Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 258 His Era
Shenzhen, Wuzhou Hotel.

Shenzhen's high-end hotels host international guests and various large-scale events.

At the beginning of the year, Sharp's employees were relocated to Shenzhen to prevent Hefei from poaching them.

Things are wrong.

The hotel is still the same hotel, but Sharp has now become an investor in Hefei.

At the end of May, Sharp signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with the Hefei government, officially announcing its "landing" in Hefei.

Shenzhen contacted BOE again afterward, but BOE did not return to Shenzhen.

Hesitation leads to defeat, and excessive affection leads to wasted effort.

Shenzhen's vision for high-generation panels has come to nothing, while Hefei, through its focus, is now surrounded by competitors.

This is also why Chen Xuebing has not yet tried to deal with the Shenzhen municipal government.

According to Kan Zhidong, the two groups of leaders in Shenzhen had a falling out over this matter, and if he, the instigator, were to contact the municipal government at this time, he would probably be met with a cold shoulder.

Otherwise, given his status as a top investor, he could have directly contacted the municipal government and then connected with Huawei, making this meeting with Ren Zhengfei much simpler.

The Shenzhen Hall on the second floor of Building A was empty, with the doors closed. A few people on the podium were adjusting a screen, and two people sat alone at a table in the middle of the hall, with a tea table on it that seemed out of place with the surroundings.

“Mr. Ren, we are both from the Southwest. I can understand your Duyun dialect.”

Chen Xuebing made a cup of tea and handed it to Ren Zhengfei.

When Ren Zhengfei saw the curtain being lowered on the stage, he knew that Chen Xuebing had something to show him. He was a little puzzled, but not curious.

"Mr. Chen, there's no need for such a big hall. We don't need to be so formal when we're talking business. If you want to demonstrate something to me, a table and a computer are enough."

He was also wary of these "connected individuals" who could secure orders from a municipality in advance. There are too many privileged classes these days, and Huawei doesn't want to provoke them, nor can it handle them.

Otherwise, given the terms offered by Spreadtrum, he would have arrived long ago.

In fact, he didn't believe that Spreadtrum could really offer anything that would impress him.

Chen Xuebing picked up his hot tea, blew on it, and said with a smile, "This hall wasn't specially prepared for President Ren. It's a rehearsal for our mobile phone launch event. We've already rented the hall at the Wuzhou Hotel twice, and this is the third time."

"Oh, a new phone?"

Ren Zhengfei became somewhat interested upon hearing this, turned to the side, and leaned against the back of the chair to look at the screen.

Huawei's consumer electronics market is currently close to zero, and its mobile phone business is facing great difficulties in the market, mainly producing low-end OEM phones.

Because of its early bet on CDMA, which was incompatible with the domestic communication standard GSM, it had no business in the domestic communications market and did not even receive orders for customized handsets from operators.

It was because of this bet that they turned to developing overseas markets, and then began preliminary research on WCDMA. They gained a research and development advantage in the 3G era, and learned from the experience to invest in TD, which is strongly supported by China, and actively provided 3G test machines to avoid being left behind.

The mobile phone consumer market is a path that all international telecommunications giants are pursuing. Although Huawei has not achieved good results in this area, it does not want to give up.

Chen Xuebing was aware of all this, which is why he chose this "opening remarks" today to give President Ren a shock.

He waved his hand toward the stage, and the curtain flashed.

The image of the Kirin phone's front is shown in the center, featuring black top and bottom bezels, a 16:9 screen in the middle, and only a circular button at the bottom.

"Well."

Ren Zhengfei had never seen such a large phone screen before, and he sighed, "Is this your phone? What size screen is it?"

4.2 inches.

Ren Zhengfei stared at the screen and guessed again: "Side keyboard?"

This size isn't suitable for a sliding cover; it would be too long to pull out.

Chen Xuebing didn't say anything, but raised his chin towards the stage while holding his teacup, signaling him to continue watching.

A hand appeared next to the screen, holding the phone. The bottom of the phone was at the base of the thumb, and the thumb was resting on the side of the phone, slightly lower than the top, indicating the phone's size.

Ren Zhengfei then realized that it was not a still image, but an animation.

The phone screen on the curtain flashed.

Bright.

A cloud appears in the middle, which looks like the startup screen; it's quite quiet.

