Reinventing the Millennium

What product can LG come up with?

Fang Zhuo is more curious about LG mobile phones than iPhone.

Apple has always been a competitor. It knows a lot of information and has psychological expectations, but LG is different. It is a competing product introduced to the market by an established manufacturer after the iPhone and Mars.

The most critical thing is that LG has also hooked up with the powerful operator Verizon.

Judging from the latest feedback from LG’s official announcement of new products to challenge the newly launched new generation iPhone, many technology bloggers and related media are quite optimistic.

In addition to the factors considered by Fang Zhuo, one factor that gives everyone great confidence is that LG is also backed by the world's largest smartphone operating system - Symbian!

As of the end of February, Yike's official website still kept silent updates on mobile phone sales, which made it easier for many media reports to quote data. On February 27, Mars' global sales exceeded 5 million units.

At the same time, Yike Company announced that it has signed contracts with operators in South Korea, Japan, Singapore and other places, which will allow consumers in more regions to experience 3G touch screen smartphones.

Judging from the data curve, the popularity of the European and American markets alone has declined, and it took a full month and three days for Mars to sell 4 to 5 million units!

"As many mobile phone manufacturers actively expand into the touch-screen product market, Yike Company has encountered severe challenges. In the past month and three days, it only sold one million Mars units, which is no longer as popular as before."

This is a report from a foreign media.

Fang Zhuo found it interesting after seeing it.

——Nokia only recently sold one million units, and Samsung only recently sold one million units.

Measured according to this level, Yike's "talent" is truly "talented".

However, despite the operator's subsidies, Mars' comprehensive revenue is not inferior to the retail price. It is already a flagship model promoted by big-name manufacturers and deserves the attention of all mobile phone manufacturers.

According to the current news about competing products and the decline in sales curve, Yike’s internal goal is to sell 8 million units before releasing the new phone in June.

That is to say, in the four months of March, April, May, and June, we still need to sell another 3 million units when competitors such as new iPhones and LG are waiting for us. Even with the opening up of operators in several Asian countries, this still has the potential to A lot of pressure.

Because the main Japanese and Korean markets are relatively conservative and stubborn, it remains to be seen how much sales it can provide.

What Fang Zhuo really hopes is that 3G can be launched in China as soon as possible, but it is becoming increasingly impossible in the near future. He can only wait and see the effect of the two generations of models after the release of the new Mars in June to dominate the mainland.

In the morning of the 2nd, I paid attention to industry news for half a day and listened to Pan Ben's report on the European market. In the afternoon, Yike's domestic meeting was held until after get off work.

With the midnight bell of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala as the start of domestic mobile phone announcements, Yike is on the one hand preparing to build brand experience stores in various places, and on the other hand it is also selecting qualified channel vendors.

With the sales of Mars in foreign countries, from south to north, from Zhongguancun to electrical appliance chains, Yike has been frequently contacted and shown favor.

In addition, a small amount of foreign parallel imports have also appeared in China, and the prices are quite high.

Yike's domestic conditions are excellent and the time is sufficient. Liu Qiangdong has officially arrived at the post. Fang Zhuo is very satisfied with the report he gave today.

On the morning of the 3rd, which was also the afternoon of the 2nd in the United States, Fang Zhuo did not watch the news about competing products this time. Instead, he held a morning meeting in advance at Hang Lung 23 to analyze LG’s new product releases.

What can I say about this new mobile phone from LG...

First of all, it’s cheap!

The carrier contract price of both iPhone and Mars starts at US$199, while LG's contract price starts at US$149.

Unlike Apple and Yiko who promoted the retail price at the press conference, LG openly promoted the contract price of the operator Verizon. There is no doubt that it wants to use price as an important means of competition.

Secondly, heap parameters!

The mobile phone model launched by LG is KC910, named Renoir. Its press conference listed the parameters of its competitors.

For example, Mars has a 2-megapixel rear camera, which directly goes to an 8-megapixel rear camera, and it is also a Schneider certified camera.

For example, the new iPhone has a 1 million front-facing camera; it has a 1.2 million front-facing camera.

For example, it weighs 110 grams, which is lighter than both the iPhone and Mars.

Such parameter comparison surprised the executives at Yike's morning meeting.

Something seems not quite right.

Why do you, LG, only choose good ratios? Your rear pixels are high, but your front pixels are still lower than Mars’ 2 million pixels. Why did you choose the iPhone’s 1 million pixels when it came to the front?

Also, LG's mobile phone screen is 3.0 inches. According to the press conference, this is the most suitable touch screen mobile phone for human hands.

