Reinventing the Millennium

Open Handset Alliance in March next year.

A software pre-installation location for Android systems.

Sony's foreign director Fang Zhuo and Apple's foreign director Schmidt reached two important Android-related consensuses under the witness of Google founder Larry and Yike US president Yu Hong.

Immediately, Fang Zhuo and his party briefly visited Google.

On the way back, Yu Hong talked about what she knew about Google’s efforts for the Open Mobile Alliance.

"Schmidt and the others spent more than half a year trying to cooperate with the operator. In fact, although he said that the relationship with Verizon was tense, they should have been in contact, but it had no effect."

Fang Zhuo mused: "What Schmidt wants is not ordinary cooperation, he wants to use the operator's channels. The reason why it is so difficult to negotiate is that they don't trust a new mobile phone system platform like Android."

Yu Hong nodded and said: "Such trust is difficult."

She saw Mr. Fang's eyes, guessed his thoughts, and pondered for a moment: "The reason why Apple can cooperate with AT\u0026T, the news I heard now is that the two parties have been talking for a long time, maybe longer than Google, and they don't know what they are." What the method of cooperation will be like, I’m afraid we won’t be able to reveal more until after the press conference.”

Fang Zhuo nodded. Schmidt's source must be accurate. The cooperation between Apple and AT\u0026T is exclusive, so there must be more details worth studying. But no matter what, a cooperative operator with 60 million users is a new technology. The best conditions for mobile phones to take to the road.

He gave an order: "The operator's affairs will continue to depend on Google's efforts. Yike needs to set up a joint team with Android for the purpose of application development based on the Android system."

Yu Hong said: “Google is doing this.”

"No, we want to be more detailed, or treat it as a lobbying task. The target is Amazon, Facebook and other companies, including YouTube, which was just acquired by Google. The music application is our iMusic." Fang Zhuo said, "If you have any idea, don't you? If the person arrives or the negotiation doesn’t go well, you can tell me and I can go directly to Bezos at Amazon.”

Amazon+Facebook+YouTube+iMusic+Twitter…

Since it was released later than Apple, we should try our best to compete with a better ecosystem and stronger hardware. This is using slow to beat fast.

According to the information currently obtained, Fang Zhuo hopes that Yike mobile phones will be launched at the end of the year or early next year, aiming at a window period before Apple upgrades.

Yu Hong agreed and appointed Mr. Fang as the team’s lobbying director.

The motorcade arrived at Yike's Silicon Valley R\u0026D center.

Some domestic executives came here for the first time and couldn't help but take photos.

Fang Zhuo, Yu Hong, and Xu Keden arrived at the conference room first.

Soon, Fang Zhuo saw a box of prototype designs.

Last time, in order to persuade Google and Qualcomm, they came up with three prototypes similar to Apple 5, P30, and Lumia 920. However, this was not the final three-choice plan, but continued designs and changes along these three plans.

How can the capacitive screen provided by Sharp be best accepted by consumers?

How is the cost of the screen the most cost-effective?

Should the front camera be placed in the middle or on the left or right?

Where are the physical keys placed?

Any change is a redesign, and multiple factors create a box of prototypes.

The first mobile phone is extremely important. If subsequent mobile phones can continue the style design instead of changing it from left to right, it will undoubtedly create a brand that is more recognized by consumers.

Fang Zhuo was not dissatisfied and patiently browsed through all the prototypes.

Then……

He was blinded.

Hey, this seems to work, and that seems to work too. After explanation, who has the right reason?

"Stop, stop, Judy, you go have a cup of coffee first." Fang Zhuo invited Judy, the deputy director of industrial design of the R\u0026D center, out, and then asked Yu Hong and Xu Keden what they meant.

Yu Hong and Xu Keden each picked out their favorite prototypes No. 13 and No. 27.

Well, it didn’t hit the two models that Fang Zhuo was interested in at all.

Later, Mr. Yu and Director Xu were also invited out for coffee.

Fang Zhuo sat alone in the conference room, flipping through the dazzling array of prototypes, and quickly forgot which two he liked just now.

OK, OK, let’s try again.

