Reinventing the Millennium.

Chapter 794 Good intentions (6K)

The Open Handset Alliance in March next year.

A software preinstallation location for the Android system.

Sony's external director Fang Zhuo and Apple's external director Schmidt reached two important consensuses related to Android under the witness of Google founder Larry and Yike America President Yu Hong.

Immediately, Fang Zhuo and his team briefly visited Google.

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

"Schmidt and the others spent more than half a year back and forth in order to cooperate with the operator. In fact, although he said that the relationship with Verizon was tense, he should have had contact, but it didn't work."

Fang Zhuo pondered: "What Schmidt wants is not an ordinary cooperation, but to use the channel of the operator. The reason why it is so difficult to talk about is that they don't trust a new mobile phone system platform like Android."

Yu Hong nodded and said, "This kind of trust is very difficult."

She saw Mr. Fang's eyes, guessed his thoughts, and pondered for a while: "The reason why Apple can cooperate with AT&T, I heard the news now is that the two sides have talked for a long time, maybe longer than Google, and I don't know about them. What is the way of cooperation, I am afraid that there will be more disclosures after the press conference."

Fang Zhuo nodded, Schmidt’s source must be accurate, and the cooperation between Apple and AT&T is exclusive, so there must be more details worth studying, but no matter what, the cooperative operator with 6000 million users is a new The best conditions for a mobile phone on the road.

He gave an order: "The operator's business will continue to depend on Google's efforts. Yike needs to form a joint team with Android for the purpose of developing applications based on the Android system."

Yu Hong said: "Google is doing this."

"No, we want to be more detailed, or as a lobbying task, the target is Amazon, Facebook and other companies, including YouTube, which was just acquired by Google, and the music application is our iMusic." Fang Zhuo said, "If you see The person you met may not have a good conversation, you can tell me, I can go directly to Amazon’s Bezos.”

Amazon+Facebook+YouTube+iMusic+Twitter...

Since it was released later than Apple, try to compete with better ecology + stronger hardware, which is to beat the speed with the slow.

According to the information obtained now, Fang Zhuo hopes that the Yike mobile phone will be launched at the end of the year or early next year, aiming at a window period before Apple's upgrade.

Yu Hong agreed and canonized Mr. Fang as the team's press box lobbying director.

The motorcade arrived at Yike's Silicon Valley R&D center.

Some domestic executives came here for the first time and couldn't help taking pictures.

Fang Zhuo, Yu Hong, and Xu Kedeng arrived at the meeting room first.

Soon, Fang Zhuo saw a box of prototype designs.

Last time, in order to convince Google and Qualcomm, we came up with three prototypes similar to Apple 5, P30, and Lumia920, but this is not the final three options, but continued to design and change along these three options.

How can the capacitive screen provided by Sharp be most acceptable to 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 is the entity key placed?
Any change is a new design, and multiple factors create a box of prototypes.

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

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

then……

He was blindsided.

Hey, this seems to work, and that seems to work too. After explaining, who has the truth.

"Stop, stop, stop, Judy, go get a cup of coffee first." Fang Zhuo invited Zhu Di, the deputy director of industrial design of the R&D 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, they didn't hit the two that Fang Zhuo was looking for at all.

Afterwards, President Yu and Director Xu were also invited out for coffee.

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

OK, OK, stroke again.

He first put the original No. 2 and No. 3 prototypes in front of him, and then used the screen size most recommended by Sharp according to the information to select the 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, and the price of the touch screen module is $68.2. Compared with Yike’s initial contact with Sharp to get the capacitive screen for R&D, Sharp can now provide For mass-produced products, the resolution of this capacitive screen is 320x480.

This is slightly in line with Fang Zhuo's expectations. Time will allow mass production of those that cannot be mass-produced, and the cost of mass-produced products will be further reduced.

The price is a quotation, and there must be room for further negotiations. Sharp should be one of Apple's suppliers, and of course the same size is strongly recommended.

Fang Zhuo picked out a 920-inch variant design in the style of Lumia 30 and P3.5.

According to Sharp's sub-sub and sub-sub-recommendations, the 3.7-inch and 4-inch designs are selected. There is no quotation for these two types for the time being, and the resolutions are 480x854 and 800*480, which are much stronger than last time.

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

The next selection did not take the screen size as the main criterion, but increased the weight of the screen ratio.

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

But this kind of futurization is currently facing practical industrial problems. How to position the front camera and earpiece?How to place the light distance sensor?How to solve the easy mistouch when answering and calling the mobile phone?
All these kinds of problems cannot be solved in a short while, on the contrary, it is precisely the need to solve these problems that will undoubtedly determine the future research and development direction of Yike mobile phones.

Fang Zhuo reluctantly ruled out a few more prototypes that were difficult to mass-produce, and the goal behind became clear.

The 3.7/4-inch screen is inlaid in the middle, the front camera + earpiece is on the top, the virtual function button area is on the bottom, and the lock screen button is on the right. Considering the recognition and differences, there is no physical button on the bottom like Apple. Instead, leave the smooth entire screen to the consumer.

