Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

Chapter 721 Losing money and making a profit

In the office, Rebus was introducing the Xiaomi system to Li Weidong.

The development of mobile operating systems is progressing so fast that Li Weidong did not expect it. He originally thought that developing an operating system would be a labor-intensive matter, and it would take two or three years to achieve success. Unexpectedly, Rebus could develop it in just a few months. .

Li Weidong took the system prototype and operated it for a while. Although it was still very crude and the interface and operation needed to be optimized, all the basic functions were used.

"Mr. Lei, you are very efficient. I thought it would take at least two years to take down the operating system!" Li Weidong said.

"Isn't it just one million lines of code? It doesn't take two years. If we hire more programmers and work overtime, we can win!" Rebus said.

"I can feel how many programmers' hairs have been sacrificed behind this system!" Li Weidong sighed.

A rudimentary operating system actually does not use much code, and may be even less than the code of many applications in later generations.

For example, the Linux kernel has only more than 2 million lines of code, compared to Photoshop's 4.5 million lines of code, and Google Chrome's 6.7 million lines of code, which are much more than Linux.

The Hongmeng system 1.0 developed by Huawei later had 6.4 million lines of code, Hongmeng system 2.0 had more than 8 million lines of code, and the Android system of the same era had almost 15 million lines of code.

With 8 million lines of code, the Hongmeng system is already the fourth most code-heavy mobile operating system in human history. The top three are Android, Apple and Symbian. Considering that no one uses Symbian anymore, Hongmeng can be ranked third in the world.

But these are the number of codes for mobile operations in the 5G era. Mobile phones in the 5G era have many functions! In an era when 3G was not yet popular, the original system operating system with 1 million lines of code could already meet basic needs.

Chinese programmers are also ruthless people on a daily basis. They work hard to lose their hair and become bald. In a few months, they not only type out millions of lines of code, but also produce the finished product.

It's just that Rebus's high efficiency caught Li Weidong off guard.

In Li Weidong's original plan, it would take two years to build the mobile operating system. After two years, the smartphone component supply chain will be mature and Xiaomi phones can be directly produced.

Now Rebus has developed the operating system in a few months, but there is not even a trace of the smartphone component supply chain.

Before 2010, the domestic smartphone component supply chain was almost zero.

Even in 2011, Rebus braved earthquakes and nuclear radiation and personally went to Japan to negotiate parts supply for Xiaomi mobile phones. In other words, at that time, the domestic smartphone supply chain was not sound.

If you have an operating system but no mobile phone, then the operating system is useless.

"It seems that we still have to rely on other manufacturers." Li Weidong sighed lightly, and then asked: "Mr. Lei, do you have any acquaintances at HTC? It's best if you can talk to Chairman HTC."

"Are you planning to go to HTC to sell our mobile phone system?" Rebus instantly understood Li Weidong's intention, and he continued: "Mr. Lin, the husband of the chairman of HTC, was also a celebrity in Silicon Valley back then. Those of us who came back from Silicon Valley There must be some partners who are familiar with him. It should not be difficult to contact HTC.

But convincing HTC to use our system is not an easy task. As far as I know, the smartphones previously launched by HTC all use Microsoft's Windows Mobile system, which is also the more mainstream mobile operating system at present. Compared with Microsoft, we really can't get enough of it! "

Li Weidong immediately replied: "The Windows Mobile system is not specifically developed for smartphones. It may be fine for use on handheld computers, but it may not be easy to use on smartphones. Our system is specifically developed for smartphones. Yes, at least the user experience will be better.”

Windows Mobile system is an operating system developed by Microsoft for mobile devices. When this system first appeared, there were no smartphones, so the purpose of Microsoft developing this system was mainly to allow users to experience computer-like experience in mobile systems. operate.

Therefore, the Windows Mobile system contains a large number of elements of computer operating systems. Microsoft has also integrated its own IE browser, MSN and other applications into this system.