He first put the initial No. 2 and No. 3 prototypes in front of him, and then used Sharp's most recommended screen size according to the data to select a design that inherited the style of the two prototypes.

There is no suspense. Sharp’s most recommended screen size is a 3.5-inch capacitive screen. The total price including the touch screen module is US$68.2. Compared with Yike’s initial contact with Sharp to obtain the capacitive screen for research and development, Sharp can now provide it. As a mass-produced product, the resolution of this capacitive screen is 320x480.

This is considered a small amount in line with Fang Zhuo's expectations. Time will allow mass production if mass production is not possible, and the cost of mass production will be further reduced.

The price is a quotation, and there must be room for further negotiation. Sharp is probably one of Apple's suppliers, so it naturally strongly recommends the same size.

Fang Zhuo picked out the Lumia920 and P30 style 3.5-inch variant designs.

According to Sharp's secondary and sub-secondary recommendations, we selected 3.7-inch and 4-inch designs. There are no quotations for these two designs at the moment. The resolutions are 480x854 and 800*480 respectively, which are much better than last time.

Fang Zhuo repeatedly played with three different screen sizes of mobile phones, and after much consideration, he still ruled out the 3.5-inch model, which would further reduce the cost. This is a large screen for today's consumers, but he still hopes that Yike will be more intuitively differentiated. specialty.

The next selection did not use screen size as the main criterion, but increased the weight of screen-to-body ratio.

One of the reasons why designs like the P30 impress Google and Qualcomm is that the full-screen design highlighted by its narrow bezels and high screen-to-body ratio is a futuristic design.

But this futuristic approach currently faces practical industrial problems. How to place the front camera and earpiece? Where to place the light distance sensor? How to solve the problem of accidental touch when making and receiving calls on mobile phone?

Such problems cannot be solved in a short time. On the contrary, it is the need to solve these problems that will undoubtedly determine the future research and development direction of Yike mobile phones.

Fang Zhuo reluctantly eliminated several prototypes that were difficult to mass-produce, and the subsequent goals became clear.

The 3.7/4-inch screen is embedded in the middle, with the front camera + earpiece on top, and the virtual function button area below. The lock screen button is on the right side. Considering the recognition and difference, there are no physical buttons placed below like Apple. Instead, the smooth entire screen is left to consumers.

This type of prototype is closer to current industrial capabilities and is relatively easy to implement.

After establishing the basic outline in this way, details such as where to choose the front camera, the functional arrangement of the function keys, the choice of back cover material, whether the battery is removable, etc. are still left to the R\u0026D team to discuss.

These issues are equally important and will together form the style of a mobile phone.

After some selection, thinking, and comparison, half a day passed in the blink of an eye.

When Fang Zhuo called Yu Hong, Xu Keden, Judy and other executives into the conference room again, there were only four prototypes with relatively consistent styles in front of him.

"You still like it after all." Yu Hong looked at the prototype and sighed.

These four prototypes look like derivatives of No. 3 with added features of No. 1.

"I think these are all okay." Fang Zhuo took a pen and drew a sketch of the appearance of the mobile phone. "We want to not only innovate the design, but also be able to put it on the market, so we will make two more prototypes of 3.7 and 4 inches. .”

He picked up the four mobile phones in front of him and asked Xu Keden and Judy some detailed ideas and material issues one by one.

Some of the answers are satisfactory, while others still have a lot of room for improvement.

Finally, Judy talked about an issue that required decision-making: "Mr. Fang, we believe that from the perspective of being more beneficial to consumers, mobile phones on the market cannot adopt an integrated design, and the battery should be removable like mainstream mobile phones."

Prototypes 1, 2, and 3 all use non-removable batteries.

Everyone in the R\u0026D center noticed this, some agreed, some opposed, and their opinions were all reflected in a box of prototypes.

Now, the four prototypes selected on the table are still not disassembled.

Judy is a pragmatic person. She has a great need for mobile phone power and is the kind of person who always keeps a few batteries on hand.

"Judy, don't you think this kind of integration is more beautiful?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Judy shook her head: "Beauty is a subjective feeling, and batteries are objective needs."