After watching the entire press conference, Fang Zhuo felt quite relaxed.

"LG's power supply is 1,000 mAh, which is lower than both ours and Apple's."

"Its screen is smaller, but it is a capacitive screen and may infringe on our touch patent."

“The press conference didn’t talk much about Saipan’s ecology, so it may be lacking in this aspect.”

"However, its rear camera is 8 million. It seems that it wants to make a differentiated breakthrough based on its camera performance. Mr. Fang, will our new product have an enhanced rear camera?"

Liu Qiangdong summarized the information about LG Renoir, talked about its obvious shortcomings, and was also very concerned about the 8-megapixel camera.

As the saying goes, love what you do.

Since confirming that he will be transferred from e-commerce to mobile phones, Liu Qiangdong has actively used his holidays and daily spare time to carefully study internationally renowned mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia and Samsung. As far as the situation of domestic mobile phones is concerned, Yike's opponents are obvious. It's those predators.

Among these giants, even Nokia’s flagship phone only has 5 million pixels.

LG's 8 million parameters are quite eye-catching.

As for whether it can be dazzling enough to create a world...

Fang Zhuo gave the final summary of the morning meeting: "LG's is a 3.0-inch capacitive screen mobile phone with a 1 million front-facing camera based on the Symbian system and lacks software ecology. In order to cover up this design, it added an 8 million Pixel camera, okay, let’s leave the rest to the U.S. legal department for evaluation.”

His attitude is very determined.

Although LG thoughtfully respects consumers and disassembles the battery, the outer shell is still made of plastic.

Similarly, it also supports external storage TF cards, but only supports 4G.

After listening to Mr. Fang's judgment, the executives in the conference room all said yes. Only one thing did make many people murmur in their hearts. Saipan, the world's number one system, was also attributed to shortcomings by the boss.

The morning meeting focusing on important competing products ended quickly.

Fang Zhuo continued to listen to Liu Qiangdong's domestic work arrangements in his office.

When Dongzi came to an end, he couldn't help but praise: "It is said that gold shines wherever it is. Dongzi, you are not in e-commerce, but you were transferred to Yike, and you are doing a decent job."

Liu Qiangdong was a little confused. Although Mr. Fang praised it, the smell... was strange. Shouldn't it be a basic expectation to be presentable?

He could only say: "Mr. Fang, we have mobile phone sales outside and China Unicom procurement inside. The company has money and there are people below. It won't be bad if another executive is responsible for the development work. I want to work hard to make it better." .”

Fang Zhuo nodded, quite sober.

He smiled and said: "The Android system is open source. Making mobile phones based on this system will become easier and easier in the future. I believe our market will become more and more popular. What I hope is that from now on, while we have the advantage, we can step up Quick, step by step."

Liu Qiangdong nodded carefully, knowing that Yike's investment in the Android company was promoted by Mr. Fang, and this action has obviously paid off.

"In the past two days, a manufacturer in Zhuhai contacted the company and asked about the possibility of installing the Android system. The company's response was that the Android system is open source." Fang Zhuo mentioned the news, "Maybe this year or next year, other than us, we will There are two phone brands running Android.”

Liu Qiangdong heard the place name "Zhuhai", searched for relevant information in his mind, and quickly said: "Is the one in Zhuhai Meizu?"

Fang Zhuo was a little surprised.

"I have paid attention to the trends of some domestic manufacturers. Meizu has done well with MP3 before. I heard that they also want to make mobile phones, but they have always said that they will be equipped with Microsoft's Windows CE kernel. Have they re-developed it now?" Liu Qiangdong explained.

Fang Zhuo still wanted to praise Dongzi for his... work, deeds and love.

He shook his head: "I don't know whether Meizu will give up the Microsoft platform. It would be understandable if it gave up. After all, the feasibility of the Android system has been verified by us. If it were me, I would rather postpone the release and re-develop it."

Liu Qiangdong thought about going back and asking someone to ask Mr. Fang for accurate information. Because of the existence of the Android system, this should not be difficult.

"Mr. Fang, did you just say there would be two?"

Fang Zhuo thought for a while and said, "Not necessarily. Last time Hanwang transferred the Apple trademark to me, and I recommended him to make an Android phone. I don't know if he will do it. I feel that from now on, the project will be successful." The results will depend on the accuracy later.”

Liu Qiangdong remembered the King of Han in his heart.

Looking at it this way, domestic manufacturers may be willing to try the Android system with Yike as a shareholder.

