter Lynch

Please do your own Due Diligence before investing if you are inclined to explore this venture which is high risk.

The following is hearsay. I spoke with a fellow investor in this company, WGAT. He has a larger stake than I do and virtually on a daily basis speaks with another investor in the company who purportedly holds one million shares. I am told that this latter fellow had a lengthy conversation with Hal the CEO and Founder of WGAT last week. I am not aware of any details of that conversation only that Hal was his usual reassuring self.

This company existed prior to its creation and offering of the Ojo video telephone, its one and only product now. A review of the chart for the stock indicates that WGAT peaked at over 50 per share and then plummeted to 0.24 cents a share in 2003. I am informed by those who were in at the time that Hal was reassuring in those days too, right up to the last minute when he must have known the end was in sight and there was no hope for the existing business.

It took some time for the company to recover and to change its focus on the Ojo instead of its prior endeavor with interactive television, the so called ITV days. The stock since peaked at $6.89 in early January 2005 a few days prior to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at which the Ojo won the coveted Best of Innovations in Design and Engineering Award along with five other gadgets.

At the time of the CES the Ojo was not available on the marketplace at all. Motorola had signed an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with WorldGate months before the CES. A launch was anticipated at the time of the show but the Ojo did not hit the stores until May of 2005.

I recall seeing the CEO of Motorola demonstrate the Ojo at one of his analyst shows at which Ed Zander also previewed the RAZR and other cell phones. He received a video call while on stage over the Ojo and Zander spoke enthusiatically about the Ojo.

Subsequently Zander mentioned that he bought an Ojo for his son who had no trouble hooking it up in his own home. But Zander tried to set his Ojo up in his office and there were problems because of firewalls. Zander seemed to expect that such problems would require technicians to go out to help set up Ojos in businesses and that would be expensive and eat into profits. I tend to believe that this led to Zander's disilluisionment with the Ojo and the subsequent termination of the deal with WorldGate.

Hal and company took on all the responsibilities of marketing and distribution of the Ojo although there was no money to do much if any marketing. The Ojo had been a product placement on the popular Fox network series "24" which was seen by millions of viewers who thought it was a neat futuristic gadget designed for the show and had no idea the Ojo would ever be available on the market.

The early adopter price was $799 which was considered prohibitive. Revenue was just over $260,000 while the burn rate was well over $1 million each month. The head of Mototech, the assembly plant in Taiwan, purchased a substantial number of shares which was encouraging. Hal had hired many engineers to work on developing enhancements to the Ojo, new products, and to deal with interoperability issues so the Ojo would work on the various telecommications systems around the world.

More producdt placements occurred such as NCIS this last season. The Ojo was demonstrated and given away to the audience on Ellen Degeneres Show and The View with Rosie O'Donnell. The Ojo appeared in catalogs and high end electronic boutique outlets such as Band & Olufsen, Hammacher Schlemmer and RCS Electronics and J&R in Manhattan, Frye, Magnolia, CompUSA, Tweeter, and others, although sales were not spectacular. Entry into so called big box stores has not happened.

Seemingly impressive and promising "deals" were announced about one year ago with communications companies worldwide. British Telecomm among them recently announced "certification" of the Ojo. Others included Novatech in Japan, Mototech in Taiwan, new Zealand Telecomm, Israel Comm, Alta Vista in Central AMerica, Global Touch among VOIPs, a couple of companies in Russia and two or three in Turkey which has extensive broadband infrastructure. Orders from these have been not as large or as prompt as hoped.

The best deal so far has been with a subsidiary of Aequus Technologies, SNAP which provides Video Relay Service VRS. www.snapvrs.com This company offers the Ojo free of cost or service fee to hearing impaired or deaf people. SNAP has ordered ten thousand Ojo phones to distribute to subscribers. WGAT will get a percentage of revenue from the $6 plus per minute VRS fee which is paid by a grant by the US government. VRS use has been growing substantially and hundreds of millions has been set aside to pay VRS companies for the current year. SNAP might receive a significant amount once the Ojos are deployed. It is expected that SNAP will order additional Ojo phones from WGAT in the coming months.

The problem is that WGAT is already indebted to those who have finded them in the recent past such as CORNELL. WGAT needs to raise additional funds to reture those debts and to continue operations until sufficient revenue is received from sales. Hal is trying to close such a deal at present which evidently may or may not happen. That is why I do not encourage anyone here to invest at this point. It is not clear that such financing will materialize. If it does in sufficient amount than the future for the company would be much more positive and the pps would reflect that especially if the upcoming revenue report for the second quarter reveals additional sales and orders. If funding does not materialize than one shudders at that gloomy prospect. There are wealthy men on the Board of Directors but it is not clear that they would be willing to come up with enough cash to fund operations for enough time to reach positive cash flow. It might take months and at the current burn rate of something like five million per quarter might be considered too risky.

This despite the fact that video telephony is going to happen in the near future if not the very near future. Some would say it is happening already now that the Ojo exists and broadband is growing worldwide as the necessary infrastructure.

I reiterate that I primarily started this thread to enlighten readers here, Objectivists and others who might be reading, especially those with loved ones who live at a distance, about the existence of the Ojo video phone, which enables you to see the person you call on the phone assuming they have an Ojo as well for just ten dollars a month for unlimited video calls with smooth motion and audio synchrony.

I caution anyone from investing in the creator of the Ojo at this point. If they do get financing it still remains to be seen if the Ojo will catch on in the marketplace although those who have an Ojo love it. If it does become successful there will be plenty of time to profit from investing here when there is less risk.

Read the prospectus www.ojophone.com

galt

Edited July 22, 2007 by galtgulch

[Wolf DeVoon]

Sigh

[galtgulch]

As the offices of WorldGate seek funding to remain in business they also continue to sign contracts

with communications companies which find the Ojo video phone enhances their offerings.

>>>"[July 23, 2007]

WorldGate and Aianna Corp. Reach Distribution Agreement

TREVOSE, Pa. & LOS ANGELES --(Business Wire)-- WorldGate Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: WGAT), one of the world's leading providers of video phone products and associated technology, and Aianna Corporation, a full-service global telecommunications company, today announced they have reached an agreement for Aianna to distribute the Ojo personal video phone as part of Aianna's wide array of telecommunications offerings in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe. The companies are in the beginning stages of marketing the new product and services.

Aianna Corporation was established in 2000 as the vision of one man who was frustrated with the lack of service and quality that carriers were giving to their clients in the telecommunications industry. Aianna's goal is to offer the best quality services worldwide at the most affordable prices. The company is a full service, global telecommunications provider for private label resellers, reseller agents and residential customers.

John Stat, President of International Markets, Aianna Corp., said, "We believe Ojo will help us to continue to provide the services and products that our customers around the world have come to expect from us. The Ojo user experience is just what we need to help market the best communication experience for our customers. The addition of such a quality video phone to our offerings will help grow our business and meet our aggressive goals.""<<<

I reiterate that I primarily started this thread to enlighten readers here, Objectivists and others who might be reading, especially those with loved ones who live at a distance, about the existence of the Ojo video phone, which enables you to see the person you call on the phone assuming they have an Ojo as well for just ten dollars a month for unlimited video calls with smooth motion and audio synchrony.

I caution anyone from investing in the creator of the Ojo at this point. If they do get financing it still remains to be seen if the Ojo will catch on in the marketplace although those who have an Ojo love it. If it does become successful there will be plenty of time to profit from investing here when there is less risk.

Read the prospectus www.ojophone.com

galt