"I've actually seriously considered this issue. I originally wanted to see your overall opinions." Fang Zhuo mused, "Let me tell you what I think. It's really more convenient to disassemble it. Just replace it when the battery is out. However, does such disassembly place great restrictions on the material of the back cover?”

He continued: "It's hard to reuse glass and ceramic materials, right?"

Xu Keden added: "Metal materials are also more difficult, and the best thing to use is engineering plastics."

Fang Zhuo frowned: "Is the metal material bad for the signal? If possible, I hope the outer casing is made of glass. I really don't want to hold plastic in my hand. This is not just a subjective aesthetic, but an objective feel. "

Plastic and glass back covers are definitely materials that give consumers extremely different feelings.

In addition, the overall feeling of these two mobile phones is also different. Plastic tends to feel cheap.

Judy thought about it, she actually likes the feel of metal and glass, but she really hates the time when her phone runs out of battery. Which one has higher priority?

She picked up the cup and took a sip of coffee. Her eyes fell on Mr. Fang's face, and she immediately had the answer in her heart.

After all, appearance and feel are more important.

"Then I can only hope in the research and development of battery technology." Judy gave her own attitude.

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly, which was his own decision.

The discussion in the conference room continued until sunset.

The December evening breeze in San Francisco brought a bit of chill.

Fang Zhuo, Yu Hong, and Xu Keden walked out of the R\u0026D center together and glanced at the last light in the sky.

Yu Hong suggested: "Have a drink?"

Fang Zhuo nodded: "Okay."

Xu Keden also nodded: "Okay."

Fang Zhuo turned his head and glanced at Teacher Xu.

As Xu Ke got older, he couldn't help but think of the first time he met Mr. Fang and Mr. Yu in the Shencheng restaurant. He still had a vague impression that the first thing he always said to each other was "just shake hands"...

The cold wind blew as the car passed by.

Xu Keden, who was lost in memories, came back to his senses, glanced at Mr. Fang and Mr. Yu who were leaving, and said lightly: "I haven't gotten in the car yet."

People have to make a decision at a critical moment whether to get on the bus or not.

Xu Keden planned to make up for himself a glass of wine after returning.

Fang Zhuo and Yu Hong in the car were still discussing on their mobile phones.

"The integrated design also has the advantage of compressing the thickness of the phone and making it lighter." Yu Hong was referring to the removal of the battery.

"Well, the different problems of mobile phones are quite related. I heard from Teacher Xu that they plan to put an electric motor inside the mobile phone and then use an eccentric iron to generate vibrations, but now they can't leave enough space. They are considering using it. Where can I squeeze it out?" Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "From the keyboard to the interaction between people and the screen, this is a pioneering work, and there are still many problems."

Yu Hong let out a long breath: "Indeed, there are still many problems, but if every problem is solved or improved, we will be one step closer to listing."

Fang Zhuo smiled and said: "Making Progress."

This is the company slogan of Yike.

Yu Hong turned around and smiled, thinking a little: "What do you think of using this title for our press conference?"

"Yes, yes, but I want to highlight Our. Google, Android, carriers, Sharp, as well as Amazon, FB, etc. in the software ecosystem, I plan to invite them all to be guests." Fang Zhuo said seriously, "Software and hardware are integrated Transformation is still a good concept.”

“What we convey to consumers is that we are not building a mobile phone out of hardware, but putting it in front of consumers together with a software ecosystem that is freer than traditional systems.”

"This is also consistent with open source Android."

“Yike mobile phone is positioned as the king of mobile phones in the Android camp.”

"It's Our phone, it's Our Mars."

Yu Hong blinked: "I accepted Mr. Fang's small press conference in advance."

"This is worth an extra glass of wine." Fang Zhuo suggested with a smile.

Yu Hong nodded.

Just as Fang Zhuo was about to continue talking, his cell phone rang.

It was Anderson, the vice president of Qualcomm who was responsible for contacting Yike.

When Fang Zhuo ended the call, he said apologetically: "Mr. Yu, I'm afraid I can't drink this wine. Anderson wants to see me and talk about our mobile phone. He just told me with certainty that Apple mobile phones do not use Qualcomm and TI's technology." chip."

