Reinventing the Millennium

The public opinion of Nokia and Yike that had calmed down once again stirred up trouble due to the words of the big short Paulson.

More attention from hedge funds, more analysis from financial media, and more consideration from industry stakeholders.

In addition, the tougher attitude of the head of Yike has attracted more attention to this patent competition between the overlord and the dark horse.

Even the domestic media in China finally began to report on the before and after process.

Previously, Yike did not want such things to be publicized in the country, and deliberately kept a low profile in public opinion. However, many well-known overseas media could not bear to follow up, which made it impossible to cover up local voices.

Some people write about the cruelty of patent competition, some criticize the injustice that has been revealed in the Korean market, and some worry about the future of a rare Chinese international mobile phone brand.

Some people quickly noticed that Mr. Fang’s statement sounded like a clarion call for attack—it was time to short Nokia.

Huh? Why does this sentence sound familiar?

After Mr. Fang used Lehman to buy houses for everyone, will he start distributing cars again?

Many people have @Mr. Fang on Weibo and Zhihu, but they have not received a response, and they have not seen any new financial funds launched by the bank last time.

The network was ineffective, so some people thought about calling Yike Company, while others called the after-sales numbers of Yike mobile phones and Yigou website, requesting that they join forces to fight for Mr. Fang.

But this also has little effect. It just exercises the after-sales affordability of the two companies.

"Mr. Fang is busy working abroad and has no time to pay attention to us."

"Mr. Xiong, Mr. Xiong, come out. We know you are watching. Go and persuade Mr. Fang to take people to drink soup!"

Xiong Xiaoge, co-founder of Zhihu, once published a series on Zhihu about shorting Lehman's profits. This time he was also called out, but he also did not respond.

On the one hand, he is carefully and actively observing Yike's patent dispute and Mr. Fang's high-end game, and considering whether IDG China should buy some stocks now.

On the other hand, he is also quietly trying to influence IDG's US strategy.

Key patents, secondary markets, ITC rulings, battles between major manufacturers, the most famous short seller on Wall Street, the advancement and retreat of the mobile phone industry, the success and failure of Yike's global market...all kinds of factors are mixed together.

Xiong Xiaoge lives in China but his heart is in New York. Because his interests are related, he is extremely cautious.

On January 24, he saw Mr. Fang update his Twitter and saw his Twitter account’s followers surge by half a million. He suddenly had a clear understanding that this would be a very influential event in the Internet era. High end bureau.

Two days later, Xiong Xiaoge saw another update from Mr. Fang on Twitter, this time promoting a Google Live interview on the last day of February, at which time he would personally talk about Yike's road to success.

There is no doubt that this is the beginning of President Fang's campaign.

Xiong Xiaoge still has fresh memories of President Fang’s words “I like to be a minority” that many consumers still talk about, and she trusts his ability to muddy the waters.

However, he didn't expect that on the last day of February, in YouTube's Google Live room, in addition to Mr. Fang himself, there would also be Google CEO Schmidt, and I don't know which one of the two would actually put it. Steve Jobs, the head of Apple, was also invited.

Yike and Apple are fierce competitors.

Google has cooperation with Yike and Apple on the search engine side, and the former is the leader of its Android camp.

However, Apple first negotiated with Nokia and then publicly spoke out. It seemed that it had a tacit understanding with Yike. This change is very puzzling.

At the very least, Xiong Xiaoge never guessed why Apple would do this.

It couldn't have been Mr. Fang who broke into Apple's office and threatened Steve Jobs, right?

No matter how bad Mr. Fang is, he has a bottom line.

Yike used YouTube's live broadcast function for last year's press conference. Xiong Xiaoge also won a Mars2 at that time. When he logged in to his account again this time, he couldn't help but make a small suggestion before the official start.

Xiong Xiaoge regretfully typed in English: "We should invite Nokia's Kallasvuo over. What a pity."

The YouTube live broadcast room is undergoing final debugging. Google CEO Schmidt also personally arranged the interview scene. He personally adjusted the position of the sofa and signaled the staff to adjust the angle of the projection in the live broadcast room so that they could all clearly see the interaction. Comment.

Although all three of them are very important, the atmosphere of the interview was very relaxed and natural, without too much design.

Fang Zhuo drank tea with a smile, feeling a little regretful that Kallasvuo rejected his invitation. Otherwise, it would be great for everyone to have an open debate face to face.

