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Chapter 434 0424 [The Harmony Foundation is Officially Established]

Not only Tencent has started writing applications based on the HarmonyOS system, but a large number of internet companies have also started having their programmers study and learn the HarmonyOS system.

At the same time, the HarmonyOS Foundation officially held its founding meeting, and representatives from suppliers such as Qualcomm (USA), SK Hynix (South Korea), and photo printing (Japan) also attended.

Currently, only a handful of capacitive touchscreen manufacturers can achieve mass production and guarantee a high yield rate. Japanese photo printing is one of them; they primarily produce thin-film screens, taking a different approach from the glass screens used by Apple.

The advantages are that it is lighter, thinner, and less prone to breakage.

The downsides are that the light transmittance isn't as high, and the feel isn't as silky smooth. Theoretically, the cost is low, but because the technology is relatively new, yield issues have increased the overall cost.

Chen Guiliang naturally wanted to use a cheaper glass screen with better light transmittance and a smoother feel. He didn't care if it was more prone to breaking.

However, the glass screens are unavailable; there's a waiting list of over six months. Even after waiting for six months, you can only get what's left over from major manufacturers like Apple.

Thin-film screens printed in Japan are relatively easy to buy; currently, only one major manufacturer, Samsung, uses them in one phone model. Other customers are smaller manufacturers like Meizu.

By the way, the Samsung phone with a thin-film screen is Samsung's first Android phone.

Because Nokia deliberately delayed various procedures at the Symbian Foundation, Samsung sensed something was wrong with Nokia. Therefore, while most Samsung smartphones used Symbian, they also began making Android phones, just in case!

The Japanese photo printing company attaches great importance to the HarmonyOS Alliance, having directly sent a vice president to the company. They are also willing to pay basic membership fees to the HarmonyOS Foundation in exchange for a position within the foundation and to encourage more Chinese mobile phone brands to use their screens.

There is currently another company in mainland China capable of mass-producing capacitive touchscreens, called O-Film. They are already a leader in the resistive touchscreen field, but their management has shown great courage by risking their entire fortune to transition to capacitive touchscreens.

O-Film also took the initiative to participate in the conference. Their capacitive screen yield rate cannot be guaranteed for the time being, so they can only use a low-price strategy to fool some customers into making low-end smartphones.

Capacitive touchscreens are hard to find, while memory chips are the opposite.

The reason SK Hynix's president personally flew to China this time is because they were on the verge of bankruptcy. In the past few years, they had been frantically expanding production capacity and acquiring other companies everywhere. Then, they faced overcapacity, plummeting product prices, and almost went bankrupt during the economic crisis.

If the South Korean government doesn't intervene, SK Hynix is ​​doomed to fail this year.

The inaugural meeting of the HarmonyOS Foundation elected a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary-general, standing directors, directors, etc., and also established detailed bylaws.

The basic annual membership fee has been fixed and is not a large sum. However, how to evaluate membership levels, how to pay additional fees for different levels, and the special rights of higher-level members still need further discussion.

The first thing Wu Ying, the foundation's chairwoman, did upon taking office was to rename the HarmonyOS system: "President Chen's phone is called HarmonyOS Phone, and President Chen's phone company is called HarmonyOS Technology. Since the phone system is open source, the name should be changed as well, otherwise it will be easy to confuse with HarmonyOS Technology."

"I second the motion!"

"I support Mr. Wu!"

"..."

Instantly, more than half of the members agreed, as they did not want their mobile phone system to have the same name as Chen Guiliang's mobile phone company.

Chen Guiliang said, "The English name of the HarmonyOS system is HarmonyOS, which means harmony and coordination. There's no need for major changes; we can just call it the 'Harmony Foundation' to the outside world. Everyone can modify the interface of their own mobile phone system and add some unique features. You can choose your own name. For example, Mr. Wu's Xingyao mobile phone system can be called StarOS."

"That's a good idea." Wu Ying didn't press the issue any further.

The current HarmonyOS developers, including those transferred from the foundation, are all Chen Guiliang's people. Wu Ying wouldn't dare to seize power right away; she has to give Chen Guiliang face.

Moreover, with Chen Guiliang as vice chairman, if things really get out of hand, the foundation won't be able to do anything.

Furthermore, Wu Ying is a very meticulous person, with the demeanor of a gang leader. He values ​​his reputation and likes to help others resolve disputes; so far, he doesn't seem to have done anything dishonest.

Chen Guiliang's system is entirely open source, and he even elevated Wu Ying to the position of leader. Under such circumstances, if Wu Ying were to use his chairmanship to make things difficult for Chen Guiliang, he would be finished in the underworld.

"Vote."

"I agree."

"I agree."

The Chinese name of the Hongmeng Foundation was changed to "Harmony Foundation," which at first glance sounds like an environmental organization.

The English name remains unchanged.

Actually, it doesn't really matter whether it's changed or not. In terms of verbal expression, it will definitely still be called the HarmonyOS Alliance or HarmonyOS Camp. The media and the internet are already used to it.

After a full day of meetings, everyone gathered for a meal and drinks.

The next day, another day of meetings was held.

Wu Ying called Chen Guiliang aside for a private chat: "Don't worry about China Mobile. At most, they won't offer us customized phones or 3G promotion discounts. They won't do anything else underhanded. I've already asked someone to coordinate. I just had dinner with the CEO of China Mobile a couple of days ago."