Yu Hong couldn't care less about drinking, and asked in surprise: "It can't be Intel, right? How did he know?"

TI, Qualcomm, and Intel are the three major players in mid-to-high-end chip design.

Fang Zhuo shook his head: "I don't know the source of his information, but his tone is very sure, hey, it's a Samsung chip."

Yu Hong immediately said: "Is this good news for us?"

"What's the explanation?" Fang Zhuo asked with a smile.

Yu Hong said from an angle that Fang Zhuo had not expected: "It uses Samsung's chip solution, so it must also use Samsung's chip foundry. Its current mature process is 90nm, right? Isn't Ice Core researching 65nm?"

Fang Zhuo was surprised: "Well... you actually know Samsung's process technology. Yes, since Samsung entered the foundry field, it has developed rapidly because of its solid foundation. This year it already has 90nm production capacity."

Fang Zhuo is familiar with Bingxin’s competitors in the industry. Samsung is not as good as Taiwanese, Intel, and UMC, but it is one generation ahead of Bingxin.

However, Ice Core hopes to catch up with Samsung at the 65nm node.

"I am the spiritual shareholder of Bingxin." Yu Hong smiled and asked, "Why not TI, Qualcomm and Intel?"

Fang Zhuo can give an answer to his guess. Intel feels that mobile chips are not profitable, so it will withdraw from this field and focus on making server and PC chips.

As for Texas Instruments and Qualcomm...

Qualcomm Vice President Anderson gave the answer.

"Apple believes that TI's chip solution is not intelligent enough to meet its needs. TI's big customer is Nokia, but Samsung is different. It can provide a closer cooperation plan." Anderson said in an insider's tone Answered Mr. Fang’s question.

Fang Zhuo reminded: "Where is Qualcomm?"

Anderson said calmly: "This has something to do with my desire to meet Mr. Fang."

Fang Zhuo waited patiently.

"I heard that Google is looking for operators to cooperate with?" Anderson did not directly describe it, but talked about the Android trends that he paid close attention to.

Fang Zhuo nodded, remembered something, and informed him: "Apple has an exclusive cooperation with AT\u0026T."

Anderson nodded slightly, obviously already knowing about this, and announced the answer: "AT\u0026T is the obstacle to our cooperation with Apple. It is the WCDMA communication standard."

Apple, Samsung Chip, AT\u0026T, WCDMA, Qualcomm…

All kinds of factors connected together in Fang Zhuo's mind.

He understood immediately.

AT\u0026T, the largest operator in the United States, uses the WCDMA (3G) communication standard upgraded from GSM (2G), while Qualcomm promotes CDMA 2000, which it holds a large number of patents.

Both sides cannot urinate together.

As Apple's exclusive partner, AT\u0026T has a great influence on its choice. The last one is Apple's cooperation with Samsung chips.

Fang Zhuo understood what Anderson meant and guessed what he wanted to communicate today.

The four major U.S. carriers.

AT\u0026T is WCDMA.

Verizon is CDMA 2000.

T-Mobile is WCDMA.

Sprint is?

Fang Zhuo didn't remember the fourth place and asked directly: "Aside from Verizon, which is CDMA, are there any major operators in the United States that choose CDMA?"

When Anderson heard this question, his expression was a bit gloomy: "Sprint originally cooperated with us, but later switched to WiMAX."

Fang Zhuo made a mark on the operator Sprint. The WiMAX standard is a 3G standard forced into the United States. It is a dead end. If you have time in the future, you can see if you can short this company.

In other words, the CDMA 2000 standard promoted by Qualcomm is only operated by one major operator in the United States.

He raised his wine glass and clinked it with Anderson: "Yike Mobile hopes to cooperate with more operators, but it also has consistent actions with Google as a partner. Qualcomm doesn't have chips that support the WCDMA communication standard, right?"

Anderson suddenly raised his voice: "Of course!"

Then he said: "We definitely have a first-class chip solution, but Apple is too influenced by AT\u0026T. Mr. Fang, in fact, Verizon has 50 million users in the United States. I heard that Google and Verizon have not reached much consensus. I think This is extremely detrimental to the prospects of Android systems and Yike mobile phones."

This is what Anderson came for.

