Reinventing the Millennium

Has HSBC’s share price fallen?

Hey, why did it fall?

Fang Zhuo, who lives in Silicon Valley, soon received stock news that was regarded as an abnormal signal.

However, HSBC had not been included in the scope of observation before, and it was difficult to clearly determine which part of it had problems.

However, a small-scale related news came from Kong Yu in New York. A business manager of HSBC jumped from the roof of the building. As for whether he encountered problems in life or was simply in a bad mood, it is unknown.

This little news did not attract much attention, but for Kong Yu, who has always been pessimistic about the financial market, it is undoubtedly an alternative piece of evidence.

Kong Yu seriously doubts that HSBC may also have large-scale CDS transactions, or, worse, there may be problems with the more basic U.S. residential mortgage loan business.

The former may open the door to a financial boom, and the latter may... Even people need to queue up to go to the rooftop.

Fang Zhuo read the report from Kong Yu after welcoming the Major Sensor Company team to join Yike, and did not give much comment. Anyway, during this Spring Festival, Kong Yu and Xu Keden will probably not be able to take a vacation.

On the first day after joining the company, Dr. Smith of Major Sensor proposed two solutions for the front-facing camera encoding process. One is multiplexing encoding for static environments, and the other is spatial position encoding suitable for moving objects.

Simply put, time division and space division multiplexing coding.

Fang Zhuo didn't understand it at all, but he was really shocked.

On the next day, another Dr. Lewis proposed a brand new solution, using sensors to capture the flight time of infrared light from emission to reception, so as to judge and calculate the distance information of objects.

Fang Zhuo didn't understand it at all, but he suddenly felt that the acquisition money was not in vain.

Yike has internally arranged a timetable, solving the coding solution in February, optimizing the sensor in March, and assembling a prototype equipped with a 1-megapixel front camera at the end of March. The remaining three months of the first half of the year will continue to optimize the front camera. , Android system and mobile phone performance.

Xu Keden gave a guarantee on behalf of the R\u0026D center that the prototype function Mr. Fang presented at the mobile phone launch conference in June must be able to last at least half of the usage time.

After hearing this guarantee, Fang Zhuo asked: "What about the remaining half of the time?"

"Mr. Fang, wear looser clothes during the press conference and put two more mobile phones in your pockets. If you feel like it's not working anymore, quickly change to another unused one." Xu Keden gave sincere advice.

Fang Zhuo felt ridiculous. How many mobile phones could he fit in his pocket?

Of course, place a lecture table on the stage with ten or eight stations inside. Once you feel that your mobile phone is getting hot and has a tendency to freeze, just replace it with a new one while you are drinking water, so that you can be safe!

This is also a way to learn from friends and businessmen.

In the past two days, Fang Zhuoyou communicated with Schmidt once and listened to the Apple director talk about more details of the iPhone launch conference.

For example, Apple engineers hid Wi-Fi signal transmitting equipment under the stage to shorten the distance of wireless signal transmission.

For example, AT\u0026T set up a mobile signal tower at the site, and Apple modified the program on the mobile phone so that no matter whether the signal at the site is strong or weak, the signal strength on the screen will be displayed as full.

These were all reliable news that Schmidt didn’t know that day, but he heard about them one after another later.

Fang Zhuo believes that these are all advantages that can be adopted at the Yike mobile phone launch conference.

As long as the press conference goes well, we can still get half a year to continue optimizing the mobile phone.

On February 1, Fang Zhuo confirmed the progress of the R\u0026D center, Google's support, and the work of the Android system for the last time. Then, he and Yu Hong took a flight back to New York.

It was in New York that Fang Zhuo, who was away from watching the research and development, was interviewed by a reporter from the media "Wall Street Journal" for the first time, talking about the competitor's mobile phone iPhone.

Of course, he would not talk about the price of mobile phones of 200/300 US dollars, nor did he disparage competitors, but gave great praise.

In fact, the iPhone certainly deserves praise.

Fang Zhuo also responded to the inquiry about his own products: "It's great, very good. I think Yike's research and development of mobile phones is on the right path. I look forward to the press conference all the time."

He laughed and complained: "I even think we should hold a press conference this month, but the R\u0026D team is the kind of stubborn, perfection-seeking, excellence-seeking guys. You will understand that they must make a decision. Products that can surprise and praise consumers even more.”

"So, we will probably hold a press conference in July or August."

The Wall Street Journal reporter heard such a time and immediately asked: "Does this mean you will hold a press conference after the Apple mobile phone is launched? Will you price it based on its sales volume?"