At this time, he saw a comment on YouTube - "We should invite Nokia's Kallasvuo over. What a pity."

Fang Zhuo glanced at the username and instructed: "This person should be invited out. Be kind."

Xiong Xiaoge's account was kicked out by the administrator.

He refreshed the interface in shock and found that he could only be a tourist who could not comment.

"Haha, I'm just kidding, no need to kick, no need to kick, whatever you want to say today." Fang Zhuo laughed.

The administrator remained silent.

Xiong Xiaoge shouted silently, "I'm not kidding, I really got kicked!"

"Mr. Fang likes to make jokes like this." Jobs, who was present at the scene, finished with a cold expression and thought.

"I am optimistic and think that whether facing Nokia or Samsung, Yike can be competitive enough." Fang Zhuo replied.

Schmidt next to him quickly sat down: "Has it started? Has it started?"

Fang Zhuo and Jobs looked at Schmidt together and asked who he was talking about.

Schmidt went to see the YouTube person again and got an OK sign.

He showed a steady and decent smile and said to the camera: "Welcome to Google's live channel. In the past year, YouTube and CNN have cooperated to lead debates, cooperated on new attempts in music, sports and other fields, and also welcomed More viewers and users are coming.”

"YouTube is a booming video platform. We plan to broadcast the Super Bowl and Linkin Park concerts to global audiences in the future, and we plan to make YouTube more dynamic."

Schmidt noticed the expressionless faces of the two leaders, canceled the rest of the long speech, and said: "Of course, we are also very concerned about the current discussions that are of transformative significance to the mobile phone industry. Today we invited Apple's Steve Jobs and Fang Zhuo from Yike would like to talk about their respective views on the development of the company."

YouTube's live broadcast room began to receive more viewers as the website diverted traffic.

Schmidt took out his cards and recalled his previous rehearsal plans, thinking about how to smooth the warm-up and ask questions.

Fang Zhuo saw him dilly-dallying and asked Jobs directly: "What does Apple think of this patent competition between Yike and Nokia?"

Schmidt perked up, OK, very direct.

In fact, he was also surprised by Apple's sudden change of attitude.

Jobs said honestly: "Apple is carefully evaluating the impact of the patent competition between the two companies. Just like now, we are prepared to wait for the dust of your mutual disputes to settle before continuing appropriate cooperation."

He used a word, mutual complaint.

"Are you just waiting for both Yike and Nokia to suffer losses?" Fang Zhuo was very straightforward.

"This largely depends on the intensity of your words." Jobs did not feel uncomfortable with live broadcasts and spoke straightforwardly, "I am very curious, if Kallasvuo is really still the president of Nokia, won't Yike reconcile with it? ?”

This was one of the reasons why he was willing to come today. He wanted to hear the answer from the person involved.

"Of course, after all, it won't be too long before our new phone launch in June." Fang Zhuo explained the matter from the company's operations, "I saw many hedge funds discussing Yike's ban by ITC. .”

"However, they are all hiding something from the public intentionally or unintentionally."

"Nokia applied for a ban on sales of Yike Mars 1 and Mars 2 to ITC. Mars 3, which we released in June, is not included in the ruling."

"Tomorrow is March, June is very close, and our new products are going very well."

Jobs interrupted: "But your lawsuit with Nokia is likely to come to an end in April. A two-month gap will be a deep harm, won't it?"

Fang Zhuo replied calmly: "I have confidence in our Mars 3 and also in our channel providers. In fact, there is still a 60-day buffer period after the ITC ruling, which is enough for our Mars 3 to be successfully launched."

Jobs pointed out the impact positively: "The launch of new products means the price reduction of old models. Without the old models, Yike's 2009 financial report will not be very good, and it will also face great competitive pressure."

Fang Zhuo admitted this: "Indeed, but I think Yike's efforts are worth it. Nokia cannot defeat Yike. Any products it tries to gain response in the capacitive screen market in the future will be targeted by Yike's patents. Nokia The trouble is far greater than ours.”

Yike was banned, which meant half of his health was cut off.

Then came Nokia in full force.

This is the view of many media.

What Fang Zhuo is refuting now is this assertion. Yike will be affected, but this impact is within an acceptable range, because Yike's smartphone brand has already established its positioning, but Nokia's Symbian-based smartphone I haven't received very good feedback.

Once this situation continues, Nokia's market share will decline even more alarmingly.

Now, Yike plays the role of blocking the barrier.

