The car giant started by marrying the daughter of the king

Throughout 1994, the computer and automobile industries experienced explosive growth, and the mobile phone industry was no exception.

In order to further establish its influence in the industry, Zhujiang Technology has also launched a new generation of products this year.

That's the skateboard phone.

In later generations, mobile phones were almost all flat, and there was no longer a market for skateboard phones.

However, during the decade between 2000 and 2010, skateboard phones once occupied a significant share of the market.

The fact that Zhujiang Technology developed the world's first skateboard phone at this time is definitely of great significance in enhancing its industry standing.

Historically, the world's first slider phone was the Siemens SL10, which was launched in 1998 and officially went on sale in early 1999.

This phone, with its top-and-bottom opening mechanism and separate screen and buttons, became the prototype of the slider phone, laying the design foundation for subsequent slider phones.

Compared to traditional candybar or flip phones, slider designs save more space while providing a larger screen and keyboard area.

Although Siemens' original phone had poor sales due to its overly advanced design, subsequent models further optimized the design, making slider phones mainstream.

Jiang Hui's decision to launch a more classic skateboard phone a few years ahead of schedule with Pearl River Technology is definitely a significant development for the global mobile phone industry.

This is also very beneficial for Pearl River Mobile to enter the global market.

After all, this is an innovative product, and no one can deny the achievements of Pearl River Technology.

"President Jiang, the advertising campaign for the skateboard phone has been filmed, and we've hired a celebrity from Hong Kong to be the spokesperson."

"And we will also be placing ads on China TV."

"We also invited various media outlets to the related product launch events."

As the world's first skateboard phone, Liu Donghui certainly attaches great importance to it.

This is a great opportunity to establish our industry standing; we must spread the word and let more people know.

"As the world's first skateboard phone, the Pearl River H1 is an important guarantee for our brand to move towards the high-end market."

"Setting the price too low is meaningless."

Jiang Hui definitely hopes that Zhujiang Technology's products will become high-end products; otherwise, it would be a bit awkward if the sales volume is high but the profit is low.

Like Apple in later generations, everyone knows that its profit margin is very high, but many people still choose to buy it.

Brand influence plays a significant role in this.

In addition to promotion, technological innovation is also very important for a brand's influence.

Without a doubt, the skateboard phone was a significant technological innovation in 1994.

It will become a model for many companies to emulate in the future.

"The price of the Pearl River H1 starts at 8888 yuan in China and at 1199 US dollars internationally."

"Although this price isn't the most expensive on the market, it's already very high among domestically produced mobile phones."

In recent years, thanks to the rapid development of the mobile phone market, mobile phone prices have also dropped rapidly.

Previously, phones were priced at over 10,000 yuan, but now there are many phones priced under 10,000 yuan.

There are even many mobile phones priced under 5000 yuan.

The starting price of the Pearl River H1 is set at 8888 yuan, while the high-end models are priced at over 10,000 yuan, which is not low.

However, Liu Donghui was quite confident.

"Well, the starting price of 8888 yuan is not bad, and it leaves us enough profit margin."

"Although our selling price is relatively high and the cost pressure is not very great, we still need to strengthen cost control."

"The cost of various electronic components needs to be continuously reduced in order to leave enough room for future price reductions."

Competition in this field will definitely be fierce in the future.

A rapid drop in mobile phone prices is inevitable.

Jiang Hui did not want the company's profits to decline as mobile phone prices dropped.

To achieve this, the entire industry chain needs to reduce costs.

After all, key components such as chips and motherboards are produced by companies within the group.

Raising the requirements for these companies is essentially raising the competitiveness of our own group.

“No problem, we have a dedicated cost reduction team.”

"Currently, neither internationally nor domestically, no mobile phone manufacturer can match our cost competitiveness."

Liu Donghui said with great confidence.

In recent years, Pearl River Science and Technology has developed very rapidly.

With the support of the group, the technology has also quickly caught up with the international mainstream level.

"Okay, as long as you have confidence."