"There are also considerations in this regard from a business perspective. After all, we are also a touch-screen mobile phone." Fang Zhuo revealed product news, "Moreover, it will take time for us to pass the FCC review."

FCC is the Federal Communications Commission of the United States. Mobile phone products must be certified by it before they can be sold. This process often takes several months.

The reporter finally asked a question: "Mr. Fang, do you think touch-screen mobile phones have hope of winning the recognition of consumers?"

Fang Zhuo affirmed without hesitation: "I am absolutely convinced of this. Touch-screen mobile phones will soon replace traditional mobile phones."

The Wall Street Journal reporter was satisfied.

This information is enough.

However, just as he was about to end the interview, he suddenly remembered the little story between Lehman and Yike, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Fang, Lehman's stock price is stable, do you still think there are problems with it?"

Fang Zhuo asked back: "Do you know that housing prices in New York are falling?"

The reporter felt the slight changes in housing prices, but considered them to be normal fluctuations. Moreover, even if the fluctuations were larger, how could they have a big impact on Lehman?

He did not continue to communicate this with Mr. Fang, but thanked the chairman of Yike for accepting the interview.

As usual, in addition to the Wall Street Journal, Fang Zhuo also published a similar response through Bloomberg, which can be regarded as an official statement from Yiko Company on smartphones and its own products.

Yu Hong sat in on an interview with her boss and unexpectedly heard about the timing of the press conference.

The month of June is clearly identified, but the wrong time is also given as July or August.

"Mr. Fang, in addition to Apple and the current mainstream mobile phones on the market such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson, we must also consider imitation competition from other manufacturers. After all, Android is open source."

"Although Google is very supportive of us, they would rather see this system adopted by more manufacturers."

Yu Hong has been thinking about this issue recently.

"First-mover advantage, the features of the front camera and the unbeatable R\u0026D investment." Fang Zhuo mentioned this and had to talk about the difficulties he is encountering now, "Whether the operators can get through this is very critical to us. .”

"Or, not just us, but Apple as well, but it's already connected."

A $500 iPhone and a $200 iPhone are two completely different concepts.

If T-Mobile fails to reach an agreement, Yike will immediately launch plan B for cheap mobile phones, leaving no room for adjustment.

As for the one currently being developed, we can only wait and see how it goes.

Now, let’s take a look at the negotiations between Google and T-Mobile, and look at the new prototype that Yike unveiled at the end of March.

Due to the changes in iPhone competition information, Fang Zhuolian also shifted the priority of Qualcomm and V merchants back, and increased the contact with TI.

Qualcomm's chips and foundry contracts, as well as the user groups of V vendors, are the icing on the cake.

The most important thing for Yike Mobile now is to have basic survival competitiveness.

Fang Zhuo plans to come to the United States to meet with T-Mobile after the Spring Festival.

He and Yu Hong had a detailed chat about the current status of the Yike mobile phone project, future plans, patent arrangements, and the entry-level chip designs of MediaTek and Morningstar. The mobile phone business involves a lot, and the unified understanding of the management is equally important.

"Xiao Yu, when we get rid of the iPhone, you can retire from Yike." Fang Zhuo promised after taking the last sip of coffee.

Yu Hong had long been accustomed to her boss's full of ideas, so she didn't bother with his statement, but instead thought about it.

She asked her first question: "Do you think Apple's system is very viable?"

Apple’s mobile phone has been released, and the relevant information is pretty much the same.

It also sources parts globally, and what seems most unique is its own system.

Immediately, Yu Hong asked a second question: "Apple also has a long history in chips. Can it make a difference in this area?"

Fang Zhuo liked Yu Hong's keenness very much and replied with a smile: "We don't know what its real performance is without getting the actual machine, but don't put the closedness of iOS and the open sourceness of Android into the market and say that this is not the case. That is to say, 'user' is one word, but 'user' is a huge group of billions. As long as some people can accept it, it will naturally have vitality."

“This market can’t accommodate only one successful company, but those who are complacent will definitely not make it to the end.”

"Time is running out for Nokia."

Yu Hong thought thoughtfully: "The last time I heard similar words was from Sony? You should tell the reporter this."

"Next time, next time." Fang Zhuo said, "There is still a chance."

There is still an opportunity to talk about Nokia and soon Lehman.

But when Fang Zhuo arrived in New York, after dealing with Yike's matter, he immediately went to Stringer to explain his rights and interests.

joke!

What a big joke!

Sony's mobile phone department wants to ask the camera department for relevant photography technology, but it can't even get it?

joke!