Qualcomm has heard the news about the upcoming cooperation between Google and T-Mobile. This is undoubtedly an added boost from the rival WCDMA camp, which is not a situation they want to see.

Fang Zhuo thought about it. Of course he would like to have more channels on his mobile phone, but now he has two problems.

First, it is unclear whether the friction between Google and Verizon can be resolved.

Second, Anderson keeps saying that the chip supports the WCDMA standard, but what is the effect? ​​Is Apple cooperating with Samsung because of the influence of AT\u0026T or Qualcomm's unsatisfactory support for WCDMA?

He took a sip of his own wine and asked, "Can Qualcomm lobby Verizon to join Google's Open Handset Alliance?"

Anderson nodded: "Of course, but Google is very stubborn, very stubborn, very stubborn in cooperation in this area."

Fang Zhuo didn't feel Google's stubbornness, but he just felt that since Qualcomm was willing to lobby, the matter could be discussed.

Anderson continued: "Verizon is the second largest carrier with 50 million customers. Once it succeeds, we all will win."

He raised his glass.

Fang Zhuo also raised his glass.

Anderson added: "When Verizon joins the alliance, we can kick T-Mobile away. It only has 20 million users in the United States, which is less than half of Verizon."

Fang Zhuo put down his glass. Google and T-Mobile are very close. Mobile phone sales rely on operator channels. T-Mobile is much stronger than Verizon in Europe.

Google may not be willing to agree to such conditions.

Besides, if T-Mobile is kicked out, will Verizon also have to sign an exclusive partnership?

What Fang Zhuo hopes is that Yike can be more open and support more standards, rather than being tightly tied to operators. This also involves domestic market considerations.

He vaguely felt the strong position of American operators, and therefore could not make promises easily.

In particular, the Open Handset Alliance is led by Google and can be promoted from the side. It is unrealistic to really promise anything for that side.

Fang Zhuo drank slowly and thought carefully.

Among the four operators in the United States, the eldest is owned by Apple, the fourth has gone astray, and the third has basically reached an agreement with Google.

Qualcomm is optimistic about the prospects of Android and wants to push the second one to find more cooperation, but the second one may not know Qualcomm’s good intentions.

But let’s talk about it.

This person who comes to the door may not make each other take a step back.

Fang Zhuo finished his glass of wine and immediately called Schmidt to talk about the Open Mobile Alliance: "Schmidt, since I came back from you, I have been thinking about the alliance's partners. Our alliance should still be Gather more power and advance faster.”

Schmidt wondered: "Yes, Mr. Fang, didn't we agree that we would try to formally establish it in March next year?"

"I was thinking of what you said about Verizon. It is the second largest operator with 50 million users." Fang Zhuo said regretfully, "You two were very nervous before?"

Schmidt smiled and said, "Does Mr. Fang also want to be a key figure?"

"Yike and Qualcomm have the intention to cooperate. You can give it a try. After all, that is up to 50 million users." Fang Zhuo emphasized this point.

"The people at Verizon are very stubborn and their conditions are very harsh." Schmidt complained, and then said, "If Mr. Fang can negotiate with them, that would be great too."

"Let me give it a try. Yike and Qualcomm cooperate quite frequently. After all, Qualcomm's chips are very important to Yike's mobile phones. Unlike TI, which cannot provide more design solutions, it is very considerate and a trustworthy partner. Moreover, Verizon users can also be a condition for success." Fang Zhuoyitong praised, and added, "As long as Yike mobile phones can succeed, I believe it will continue to attract more mobile phone manufacturers."

Schmidt recognized this, and the first Android phone had better be a star product.

Fang Zhuo ended the call and looked at Anderson. He planned to discuss Yike + Qualcomm + Verizon and Google for the time being.

Anderson understood, and immediately picked up his phone and called Verizon, intending to talk to them on behalf of Yike + Qualcomm + Google.

Google and Verizon don’t know which side is more stubborn and more willing to accept compromise conditions, but I hope they can both feel the sincerity of Yike + Qualcomm.

Android camp, Yike mobile phone, Qualcomm CDMA, Verizon users, as long as everyone gives a little love, the world will become a beautiful world.