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

In this way, the basic outline is established, where to choose the front camera, the function arrangement of the function keys, the choice of the material of the back cover, whether the battery can be disassembled and other details are still left to the R&D team to discuss.

These issues are equally important and will collectively 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 Kedeng, Zhu Di and other executives into the conference room again, there were only four prototypes with a more consistent style left 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. 1 with the features of No. 3 added.

"I think these are all okay." Fang Zhuo took a pen and drew a sketch of the shape of the mobile phone, "We want to innovate the design and be able to go on the market, so we will make two more such prototypes based on 3.7 and 4 inches .”

He picked up the four mobile phones in front of him again, and asked Xu Keden and Zhu Di some detailed ideas and materials one by one.

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

Finally, Zhu Di talked about a decision-making issue: "Mr. Fang, we believe that from a more consumer-friendly point of view, 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&D center noticed this, some agreed, some opposed, and their opinions were reflected in a box of prototypes.

Now, the 4 prototypes selected on the table are still not disassembled.

Judy is a pragmatic person. She herself has a great need for mobile phone power, and she belongs to the kind of person who always has several batteries on her body.

"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 an objective need."

"In fact, I have really considered this issue seriously, and I wanted to see your overall opinions again." Fang Zhuo pondered, "Let me tell you what I think, it is really more convenient to disassemble it, and just replace it when the battery is out. However, does such a disassembly limit the material of the back cover?"

He continued: "Glass and ceramic materials are hard to reuse, aren't they?"

Xu Keden added: "Metal materials are also more difficult, and the best engineering plastics are used."

Fang Zhuo frowned: "Is the metal material not good for the signal? If possible, I hope the shell material is glass, and 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 backs are definitely materials that make consumers feel very differently.

Also, the overall feeling of the two mobile phones is also different, and the plastic tends to feel cheap.

Judy thought about it left and right. I actually like the texture of metal and glass, but I really hate the moment when the phone is out of power. Which one has a higher priority?
She picked up the cup, 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 rely on the research and development of battery technology." Judy gave his attitude.

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly, this was his own decision on the direction.

Discussions in the conference room continued until sunset.

San Francisco's December evening breeze brought some chills.

Fang Zhuo, Yu Hong, and Xu Kedeng walked out of the R&D center together, and looked at the last ray of light in the sky at the same time.

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 reached his age, he couldn't help thinking of the first time he met Mr. Fang and Mr. Yu in the Shencheng restaurant. He vaguely remembered that the first sentence he always said was "shake hands and avoid it"...

The cold wind blows from the car passing by.

Xu Keden, who was caught in the memory, came back to his senses, looked at Mr. Fang and Mr. Yu who were leaving, and said lightly: "I haven't got in the car yet."

People, it is necessary to make a choice at a critical moment to get on the car or not to get on the car.

Xu Keden planned to make himself a glass of wine when he went back.

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

"The integrated design also has the advantage that it can compress the thickness of the mobile phone and make it lighter." Yu Hong still refers to whether the battery is disassembled or not.

"Well, the different problems of mobile phones are quite related. I heard from Mr. Xu that they plan to insert an electric motor inside the mobile phone, and then use an eccentric iron to generate vibrations, but there is not much room left now, and they are considering starting from How can it be squeezed 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 being listed."

Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "Making Progress."

This is the company slogan of Yike.

Yu Hong turned her head 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, operators, Sharp, Amazon, FB, etc. in the software ecosystem, I plan to invite all of them to be guests." Fang Zhuo said seriously, "Software and hardware are integrated. Globalization is still a great concept.”

"What we convey to consumers is that we don't build a mobile phone with hardware, but put it in front of consumers together with a software ecosystem that is more free than traditional systems."

"It's also in line with open source Android."

"The positioning of Yike mobile phone is the king of the Android camp."

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

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

"It's worth drinking an extra glass of wine." Fang Zhuo suggested with a smile.

Yu Hong nodded.

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

It was Anderson, the vice president of Qualcomm who was in charge of contacting Yike.

When Fang Zhuo ended the phone call, he said apologetically, "Mr. Yu, I'm afraid I won't be able to drink this wine. Anderson wants to see me and talk about our mobile phone. He just told me with certainty that the Apple mobile phone does not use Qualcomm and Texas Instruments. chip."

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

Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, and Intel are the three major mid-to-high-end chip designers.

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

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

"Why?" Fang Zhuo asked with a smile.

Yu Hong said from an angle that Fang Zhuo didn't expect: "Samsung's chip solution is adopted, so it must also use Samsung's chip foundry. Its current mature process is 90nm, right? Isn't Bingxin working on 65nm?"

Instead, 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 foundation. It has already produced 90nm production capacity this year."

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

However, Bingxin hopes to catch up with Samsung on the 65nm node.

"I am the spiritual shareholder of Bingxin." Yu Hong showed a smile and asked again, "Why not Texas Instruments, Qualcomm and Intel?"

Fang Zhuo can give a guess of the answer. Intel thinks that mobile chips are not profitable, so they will withdraw from this field and focus on server and PC chips instead.

As for Texas Instruments and Qualcomm...