However, after all, this is not a system developed specifically for smartphones. Facts have also proved that the computer operating system cannot be copied to mobile phones. So when Apple released the iPhone, the uniqueness, innovation and user experience of the IOS system completely defeated the Windows Mobile system.

In the end, Microsoft built the Windows Phone system for smartphones based on the Windows Mobile system, and then announced the termination of technical support for the Windows Mobile system, which was equivalent to executing the system.

HTC started out as a handheld computer. Their smartphone technology is also derived from handheld computers, so they also use Microsoft's Windows Mobile system. In terms of user experience, it is definitely not as good as the later Android, let alone Apple's IOS, and of course not as good as the newly developed one. Xiaomi system.

Rebus pondered for a moment and then continued: "When it comes to systems specifically for smartphones, in addition to Apple, Google's Android system will probably become HTC's first choice.

Two years ago, Google established the Open Mobile Alliance to develop an open source mobile system, which is the Android system. As far as I know, HTC is also a member of the Open Mobile Phone Alliance, and they have obtained the authorization for the Android system. "

"We can also open source code!" Li Weidong smiled slightly and continued; "For smartphone manufacturers, it should be a good thing to have more operating systems to choose from. They should not want to see the operating system being used. One company has a monopoly.”

…

When the name "HTC" is mentioned, many people may be stunned for a few seconds. But when it comes to HTC's English name "HTC", I believe everyone does not know it, and many people affectionately call it "ham sausage".

Ham Sausage first started out as a PDA OEM. Both HP and Dell were once HTC's largest customers.

The so-called PDA is translated as handheld computer on the other side, but in fact there is no clear definition. Barcode scanners in supermarkets, PQS machines for credit cards, business cards, learning machines, etc. can all be counted as handheld computers. .

After that, Ham Sausage began to enter the mobile phone industry, and launched the world's first 3G mobile phone in 2005. It was based on the Windows Mobile system, but strictly speaking, this should be a handheld computer that can make mobile calls.

In 2007, four months after Apple released the first-generation iPhone, HTC launched the HTC Touch. This phone also used a touch screen and could operate the interface with fingers, but it did not have the function of taking large pictures.

Moreover, HTC Touch is a slider phone equipped with nine-grid buttons, which can be regarded as a combination of touch screen and buttons.

In 2008, Apple launched a 3G mobile phone, which meant that smartphones truly entered the practical stage. Just six days after the Apple conference, Hamburg also released Touch Diamond, beginning to compete with Apple.

In the early days of smartphones, Sausage was indeed the only smartphone manufacturer that could compete with Apple.

In the two years of 2010 and 2011, sausage-based smartphones became popular all over the world. Even the iPhone 4, which is known as Steve Jobs’ classic product, could not resist the edge of sausage. With the sales of mobile phones, Sausage also reached its peak moment in 2011. Its market value surpassed BlackBerry and Nokia and became the No.2 in the mobile phone industry.

In this era, other brands do not yet have smartphones. Li Weidong wanted to find a smartphone to be equipped with Xiaomi's system. He had no choice but to use ham sausage.

And before 2010, there was no such thing as the Android camp.

It wasn't until September 2008, several months after Apple's iPhone 3G was released, that HTC launched the world's first Android phone, the HTC G1, marking the beginning of the first year of Android.

In addition to the touch screen and home button, this phone also has a 26-subtitle physical keyboard. In other words, the original Android phone was a combination of touch screen and physical buttons.

At the same time, the smartphone Xperia X1 manufactured by Ham Sausage for Sony Ericsson still used the Windows Mobile system instead of Android.

After that, Hamburger launched two Android phones, HTC Dream and HTC Magic, which were recognized by the market. Only then did the Android system gain a firm foothold.

But at this time, Android was still not the only choice for smartphones. In August 2009, Hamwurst launched the G3 based on the Android system, and in September it launched the D2 based on the Windows Mobile system. It can be seen that at this time, Ham Sausage is still struggling with which operating system to use.

However, it was the HTC D2 mobile phone that made Ham decided to completely invest in the Android camp. Because the D2 phone has a nickname, called "King of Flashing".

The reason is that Ham Sausage accidentally revealed the underlying driver of the D2 phone, which made it much easier for developers to write drivers for the D2 phone. There are foreign masters who have unlocked the D2, making it possible for the D2 to be flashed in various ways.

With the efforts of various experts, various operating systems have been moved into the HTC D2 mobile phone, including Ubntu system, Linux system, Firefox system, MeeGo system, and some people even flashed PC Windows XP into the D2 mobile phone.

Except for Apple's IOS, all operating systems have been flashed, but in the end, the flashing experts discovered that the most useful one is Android.

There is no harm without comparison. The same mobile phone is installed with different systems. In the end, Android wins, which also makes Android the first choice of major smartphone manufacturers.

…

Within a few days, HTC responded to Li Weidong.

"HTC rejected us." Rebus continued with a look of helplessness: "I personally talked to Chairman Wang of HTC. She thinks Android is a very good operating system. Although it is still far behind Apple, She believes that after optimization, the user experience of Android will be greatly improved. She believes in Google more than us.”

"It's understandable. After all, Google is an Internet giant, and we are just a little-known small business." Li Weidong smiled calmly, and then said: "Since HTC is unwilling to use our system, then we will change it to another one." The solution is to find them to manufacture mobile phones directly!”

"OEM?" Rebus was startled, and he didn't react for a while.

Li Weidong continued: "HTC has a mobile phone OEM business, doesn't it? Let HTC OEM a batch of mobile phones for us, and let them do everything from design to production. Anyway, they also have the technology and strength, as long as they use our Xiaomi system That’s it.”

"You mean, let HTC do OEM production for us? This is really a good idea." Rebus already understood.

"If it's just OEM production, how should the sales channels be solved?" Li Weidong then asked.

"Puppy electrical appliances can be sold to countries all over the world, so why should I worry about sales channels?" Rebus said with a smile.

"Our Puppy Group sells small household appliances, kitchen appliances and beauty products, not mobile phones. Let's not talk about anything else. Would you go to a place that sells hair dryers to buy a mobile phone? So the channels of our Puppy Group are very useful in selling mobile phones. Not big." Li Weidong said.

"That's true. Many people buy mobile phones from mobile phone stores, or from China Mobile and China Unicom." Rebus frowned slightly: "I'm a software developer, so I'm not familiar with the sales channels of mobile communications."

"So what we need from HTC is not just OEM production, but also their sales channels. As far as I know, HTC has business dealings with many mobile communication providers, and their sales channels are not inferior to big brands like Nokia and Motorola. ." Li Weidong explained.

"HTC has its own mobile phone business. It is unlikely that they will give us the sales channel!" Rebus said.

"Then we can only continue to give up profits and let HTC make money." Li Weidong sighed lightly, and then said: "If HTC is willing to give us sales channels, I don't have to take the profit from the sales of the products. All the money we make will belong to HTC. As long as the cost can be recovered.”

"What? Only costs and no profit? Then our work is not in vain!" Rebus said immediately.

Li Weidong continued: "If HTC still doesn't agree to this, then we will make another concession. After the product is launched on the market, the money earned will belong to them, and the losses will be ours."

"Is this the same as us paying for HTC's business? No! We will definitely lose money if we do this." Rebus immediately shook his head.

"It's worth losing money to make a profit. As long as our system can gain market share, it's worth it." Li Weidong lowered his voice and continued: "I learned this trick from 360!"

Mentioning 360, Rebus couldn't help but have a gloomy expression on his face.

At that time, all anti-virus systems were paid, and the price was not cheap. It cost a few hundred yuan for a set. 360 directly launched a free anti-virus system. It seemed to be a loss-making operation. As a result, it quickly occupied the anti-virus software market, and other Branded anti-virus software was abandoned by consumers overnight. 360 has become a domestic Internet giant in just a few years, and can even challenge Tencent.

The Kingsoft company where Rebus works also has an anti-virus software called Kingsoft Antivirus. The price is not expensive and the sales are quite good. However, due to the interference of 360, it is still half-dead and it seems that it can no longer be used.

So when Li Weidong mentioned 360, Rebus, the victim, was still very touched.

It's not that Rebus didn't understand 360's business model. Now after Li Weidong's suggestion, Rebus suddenly realized it.

Rebus nodded: "Okay, I'll contact HTC again to try to get a more favorable condition for us."

…

HTC had no reason to refuse Li Weidong's condition.

If a sponsor provides capital to do business for you, the loss belongs to the sponsor, and the profit belongs to you, so why not agree to it!

First of all, HTC can make a profit through the early stage of OEM, and then through the sales channel, HTC can make another profit. Even if the product sales are not good, Xiaomi, the sponsor, will fill the gap, and HTC will make a profit without losing money.

And for HTC, the technology, supply chain, production lines and sales channels are all ready-made, and HTC has zero investment.

The only problem is that you need to use Xiaomi's system, but at that time we were still in an era when mobile operating systems were blooming, so it was useless to use anyone's system!

As early as the early 21st century, HTC entered the mobile communications market. At that time, the electronics foundry industry on the other side was world-class. It not only made its own brand, but also worked as OEM for many large mobile phone manufacturers.

Therefore, HTC's sales channels in mobile communications are still very complete, and it has business relationships with mobile communications providers in various countries.

Borrowing HTC's ready-made sales channels is obviously much more convenient than Li Weidong's own sales channels.

When Xiaomi mobile phones came out in later generations, domestic online shopping was already on the rise. Xiaomi could build its initial sales through the Internet without the need for physical stores.

Nowadays, online shopping has just emerged. Most people shop online only to buy cheap goods such as clothes and shoes. Mobile phones, expensive electronic products, still have to rely on offline channels to sell them.

…

A basketball game is being held in the gymnasium of a certain university in the United States.

During the intermission, the audience began to move freely, and Raul also took out his newly purchased ham phone and clicked on the "Fruit Tolerance" icon.

Raul's fingers kept sliding on the phone screen, quickly attracting the attention of people around him.

"Raul, what are you playing? Is it a new game console?" someone asked.

"This is a mobile game called "Fruit Holder"!" Raul replied.

"It turns out to be a mobile game! "Fruit Bearer"? This is the first time I heard about it. It looks very interesting. I want to download one too!" Another person said, took out his iPhone, clicked on the APP Store, and started searching.

However, after searching for a long time, I could not find this "Fruit Holder".

"Raul, does this game really need "Fruit Holder"? Why can't it be found in the APP Store?" the other party asked immediately.

"This is not an Apple phone, and it doesn't use the Apple system, so it shouldn't be in Apple's APP Store." Raul said, handing the phone to his companion: "You should use my phone to play!"

The other party turned around and played "Fruit Holder" for a while, then lost interest.

Speaking of which, the game "Fruit Tolerance" is indeed quite boring. It's nothing more than swiping the screen with your fingers. It doesn't use your brain, is not confrontational, and the operation difficulty is not high. It just makes people feel the characteristics of touch screen mobile phones. .

If you are a person who uses a feature phone, you will still find "Fruit Endurance" interesting when you first encounter it, but if you are a regular user of smartphones, you will find it boring if you just try it out.

Raúl's companion, who uses an Apple iPhone, is certainly not fascinated by "Fruit Sufferer."

Seeing that his companion had lost interest, Raul continued to introduce: "I also have a game here called "Angry Chicken"."

As he spoke, Raul clicked on the "Angry Chicken" icon.

This game is obviously much more interesting than "Fruit Holder". After all, it is an IP that can change movies. This is enough to show how classic this game is and is more than enough to attract ordinary people.

Sure enough, "Angry Chicken" instantly attracted the surrounding companions, and several people gathered around to make plans and discuss how to pass the level.

Seeing everyone around him being attracted to "Angry Chicken", the companion who owned an iPhone suddenly felt that the iPhone in his hand no longer tasted good!

…

"Fruit Tolerance" and "Angry Chicken" have become the biggest selling points of Xiaomi system mobile phones.