"Go ahead and make the arrangements as you reported."

……

"Mr. Zhou, I think the company could consider setting up a dedicated team to assist Zhujiang Technology and BMW Group in their publicity efforts."

"Whether it's mobile phones, computers, or cars, they all have a large audience, and many people are willing to read news about these things."

"And these companies related to the group are all industry leaders in these areas, so our publicity efforts must also be coordinated."

As the editor-in-chief of Zhujiang Online, Fang Siwen has a high level of sensitivity.

Even if these sister companies were all excellent, he would still find a way to help promote them properly.

One of the purposes of the group's establishment of Zhujiang Online is to better promote its products.

Fang Siwen was very clear about this.

"Your suggestion makes a lot of sense."

"Taking the launch of the Zhujiang H1 as an opportunity, we should carefully consider the publicity issues of related companies within the group."

"On the one hand, we need to promote the group's products very well, but we also cannot cause resentment among some people."

Zhou Yun naturally understood the meaning behind Fang Siwen's words.

If this aspect of business is not done well, then no matter how well Zhujiang Online performs, it will still be imperfect.

"The Pearl River H1 is the world's first skateboard phone, and no one can deny this innovation."

"I think the upcoming publicity work can focus on this point."

"They even directly compared products from companies like Motorola and Nokia."

"Bringing them to promote the Pearl River H1 should be very beneficial in stimulating companies like Nokia to advertise on our website."

As soon as Fang Siwen said that, Zhou Yun immediately understood.

Many media organizations have used similar tactics.

The effect has been enduring and has always been quite good.

Even in the era of self-media, many automotive self-media outlets still rely on this trick to make a living.

If a car brand advertises on its own account, it certainly won't speak ill of them.

"Big spender," that's not just a casual remark.

Conversely, some companies, despite being large in scale, are unwilling to invest in any advertising.

Then they will definitely try to expose some negative news until you place an advertisement.

Therefore, advertising costs in the automotive industry cannot be easily reduced.

There's very deep water in there.

"Okay, you can communicate with Zhujiang Technology."

"Let them provide us with some materials in a timely manner."

Zhou Yun agreed without any hesitation. This matter needed to be handled properly.

……

"President, I think the company could consider developing a skateboard phone; some consumers should like it."

Before the semiconductor troubles were even resolved, Pearl River Technology was already stirring up trouble in the mobile phone industry.

On Samsung Electronics' side, Kim Tae felt like he was being led by the nose.

But the idea of ​​a skateboard phone is truly amazing.

He went to the official website of Pearl River Technology to look up various information about the Pearl River H1 and was quite impressed.

"Is this the kind of skateboard phone you're talking about?"

Looking at the various pictures and related information in front of him, Li Jianxi also became interested.

As the president of Samsung Electronics, he does have some foresight.

Otherwise, Samsung Electronics wouldn't have been able to develop so rapidly over the years.

"Yes, I have a feeling that these skateboard phones will become an important category in the future mobile phone market."

"While it's impossible for all consumers to buy it, it's entirely possible to capture a 10% or 20% market share."

Kim Tae expressed his opinion.

Having worked in the marketing department for a long time, I spend every day analyzing various competitors and industry development prospects.

He might not be able to suggest which product is most likely to be popular.

But once someone else brings it out, he can definitely tell the difference.

It's like asking me to do a fill-in-the-blank question; I probably wouldn't be able to do it.

But if I have to choose between multiple-choice questions, I usually have no problem.

"As I understand it, the core of a slider phone lies in the sliding mechanism. It needs to ensure that it can still remain smooth after tens of thousands of openings and closings, while avoiding structural loosening or jamming due to long-term friction."

"This requires high-quality components. Can we handle it in a short time?"

Li Jianxi is a discerning person.

The skateboard phone looks pretty good.

However, it will definitely take time to develop it.

Zhujiang Technology's ability to develop the H1 now must mean they started researching it a long time ago.

In this respect, Samsung Electronics is undoubtedly lagging behind.