Two seconds later, a standby screen appeared, showing a globe with a long bar below that read "Slide to unlock".

Pull the silver bar on the left to the right to unlock.

"Tap." A crisp sound.

Sound came from the speakers for the first time.

The screen then transitioned to the main interface.

Then, there is a dynamic display of some mainstream functions.

The camera is turned on, a picture is taken, and an aluminum laboratory table appears on the screen. Then a person appears in the frame waving his arms, indicating that this is a screen recording of a real test.

Ren Zhengfei fell silent, staring intently at the screen.

Next was the phone call. As Ren Zhengfei pressed the keypad, his expression froze, and the fingers of the hand resting on the table unconsciously tapped the surface.

Then the text messaging function appeared, and a nine-key keyboard popped up at the bottom of the screen. As the keys were pressed rapidly, the message "Want to grab coffee this afternoon?" gradually appeared on the screen.

Ren Zhengfei suddenly turned his head and looked at Chen Xuebing.

"There's no such system on the market. Did you create this system yourself?"

"Hmm," Chen Xuebing replied softly, his eyes still fixed on the demonstration on the screen, thinking about how to explain this part at the actual press conference.

More importantly, who will explain it?

Ren Zhengfei looked doubtful: "What language did you use to write this? How could it be so responsive?"

The Huaqiangbei bosses held it in their hands for ten minutes and couldn't see the problem, only knowing that it was "smooth" and "fuck smooth." Ren Zhengfei noticed it at a glance, even through the screen.

This is the core issue.

"The architecture is ARM+Linux, the language is C, some frameworks and RAII mechanisms use C++, the scripting language is embedded Python, and the program needs to use JAVA for cross-platform compatibility. However, the JVM requires an additional 11MB of memory. Does Huawei have any better solutions?"

Chen Xuebing spoke frankly, hoping to receive a frank answer in return.

The fact that he was able to ask this question also represents the results of his learning over this period of time.

Ren Zhengfei simply shook his head; he didn't know.

I don't believe it either.

"How is that possible? We saw ARM+Linux back in 2005, how could it be so fast?"

He also recalled that Nokia released a portable internet terminal, the 770 Internet tablet, in 05, which used ARM+Linux.

Chen Xuebing laughed: "Of course we rewrote the kernel's input subsystem and used the asynchronous rendering pipeline to break through some bottlenecks, but the key is not there. It's the capacitive touchscreen technology. We found an American technology company to develop it for more than half a year and even opened a special laboratory for it."

"boom."

Ren Zhengfei suddenly slammed his hand heavily on the table.

—Not anger, but excitement.

He'd seen plenty of full-screen displays, but this was truly unique.

He hadn't thought about the interaction logic in detail yet. Engineers always consider problems in terms of technical parameters. Just this level of responsiveness alone will change the entire future.

"We at Huawei proved back in 2004 that touchscreens are the future. Those idiots said resistive touchscreens were enough! But capacitive touchscreens are so expensive, how dare you put them into commercial use?"

Chen Xuebing could tell from this question that Ren Zhengfei had indeed not paid attention to capacitive screens for some time. In recent months, LG has started developing its own capacitive screen phones and expanded its production lines, leading to a decline in capacitive screen prices. As a result, Taiwan's TPK also lowered its prices.

The supplier of capacitive screens for Kirin will likely be one of these two companies, and the final supplier will be decided before the phone advertising campaign begins.

He grinned and said:

"It's just a bit more expensive, a little more money, but once the technology becomes popular, the cost will come down quickly. How can Huawei be so limited by materials?"

Ren Zhengfei was completely stumped by this question.

He suddenly remembered that the person opposite him had invested in BOE Technology Group, and it dawned on him.

Most mobile phone manufacturers would never develop capacitive screen technology just to make the touchscreen more responsive. The materials are expensive, the technology is expensive, and touchscreen technology is not the mainstream feature of mobile phones anyway.

However, if you own a panel factory, it would be reasonable to promote a new standard in order to leverage the technological advantages of that panel factory.

Ren Zhengfei overthinks things and ends up misunderstanding the problem.

He stared at Chen Xuebing, his eyes growing urgent: "Do you know that this system, combined with the 3G standard, could bury Qualcomm and Nokia in the 3G era?!"