At that time, even Apple's APP Store had just come out, and various mobile phone applications had not yet been developed. Consumers' demand for smartphones was limited to mobile communications and photography.

There were no WeChat Moments to like, no mobile versions of shopping websites, no mobile payment tools, and no various short videos to watch. Smartphones at that time had similar functions to feature phones.

Since the functions are the same, why do consumers still buy smartphones?

Naturally, it’s because smartphones are cooler, more fashionable, more distinctive, and more respectable when taken out.

So how can we reflect the uniqueness of smartphones? If it's just a phone call, what's the difference between it and a feature phone? What else is there to show off?

"Fruit Holder" and "Angry Chicken" satisfy consumers' need to "show off". Because feature phones cannot play these two games.

In an era when smartphones were not yet popular, if you took public transportation, you would often see someone swiping around with their phone, and the sound of cutting fruit would be loud.

Do you think they are really addicted to boring games like "Fruit Holder"? of course not. They are telling you that he is holding a smartphone!

Where there is demand, there is a market. Just like in history, these two small games quickly became popular.

However, what is different from history is that these two small games were developed by Xishanju and are only available for Xiaomi systems and not for other mobile phone systems.

Xishanju has not developed corresponding versions for IOS and Android, so if you want to experience these two games, you can only buy a Xiaomi phone.

…

California, Apple headquarters.

Cook knocked on the door and walked into Jobs' office.

Due to illness, Jobs has lost a lot of weight recently. At this time, he is leaning on the chair, holding the mobile phone in his hand, and he is working hard.

"Steve, what are you playing at?" Cook asked.

"A small game for smartphones called "Angry Chicken."" Jobs put down the phone and continued: "HTC has released a new type of smartphone, which is based on a new system called MI. This There are two games in the MI system, which are quite interesting. ”

Cook nodded: "I have heard about it too. This MI system is also an open source system. I heard it is relatively simple, with only more than one million lines of code. Its functions and fluency are not as good as ours, so it should not pose a threat to us. ”

"But their mini-games are really interesting and can really reflect the differences between smartphones and feature phones." Jobs continued: "I am very optimistic about the future of this MI system. It is simple, smooth and not fancy. The key is that it has For some novelties, I can feel that they do not completely imitate us, but have their own innovations."

Cook was stunned for a moment, then said: "You can say the word 'innovation' in your mouth! I can't believe that you would give such a high evaluation to this MI system. It seems that I have to study them seriously."

…

At this time, Li Weidong found Rebus with several more game plans.

"Director Li, we are making systems, not games." Rebus sighed, and then said: "Now our system still has many shortcomings that need to be improved, and many new functions need to be added. , it’s better for you to leave the system without optimizing it and just keep stuffing games into it.”

Li Weidong chuckled and said, "Compared with performance and functionality, we are definitely not as good as Apple's IOS. Comparing with the depth of system development, Android is also ahead of us. If we want to gain market share, we can only find another way. Performance can be optimized, and functionality can be improved." You can add it, but if you lose your market share, it will be difficult to get it back!”

"Okay, what kind of game are you going to play this time?" Rebus reluctantly took Li Weidong's plan and read it hastily.

"Temple Escape, Fishing Master, Plants vs. Zombies? Is this a game similar to Resident Evil?" Rebus asked subconsciously.

"No, this is a tower defense game. The background of the game is that a group of zombies appear in your backyard, and you have to plant plants for defense." Li Weidong explained.

"It's interesting." Rebus looked at the game settings carefully, and then asked: "There are different types of zombies, such as iron barrel zombies, pole vault zombies, and iron gate zombies. What is this big wave of zombies?"

"They are very ferocious zombies." Li Weidong smiled slightly and continued: "When we play games, we can't lie to people. If we say there is a big wave of zombies, there will be a big wave of zombies!"

The book is almost finished, and my favorite boss gave me a full subscription, which is a kind of affirmation and encouragement for Guan Guan. Guan Guan sincerely thanks everyone for their support.