Anderson, vice president of Qualcomm, gave the answer.

"Apple thinks that TI's chip solution is not smart enough to meet its needs, but TI's major customer is Nokia, 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 lightly: "This has something to do with my desire to meet President Fang."

Fang Zhuo waited for the next article.

"I heard that Google is looking for a cooperative operator?" Anderson did not directly narrate, but talked about the closely watched Android trends.

Fang Zhuo nodded, remembered something, and notified the news: "Apple has an exclusive cooperation with AT&T."

Anderson nodded slightly, obviously already aware of this, and announced the answer: "AT&T is the obstacle to our cooperation with Apple. It is the WCDMA communication standard."

Apple, Samsung chips, AT&T, WCDMA, Qualcomm...

Various factors were linked together in Fang Zhuo's mind.

He understood immediately.

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

Both sides can't pee together.

AT&T, as Apple's exclusive partner, had a great influence on its choice, and finally it was Apple's cooperation with Samsung chips.

Fang Zhuo understood what Anderson meant, and incidentally guessed what he was going to communicate today.

The four largest carriers in the United States.

AT&T is WCDMA.

Verizon is CDMA2000.

T-Mobile is WCDMA.

Sprint is?
Fang Zhuo didn't remember No.4, and asked directly: "Aside from Verizon's CDMA, are there any major operators in the United States that choose CDMA?"

When Anderson heard this question, his expression was a little gloomy: "Sprint originally cooperated with us, and then switched to WiMAX."

Fang Zhuo made a mark on the operator Sprint. The WiMAX standard is a 3G standard forced by 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 has only one large operator operating in the United States.

He raised his wine glass and touched Anderson: "Yike mobile phone hopes to cooperate with more operators, but it also has the same action with Google, a partner. Qualcomm doesn't have a chip that supports 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 much influenced by AT&T. Mr. Fang, in fact, Verizon has 5000 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 the Android system and Yike mobile phone."

That's what Anderson came here for.

Qualcomm has heard the news that Google and T-Mobile are about to cooperate. This is undoubtedly another boost to the rival WCDMA camp, which is not what they want to see.

Fang Zhuo thought for a while, of course he would like to have more channels for mobile phones, but now there are two problems.

One, it's unclear whether the friction between Google and Verizon can be resolved.

Second, Anderson kept saying that the chip supports the WCDMA standard, but how effective is it? Is it because of the influence of AT&T or because of Qualcomm's unsatisfactory support for WCDMA that Apple cooperated with Samsung?

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

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

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

Anderson continued: "Verizon is the second largest carrier, with 5000 million customers, and if it succeeds, we all win."

He raised his glass.

Fang Zhuo raised his glass too.

Anderson added: "When Verizon joins the alliance, T-Mobile can be completely kicked out. It only has 2000 million users in the United States, which is less than half of Verizon."

Fang Zhuo put down his wine glass. Google and T-Mobile are very close. The sales of mobile phones depend on the channels of operators. T-Mobile is much stronger than Verizon in Europe.

Google may not be willing to agree to such conditions.

Moreover, if T-Mobile is kicked out, will Verizon also sign an exclusive cooperation?
What Fang Zhuo hopes is that Yike can support more standards more openly, instead of being tied up by operators, which also involves the consideration of the domestic market.

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

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

Fang Zhuo drank slowly, thinking carefully.

Of the four operators in the United States, the oldest is owned by Apple, the fourth has gone astray, and the third has basically negotiated with Google.
Qualcomm is optimistic about the prospects of Android and wants to push the second child to find more cooperation, but the second child may not know Qualcomm's good intentions.

But talk and see.

This person who came to the door may not be able to let each other take a step back.

Fang Zhuo finished his glass of wine, and immediately called Schmidt, chatting about the Open Mobile Alliance: "Schmidt, after coming back from you, I have been thinking about the partners of the alliance. Our alliance should still 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 think of Verizon you mentioned, it is the second largest operator with 5000 million subscribers." Fang Zhuo said regretfully, "You two were very nervous before?"

Schmidt said with a smile: "Does Mr. Fang also want to be a key person?"

"Yike and Qualcomm have the intention to cooperate, you can try it, after all, that is as high as 5000 million users." Fang Zhuo emphasized this point.

"The people at Verizon are very stubborn, and their conditions are very harsh." Schmidt complained, and added, "It would be great if Mr. Fang could negotiate with them."

"I'll give it a try. Echo and Qualcomm cooperate quite frequently. After all, Qualcomm's chip is very important to Echo's mobile phone. Unlike Texas Instruments, it cannot provide more design solutions. It is very considerate and a reliable partner. Moreover, Verizon users can also be a condition for success." Fang Zhuo praised, and said, "As long as Yike mobile phone can be successful, I believe it will continue to attract more mobile phone manufacturers."

Schmidt agrees that the first Android phone had better be a star product.

Fang Zhuo ended the call and looked at Anderson. He planned to talk to Google with Yike+Qualcomm+Verizon temporarily.

Anderson understood, and immediately picked up his mobile phone to call 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 contributes a little love, the world will become a better world.

(End of this chapter)