Huawei had discussed this issue before, but there were too many problems to solve, and the technology at the time was not advanced enough, so it became a hasty discussion.

And today, he actually saw this way out with his own eyes.

It was done by Chinese people!
He couldn't help but remind Chen Xuebing to pay attention to the issue of "screen responsiveness".

Chen Xuebing scratched his head.

This old man has a rather murderous aura.

Why do they keep burying Nokia and Qualcomm?
You're so arrogant, no wonder you got sanctioned. No, wait.

He's so arrogant because he hasn't faced any consequences yet.

"It's not that simple, Mr. Ren. I read a report of yours that said you knew you would be facing the Americans at the top and didn't want a technological confrontation, so you were prepared to sell to Motorola. Didn't you say that? Why are you now talking about Qualcomm and Nokia?"

Ren Zhengfei was a little embarrassed.

That statement was meant to elevate Huawei's image, implying that it was nearing its peak.

"We have a global supply chain now, and technological progress is allowed globally!"

“Yes, we have them, and so does the US.” Chen Xuebing continued with a smile, “When we were sorting out the supply chain, we found that there are also technology companies in the US developing such phones, and maybe they will release new products soon.”

"Oh?" Ren Zhengfei frowned and patted the table again.

It's a pity.

"However, we are prepared to be the first to release it and strive to be the world's first multi-touch phone."

When Chen Xuebing saw that the key part of the video was playing on the screen, he raised his hand towards it.

Ren Zhengfei turned his head and saw that the analog stick next to the phone screen on the screen had turned on and opened a photo of a lavender field.

then
Touch the screen with your thumb and forefinger, fingers spread apart.

The photo has been enlarged.

focus.

One of the lavender fields grew larger.

Ren Zhengfei was stunned.

His fingers then made the same movement on the table.

But he immediately realized that the animation was virtual.

His expression started to look a little off.

"Did you guys make a phone or a presentation? This isn't a real shot, is it?"

This is definitely not a real shot.

The CPU chips are still at TSMC, but the touch chip prototype has already been produced.

"This is a simulation, but the touch chip required for this function has already been successfully tested in the laboratory. We're just waiting for the CPU to arrive, and once the entire system is packaged, we'll be able to see a prototype," Chen Xuebing explained.

Ren Zhengfei watched as the phone screen on the screen grew larger and smaller.

He had heard of this feature, but it hadn't even been widely implemented in laboratories, yet it was going to be implemented on ordinary people's mobile phones.

That's incredibly audacious.

“I call this phone an internet phone, Mr. Ren. Since you think it can beat Nokia, you should know what it does. I’ve called you here today to solve this problem.”

When Chen Xuebing mentioned "Internet mobile phones," Ren Zhengfei immediately thought of his Nokia 770.

Mobile Internet access terminal.

He then came up with several other internet solutions.

External network card, 3G Ethernet port.

Chen Xuebing, however, spoke from a rarely mentioned angle: "As far as I know, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, Intel, and Qualcomm are all developing Wi-Fi phone and router modules. Broadcom's modules already support the 802.11b standard, right? Huawei recently acquired Harbour Networks, which is a router company, isn't it? What stage has your 802.11 protocol technology reached? Can you make mature modules yet?"

He knew perfectly well why Huawei acquired Harbour Networks, but he asked that question on purpose.

Huawei's routers are mainly used for network bridging, connecting countless isolated local area networks into the Internet. The research and development of wireless local area networks (WLAN: 802.11 protocol) is still in its early stages.

But Chen Xuebing suddenly spread a message: this technology will soon be available for use.

And it needs to be popularized.

Huawei is going to fall behind again.

Of course, he would start by targeting Huawei's weaknesses, only talking about Huawei's strengths while portraying his own side as completely at a disadvantage.

Chen Xuebing's words did indeed sow a lot of anxiety in Ren Zhengfei, causing a moment of silence.

But then Chen Xuebing gave him a glimmer of hope: "If Huawei has the technology in this area, we will still give priority to domestically produced machines for our intelligent system."

Ren Zhengfei glanced at him sideways: "How many machines are you planning to produce?"

A single WIFI module can cost anywhere from about $10 to less than $20, but the marginal cost of expanding the market is very low. Once it is developed, the production cost is almost negligible.

If one factory places an order, you earn the money of that factory.

The key point is that he realized: times have really changed.

An industry leader who provides technical support for thousands of mobile phones can easily recognize trends.

"How big?" Chen Xuebing laughed: "Spreadtrum has recently secured a quarter of the orders in Huaqiangbei. Hundreds of factories are working with us. We plan to have our system used throughout Huaqiangbei. We will have as many orders as there are machines in Huaqiangbei. However, we definitely cannot accept international prices, which is why we thought of contacting you."

These words startled Ren Zhengfei once again.

How big is the Huaqiangbei market?

They produce at least tens of millions of mobile phones every year!
"You think your product can even make it into the low-end market?" Ren Zhengfei asked in surprise.

Chen Xuebing's lips curled up: "Aren't we talking about the supply chain right now? With BOE in my hands, we'll soon have a production line dedicated to producing mobile phone screens. With Spreadtrum in my hands, we're preparing to develop the 3GTurnkey solution. We'll have the screens, chip integration, and the smart system. If we can bring down the price of some of the functional components, what's missing to make low-end phones more widespread?"

The gradual completion of a monopolistic chain of evidence stirred up a storm in Ren Zhengfei's heart.

He suddenly realized that the young man opposite him was not to be underestimated.

Times have changed.

This young man even monopolized it beforehand.

If this kind of phone were to become popular in the low-end market, how many phones could compete with it?

Wouldn't that make it his era?

Huawei internally believed that 3G was Qualcomm's era, but now it seems that's not necessarily true!

"Suppose," Ren Zhengfei cleared his throat and looked at Chen Xuebing, "what results would you get if Huawei supported you?"

Huawei doesn't have a Wi-Fi module, but other manufacturers do.

The competitors hadn't realized the importance of this module yet, but he had, and that was the opportunity.

Sometimes, you don't have to build the technology yourself; acquiring it can be a great option.

Chen Xuebing chuckled inwardly upon hearing this.

It seems the desired effect has been achieved.

Real negotiation is like pursuing a girl; simply flattering her won't work. You must first demonstrate your own value.

The fact that this person asked such a question indicates that he has already laid the groundwork for "trustworthiness" in the subsequent demonstration of his value.

"Mr. Ren, even if we don't place an order with you, you will still be the biggest beneficiary. Huawei's routers are all over the world, but they haven't entered the Chinese market yet. If my smartphone becomes widespread, wouldn't routers with WIFI be more than just relegated to base stations? I think the biggest market for this product is not industrial consumption, but household consumption."

Ren Zhengfei nodded in agreement: "Thank you, President Chen, for giving us this news in advance."

"In addition, Huawei can also make smartphones, and I can license this system to you for free."

“No need for that.” Ren Zhengfei waved his hand subconsciously: “We can make this kind of interface once we’ve seen it.”

Huawei has always been the type to control things themselves and never argues with others.

"It seems Mr. Ren doesn't understand software very well?" Chen Xuebing laughed. "This is not a problem of UI interface. It is about building a system. It requires not only architecture but also ecosystem. To be honest, I already have many teams developing mobile applications. I have already taken control of this field. I hope Huawei will not do anything unwise."

Chen Xuebing's reminder was genuinely well-intentioned.

When it comes to ecosystem building and apps, can Huawei outdo them these days?

Even another ten years of practice would be difficult.

His advance notice to Huawei to make phones today can be seen as a move to elect a competitor instead of banning them.

As long as Huawei doesn't develop its own operating system, it will have one less potential competitor, and its operating system will always be open to Huawei.

But if you ignore our warnings and rush in to seize market share, then don't blame us for not giving you a heads-up.

Ren Zhengfei's wrinkles deepened: "Your development model is too domineering! Let me tell you, this could be a monopoly."

Chen Xuebing chuckled: "If my products could monopolize overseas markets, that wouldn't be called a monopoly, it would be called bringing glory to the country. Do you think it would be difficult for me to monopolize Southeast Asia with the Huaqiangbei distribution channels? Africa wouldn't be difficult either, right?"

Ren Zhengfei was somewhat helpless.

"So you want a wireless module?"

"We want a lot of things, and Huawei will definitely reap the benefits. However, there are still some thorny issues regarding 3G. The reason I asked you to come and talk to me in person is that no one but you can decide what I'm about to say."

Chen Xuebing sat up straight with a smile, and the negotiations officially began.

(End of this chapter)