No, it should be said that this may be the case for domestic small and medium-sized manufacturers and even manufacturers in other industries. For example, Lenovo and Amoi are among the top three domestically produced companies. Can they get away with it?

Liu Qiangdong ended his report by asking a question: "Mr. Fang, what can we achieve in our country?"

"I heard that the operator's restructuring plan has been finalized, and there may be action in June. We may go public after the Olympics." Fang Zhuo said the latest news from China Unicom.

"If it's June, then we'll be in July..." Liu Qiangdong hesitated. The Olympics ended at the end of August, which is a gap of two months.

Fang Zhuo shook his head and did not give more detailed information.

In any case, Yike has decided to cooperate with China Unicom, and the pace of product launch will follow China Unicom.

…

The iPhone launches new products, LG launches a touch screen camera, Samsung launches Android, and Nokia upgrades Symbian.

And, global sales of Yike Mars exceeded 5 million units.

From the second half of last year to March this year, the global mobile phone industry ushered in a powerful disruptor, which really stirred up the situation.

Among them, the dazzling achievements of a domestic manufacturer like Yike have undoubtedly amazed many Chinese people.

When Huang Zhang from Zhuhai Small Factory read the latest news from LG, he made a decision after much hesitation: "Stop the development of M8 and focus on Android!"

"Mr. Huang, our M8 already has a very good outline..." The vice president was puzzled by Huang Zhang's decision.

"Yiko Mars has sold 5 million units globally, not including domestically. I think even if it is sold in China without the 3G function, it can still compete with Samsung and Nokia." Huang Zhang decided to make a decision. He was very firm, "Mars has a very popular feature abroad, and that is the adaptation of software ecosystems such as Facebook and YouTube. I think it can also be done in China, such as Weibo, Zhihu, Tesco, Sina, and other companies Will definitely follow up.”

He confirmed: "Microsoft is eight thousand miles away, Yike is in Shanghai, M8 is no longer working on it, no, M8 is working on Android's M8!"

Meizu is determined to develop a smartphone powered by Android.

…

The new situation in the global mobile phone industry not only affects mobile phone users, but also affects the hearts of individual companies that have little to do with it.

For example, penguins.

Because of the attention from the top management, Penguin's investment department has been paying attention to the trends of domestic manufacturers recently and has expanded its investment scope accordingly.

After all, Microsoft's Windows CE kernel is open source, and Nokia's Symbian system is also open source.

Doesn’t Android want to conquer the world with open source?

Both important rivals are open source, isn't this back to the same starting point?

Penguin is anti-microbial and wants to support allies on mobile devices.

A person who resigned from an educational institution to start a website started thinking about starting a business after learning more about the Mars mobile phone. He asked someone to inquire about investment trends in the industry, and soon saw news about Penguin Investment.

In early March, Teacher Luo walked into Penguin’s door.

Then, he wanted to focus on Android and listened carefully to the analysis of investment teachers.

Well, Symbian and Microsoft seem to be OK, anyway, Penguin is investing money.

…

On March 16, Fang Zhuo met Zhang Rujing, who had returned from the United States. His return had been postponed again and again.

However, the veteran did not give a very definite situation in essence. Taiwan Records won the case, but SMIC still has to appeal. The relevant situation is still complicated and indeed not optimistic.

What is gratifying is that under the auspices of Zhang Rujing, SMIC has quickly finalized its cooperation with Datang Telecom and Mr. Fang, and will introduce new forces from these two parties through additional stock issuance in order to revive its development momentum.

Fang Zhuo invested some of the money he earned from shorting Lehman into SMIC, taking a 5% stake. This was a true legal tie.

Before he considered going abroad, he made another trip to southwest Sichuan, and surprising news came from an important competitor of Tesco.

Less than three months before Taobao’s June 18th event, former president Sun Tongyu suddenly resigned, saying he was going abroad to study. He was replaced by Alibaba Vice President Lu Zhaoxi.

Sun Tongyu is one of Ali's Eighteen Arhats, nicknamed "The God of Wealth", and his status is not low.

Leaving without warning at this time...

The surprise within Tesco did not last long.

Just two days later, Taobao, which was already contacting electrical appliance manufacturers, suddenly intensified its efforts and tried to attract a group of electrical appliance brands to participate in the June 18th event.

The president is replaced and the business is radical.

"It seems that Ma always integrated his internal opinions and decided to try the sword Yigou after the fight."

Fang Zhuogang's scheduled schedule had to be postponed again, and Taobao changed coaches. How could we not take this seriously?