What a big joke!

Mr. Fang, a member of Sony’s board of directors, contacted the camera department for technical assistance, but was rejected?

Fangzhuo nailed the first joke in front of Stringer.

"Sir, if I hadn't called Ichiro Miyamoto from the mobile phone department, I never would have thought that Sony's internal affairs would be like this!"

"This year, oh no, Sony's improvement last year was not entirely due to your outstanding leadership in the US market, Sir?"

"The external competitive pressure is so great, yet our company is still so internally strife. This is unforgivable behavior!"

"Whether Sony is a company that will just rot or continue to become great depends on this internal change!"

Fang Zhuo was very sad.

After all, I, as a foreign director, was still reluctant. I contacted Japan's camera department twice and wanted to get a team to help Yike Mobile. In the end, I didn't agree. Why is it so short-sighted?

If Yike Mobile develops, will it forget its brother company?

Stringer was also shocked. Forget about him, this kind of thing would sound ridiculous to any outsider!

The most critical thing is that he did not receive any reports in this regard, and the consumer electronics business is mainly responsible for Kutaragi Ken.

Fang Zhuo also knows Sony's internal power structure. He personally witnessed the formation of Sony's new top management.

Stringer and Ken Kutaragi chose to cooperate in order to get the upper hand, but the harmony between the two was not so harmonious.

In addition, Stringer originally wanted to implement more radical layoffs and business line adjustments, but due to the situation, he had to use the "Transformation 60" strategic plan formulated by the previous leader.

If others don't know these things, can Director Fang still be unclear?

In particular, Sony's blockbuster product PS3 had many problems last year. Ken Kutaragi's internal fraud has been criticized internally even after the PS3 gradually improved.

it's time.

Sir, it's time to go big!

Fang Zhuo did not name Kutaragi Ken at all, but only talked about the tip of the iceberg reflected in the deep gap between the "camera department" and the "mobile phone department", and only talked about the intensity of reforms implemented by Sony Group.

Transformation 60 is a strategy proposed by Nobuyuki Dei. Who should be credited with the Sony Group's recovery now?

The PS3 is fake, the TV business is sluggish, and Sony's consumer electronics is in a league of its own. It was clear that Sony Ericsson's mobile phones were in good shape last year, but they still suffered such unfair treatment!

Take a look at Sony today. Who is the leader in the world?

What is the role of outside directors or non-executive directors?

Isn't it just to criticize the current ills from the perspective of a bystander?

Fang Zhuo played his due role as an outside director in front of the head of Sony.

Most importantly, this year's shareholder meeting of Sony is approaching.

The consumer electronics landscape needs to move.

After a long conversation, Stringer had to admit that Sony had huge internal problems, and also had to admit that Mr. Fang had a strong sense of responsibility.

Today, the situation is no longer the same as two years ago when we had to compromise.

"Mr. Fang, how do you think we can solve the problem of the internal system?" Stringer wanted to give him some advice.

Fang Zhuo only said four words sincerely: "Rewards and punishments are clear."

Stringer was lost in thought, who gets the credit? Who is at fault?

Regardless of who has merit or demerit, Kutaragi Ken will be punished first, and then we will discuss.

The camera department is of course a success, and the mobile phone department is of course a success.

Stringer was determined to make changes that were in his interest, but a more detailed internal investigation was still needed.

But Fang Zhuo will not participate in this internal management process.

The old Jazz was determined to change, and Director Fang left gracefully.

It's time to go back home for the holidays.

On February 4, Fang Zhuo, Yu Hong and some senior executives took a flight back to Shanghai.

But while they were in the air, HSBC suddenly issued a shocking announcement, announcing that its North American home loan and mortgage business had suffered huge losses and had written down related assets of US$10.8 billion.

US$10.8 billion in assets!

You know, HSBC has always been doing well before this, and there is no such trend at all.

For a time, HSBC's stock price plummeted, causing a number of financial stocks to also fall.

When Fang Zhuo arrived in Shanghai and drove to Hang Lung 23, he happened to meet a reporter who wanted to make an appointment for an interview.

The reporter stated the news from HSBC and mentioned the decline in Lehman's stock price, and asked Mr. Fang for his views.

Fang Zhuo faced the camera, blinked, digested the news, and made a little joke: "Oh, HSBC, don't be afraid, it's a technical adjustment."

He said meaningfully: "Lehman, there is not much time left for him."

I drank too much at a party last night, so I got up quickly in the morning and read a chapter in the afternoon.