"Mr. Wu is awesome!" Chen Guiliang said with a beaming smile. He had made the right choice in choosing this leader. Wu Ying continued, "Tencent's willingness to write applications for the HarmonyOS camp was also thanks to my personal visit to invite Mr. Ma to dinner. Next, I plan to visit UC and Dianxun."

"We all need Mr. Wu's help." Chen Guiliang flattered him on the surface, but inwardly he was somewhat disdainful, feeling that Wu Ying's approach was too low.

Wu Ying, the ringleader, is trying to steal Chen Guiliang's credit in order to establish his authority as the leader of the alliance.

It's clear that Wu Ying doesn't need to step in; those third-party companies will still write applications for HarmonyOS. This is the result of Chen Guiliang open-sourcing the system and forming an alliance.

Wu Ying insisted on making a trip to each of them, taking all the credit for himself, as if nothing could be done without him.

He's righteous, but petty!

Chen Guiliang was too lazy to argue with him. As long as he didn't actually seize power, things might fall apart.

Once more manufacturers of phones based on HarmonyOS begin selling their products, and more applications based on the HarmonyOS system become available, there will be less fear of conflict. Because everyone's interests will be aligned, even the biggest conflicts can be resolved through coordination.

Chen Guiliang had more important things to do and was too lazy to compete with Wu Ying for such empty fame.

The supply chain for HarmonyOS phones is currently in a precarious position, as the component suppliers are too concentrated. We cannot put all our eggs in one basket; we must improve the supply chain over the next two years.

The screen will need to be replaced eventually; the thin-film capacitive screen on this device feels plasticky and cheap.

Investing in companies like O-Film is too expensive; BOE is a better investment target. However, this company is unlikely to see significant improvement in the next year or two, and its current focus on LCD screens for televisions and computers means it cannot yet be used in smartphone screens.

That's why, once the HarmonyOS phones make money, they can acquire some BOE shares from the secondary market.

The price of cabbage!
In the next three or four years, BOE's stock price will only be one or two yuan.

Wu Ying continued, "I contacted CCTV's 'Dialogue' program, and we'll go record the show together in a few days."

"Mr. Wu is very thoughtful," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

This leader is not bad; he didn't abandon Chen Guiliang and go to CCTV to promote the cause by himself.

CCTV's "Dialogue" has been revamped and is now more sophisticated and high-class, unlike Chen Guiliang's lackluster first appearance on the show.

Wu Ying said, "Right now, we need to promote ourselves aggressively and not let consumers think we're too low-end. Have you noticed that recently some newspapers and netizens have been criticizing us?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I've noticed."

Wu Ying said, "I asked someone to inquire quietly, and an editor from a newspaper revealed that they did receive money to blacklist the HarmonyOS Alliance. But they didn't say who they received the money from, so I guess even they themselves don't know."

"Who else could it be? Nokia," Chen Guiliang said. "We've joined forces to make smartphones, and Nokia has over 70% market share in China. Nokia is the most likely candidate to sabotage us!"

Wu Ying said, "Therefore, we must strengthen positive publicity. We can't give consumers a low-end impression before the phone is even made. My image is not good, so I have to bring you along."

"Haha! Mr. Wu is too modest." Chen Guiliang was overjoyed.

Wu Ying stroked his long beard: "It's true. When people mention me, they naturally think of PHS phones. I used to make mobile phones, those feature phones, which were always considered low-end no matter how much we advertised them. They were all equated with PHS phones! You're different. You're young, and you have a good reputation and image. Plus, you're good at bragging and can make products sound incredibly high-end and fashionable."

Chen Guiliang said, "Then I won't be modest. Let's go on a show together in a few days."

“That’s right. Leave the specific work to the people under you. Our task is to be in charge of brand promotion.” Wu Ying plans to appear on TV shows like crazy, even though his phone is only in the early stages of development.

In the following days, more and more newspapers published articles smearing HarmonyOS, and online trolls launched an overwhelming attack. It's estimated that the 500 million yuan allocated by Nokia won't last long.

Forums and online communities are full of mindless bashing, which can be summarized into a few points:
First, it's a loser's alliance; the HarmonyOS camp is full of garbage manufacturers. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry has infiltrated. They couldn't even make a decent feature phone back then, so their smartphones are bound to be a pile of garbage.

Second, they blindly imitate Nokia and Symbian. Chinese companies only know how to copy products; they even copy other companies' foundation management models, completely lacking any original ideas.

Third, even if they manage to make one, it will be a low-end device. None of the members of the HarmonyOS team have experience building smartphones, and the foundation's chairman, Wu Ying, is a former "Personal Handyphone System" user. What good things can someone with a Personal Handyphone System make?

Because the criticism was so extreme, it attracted not only mindless haters but also the disgust of many netizens.

Programmers, in particular, started automatically engaging in online flame wars with online trolls.

Programmers have a simple idea: open source is justice, and complete open source is the ultimate justice. Moreover, the HarmonyOS Alliance can reduce the workload of programmers.

Chen Guiliang, of course, wouldn't stand idly by, and started hiring online trolls to claim that Nokia was smearing HarmonyOS.

You say my knock-offs are cheap?

I'll also damage your brand image and make you suffer the infamy of suppressing domestic brands!

(End of this chapter)