Fortunately, other competitors such as Nokia and Motorola are in similar situations.

"We can solve your problem using a spring and guide rail solution."

"Using precision metal guide rails in conjunction with highly elastic springs ensures smooth sliding, but the problem of metal fatigue needs to be solved."

"In addition, the upper half of the screen and the lower half of the keyboard of a slider phone need to maintain electrical continuity when sliding, while avoiding tangling or breakage of the wires."

"This can be solved using flexible circuit boards."

"As for the linkage design between the screen and keyboard, the opening and closing status can be detected by Hall sensors or mechanical switches to trigger the screen to wake up. It is necessary to ensure the response speed and low accidental touch rate."

Clearly, although the appearance of the Pearl River H1 was somewhat sudden, Jin Tai had confirmed and consulted with technical experts before reporting to Li Jianxi.

So they quickly came up with a solution.

Or rather, the solution used by Pearl River H1 was quickly explained.

If the other party can handle it, Jin Tai thinks Samsung Electronics can too.

"In that case, let's assign someone to develop it."

After much deliberation, Li Jianxi decided that it would be better to assign someone to develop the project than to continue observing.

Samsung Electronics wants to have everything its competitors have.

……

"Sister, the design of the Pearl River H1 from Pearl River Technology is really quite good."

"I heard it was your brother-in-law's idea?"

Zhou Yun would often ask Zhu Ling to have dinner together so the two sisters could chat.

After the Zhujiang H1 was launched, she immediately changed her phone.

I must say, the piano black exterior combined with the skateboard design makes it a true representative of today's fashionable mobile phones.

"It was indeed designed by your brother-in-law. He comes up with creative ideas from time to time, which often give people a very amazing feeling."

Zhu Ling's face was full of smiles.

She was absolutely 100% satisfied with her husband, Jiang Hui.

The couple has rarely argued over the years.

The key issue is that countless beautiful girls are trying to get close to Jiang Hui through various means, hoping to have a chance to get involved.

But none of them were successful.

Although Zhu Ling is very confident in her appearance, she is getting older after all.

Besides, even the most beautiful wife can become tiresome to look at eventually.

It's truly remarkable that Jiang Hui has consistently avoided seeking novelty.

"This phone has now become a new favorite in the fashion world, and many female celebrities have switched to using the Pearl River H1."

"I estimate that other mobile phone manufacturers will launch similar products in the future."

"Zhujiang Technology has pioneered a completely new track."

Zhou Yun was well aware of how difficult it was to start a completely new track in a mature industry.

This kind of innovation seems to be just a thin layer of paper; once you break through it, it's nothing at all.

But before you break through that barrier, it's incredibly difficult.

"Zhujiang Technology has registered many patents for skateboard phones. It will probably not be easy for other manufacturers to launch similar products and completely bypass these patents."

"There will probably be a lawsuit then."

Zhu Ling could also foresee that many skateboard-style mobile phones would definitely appear on the market in the next few years.

These phones may infringe on Pearl River Technology's patents.

"Not necessarily. If they are willing to pay the patent fees honestly, then that's fine too."

Zhou Yun had served as Jiang Hui's secretary for so many years, so she was very familiar with many aspects of the industry.

However, those international mobile phone giants are probably unwilling to obediently pay patent fees to a Chinese company.

That's another matter.

"Never mind, the group has so many legal teams that they can handle any situation."

BMW Group is a sure-fire winner in Nanshan, so Zhu Ling isn't worried about a lawsuit.

If the BMW Group, having grown to its current size, still needs to be timid and easily bullied, that would be ridiculous.

"My brother-in-law is now gradually delegating a lot of the company's business to the heads of the various companies."

"He even joked with me that from now on he would only be the chairman of various companies and not the general manager of any of them."

"Even BMW Group's new models are reportedly being designed by other people."

"Is my brother-in-law really planning to retire?"

After chatting for a while, Zhou Yun finally asked the question he most wanted to ask today. (End of Chapter)