While the two of them were drinking water, Schmidt briefly explained the point of view of the head of Yike, then looked at Jobs and asked: "It is obvious that Apple will completely cancel the cooperation with Nokia based on the interests of the company. Looking at Yike, Koka kills the future of Nokia phones, doesn’t it?”

Jobs smiled and didn't answer.

But the answer is self-evident. Apple has used actions to show whose market they covet more.

Despite its decline, Nokia still holds the largest share in the world.

As long as Yike is desperate to unseat Nokia, Apple and other manufacturers will benefit from this.

“From the release of iPhone and Mars in 2007 to the upcoming third-generation products of the two companies this year, in just over two years, I must honestly express my feelings. As the CEO of Google, I I never expected that Nokia would be forced to do this." Schmidt said with emotion, "I was even threatened by someone pointing at the president's nose."

Fang Zhuo corrected: "It's not a threat, it's my attitude after being threatened by others."

Schmidt did not change his words and continued to ask: "I believe I am not the only one who feels this rapid change. What is going on? How did everything happen?"

This question is somewhat broad.

The two leaders each pondered.

Fang Zhuoxian spoke: "Actually, looking forward at this time of year, I think there is a very interesting point worth noting. Nokia was basically in its heyday in 2007, with a market share of more than 40%. This is extremely scary. number."

"Nokia's market share is a brilliant achievement and a dazzling shackles."

"Because it is relatively saturated in the market, and its expansion largely comes from customer replacement. I didn't bring data today, but this replacement rate should be far beyond linear expectations."

"Such a heavy reliance on old customers' mobile phone upgrades is a hidden danger. It is at this moment that Yike and Apple appear."

"Of course, there are many factors that led Nokia to where it is today."

"For example, when the company is in decline, it still insists on using Kallasvuo, who is nearly 60 years old and has served Nokia for 30 years, as CEO. This is the short-sightedness of its board of directors, because..."

Fang Zhuo had a dry mouth and unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle.

Schmidt awaits.

Jobs was aroused by the atmosphere of the discussion and gave his own observations and opinions: "Such a CEO has a very distinct label of being bureaucratic in a large company."

Fang Zhuo put down the bottle and nodded in agreement: "Look, I'm not the only one who said this."

Schmidt complained: "Is this because you are both his competitors?"

Fang Zhuo added: "Huh? Isn't it because the three of us are his competitors here today?"

In the YouTube live broadcast room, this seemingly unfair and unobjective discussion became very interesting. The leaders of the three companies are very thick-skinned!

"We won't discuss Kallasvuo today." Fang Zhuo waved his hand, unwilling to attack President Kang. "Nokia will pay the price for him. Its board of directors doesn't believe it. Just wait."

He signaled that he wanted to hear Jobs' point of view.

"I talked about specific products at the press conference." Jobs said impromptuly without talking about the product perspective. "I am reminded of Ford. The period Ford was in was the period of popularization of automobile technology. What is usually the situation during the period of technological popularization? New The technology is better and more expensive, and the latter often blocks the popularity of the former."

He continued: “Whoever can reduce the cost of technology popularization through economies of scale will have the greatest advantage.”

Fang Zhuo pointed out a specific operation: "So, you find a telecom operator to share this cost."

Jobs glanced at Mr. Fang, acquiescing to this factor.

He paused and then said: "In 2007, the competition in mobile phones was already fierce. This is not a new industry, but finding the trend of smartphones in a saturated industry is a new direction from the old track. Consumers are willing to pay for differentiation.”

"Now Apple and Yike have completed a virtuous cycle of larger scale and lower costs, and the smartphone market has undergone substantial changes."

Jobs said meaningfully: "Nokia may not have realized this yet, but now it has become a challenger to smartphones."

Fang Zhuo clapped gently, saying that he liked this sentence.

Comments were flowing in the YouTube live broadcast room. Everyone loved this level of rare face-to-face discussion.

At the same time, Kallasvuo, who returned to the Finnish headquarters, immediately witnessed the de facto alliance between Yike and Apple.

Enemies come together for the greater good.

The key patents for capacitive screens are held by these two companies.

Nokia is indeed facing a severe test.

Kallasvuo looked at YouTube expressionlessly, without panicking. He thought of the new power facing this situation, another low-key giant that competed with Google and held a large number of patents.

Microsoft.

You are not the only ones who will unite!

Go ask Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer!