The Godfather of Greenery

Chapter 289 The Housekeeper

When Ye Qiu personally got this heavy, square and square prototype that looked a bit like a brick in the San Francisco Leaf Technology laboratory, his first feeling was, oh, Megga!
This is a thing that has no aesthetic feeling at all, even though Andy Rubin told Ye Qiu repeatedly that this is just a prototype, for the convenience of experiments and research, so the look of this prototype is indeed a bit outrageous. Full of various interfaces, such as USB interface, Ethernet interface and so on.

But although it is big, it has everything that should be there. It’s just that sometimes designers are always like this, eager to stuff all the things they think are useful and good into their designs. The whole design looks overly bloated, even reaching an unbearable level of obesity.

"For Zeus, it must first be a mobile phone, a mobile phone that makes everyone feel easy to use. It needs to have a beautiful design, an excellent screen display effect, a smooth and stable operating system, and most importantly The best thing is that people can get started and get used to its user experience at once!"

Following Ye Qiu's words, everyone in the laboratory, including Andy Rubin and the others, looked embarrassed.

To Ye Qiu, many things are insignificant, but to them, they seem to be huge problems. This is the difference.

Ye Qiu was clearly aware of their doubts, so he introduced them item by item. For example, the mobile phone interface and the Ethernet interface are completely useless and can be discarded. He even proposed that all interfaces, such as the USB interface and the charging interface, should be integrated. Together, throw away those useless things, so that you can save a lot of space.

For the same reason, there are also those applications. He feels a headache when he sees the densely packed applications inside, because they seem to be moving a computer in, but in fact there are many functions that are useful and easy to use on the computer. , it can be said to be completely useless on mobile phones.

In fact, for smart phones, not only Andy Rubin, who once made Internet phones, is no stranger, even almost all the designers present are no strangers, because now there are no smart phones, such as Nokia's Symbian, such as the TREO600 launched by PLAM last year, and BlackBerry and so on.

It's just that they misunderstood Ye Qiu's ideas, thinking that Ye Qiu wanted to develop a mobile device similar to a tablet computer, but they didn't know that what Ye Qiu wanted was a mobile phone. Besides.

After streamlining a lot of functions, what Ye Qiu left behind are some of the simplest and most practical functions, such as phone and address book, email, browser, MP3, text message, calendar, picture, camera, map, weather, etc. Wait, the rest are the mobile applications of several websites launched by Leaf Technology, such as Facebook and Youtube.

Ye Qiu also gave an explanation for his decision to adopt full touch controls for all mobile phones, but leave a physical home button alone.

"Our computer case has two buttons, power and restart. These are the two buttons with the highest authority. For the same reason, the mobile phone also needs to have this kind of high-authority button. Needless to say, the power supply, we need a restart. But we don’t recommend that users restart directly when they encounter problems, such as freezes or crashes, so we need the Home button to go home!”

"We set up such a button, which is actually a continuation of our life. You know that we often encounter many, many problems in our lives. For example, when you go to the bathroom, you press lightly on the toilet, and it will automatically flush. , I believe that when you press that button, there must be a very special feeling in your heart, right?"

This metaphor seems a bit vulgar, but it is very close to life. After thinking about it, many people present found that it really seems to be the same thing, but they usually don't pay attention to the details of this kind of life.

"What we mean by the home button is really to tell our users, when you're in trouble, when your phone is messed up, when you just want to throw it out, press it, It will help you solve everything, and then, you go home, and the world will be clean again!"

After hearing this, Andy Rubin couldn't help nodding his head. He couldn't help but realize that this was indeed a very genius idea. To some extent, it was a metaphor for human psychology in a mechanical way. And echo, psychologically resonate with users.

In fact, this is also a hint, feel free to use it boldly, if something goes wrong, use it to fix everything!
"So, why do we have to use physical buttons instead of touch?" Ye Qiu continued to analyze, these are all his experience of using mobile phones in his previous life, and what he decided to use this time is not the home button that Android is used to. , menu key and return key, but only one Home key, which is the same as the Iphone, and the others are embedded in the system.

At the same time, Leaf Technology has also started to apply for patents for related designs. This time, it not only applied for design patents of Iphone, but also applied for some designs of Samsung and Android, just in case.

"Physical buttons and touch buttons are actually similar in function, but in actual use, the user feels completely different, because your screen is touch, and your fingers will inevitably exceed the screen. If the button is also touch Otherwise, when the finger exceeds the screen, it is easy to cause misuse.”

Ye Qiu remembered that in his previous life, he used his Android phone to play games, such as cutting fruit, or playing some games with relatively large movements, which often caused misoperation, and accidentally pressed the touch function button. Although this is nothing, when you play well When you are very nervous, you will feel a little bit crazy when you suddenly come out like this.

"Of course, you can set the buttons to be recessed or raised like physical buttons, but I believe that Dr. Westerman will fight with you!" Ye Qiu pointed to Westerman of the touch control team, The latter shrugged.

"For the time being, the touch technology is insensitive in both the recessed and raised states," Westerman said.

Regarding this point, Ye Qiu had talked with him, and also had personal experience in his previous life, that was Ford.

Ford once spent huge sums of money to research an on-board control system. They completely abandoned the traditional buttons and knobs on the main control panel of the car, and instead used touch buttons on a large scale. But even in 2012, they This in-vehicle system is still criticized by users, because the dents and bumps make the touch buttons very insensitive.

It is conceivable that Ford was cooperating with many big companies such as Sony at the time. By 2012, when the touch control was flooded, neither the depression nor the protrusion could achieve the sensitivity of the physical buttons. Now it is impossible to achieve it. Said to regard this struggle as a research and development direction.

"Another point is that we attach great importance to touch technology, but don't be superstitious about touch technology. Any technology will have certain defects, including touch. Then, when we use the mobile phone when the program freezes, it often happens. I found that the touch control also loses its function, and at this time we need a button that can completely solve these problems, and that is to go home!"

Because everyone present had used the prototype, freezes and crashes were common occurrences, so when Ye Qiu mentioned this, everyone couldn't help but resonate in their hearts.

"I can say a lot about the benefits of using physical buttons on the home button. For example, with the design of recessed and raised physical buttons, we don't need to see with our eyes, we can feel it with our hands, And the physical buttons will give you an operational feedback to let you know that I'm working!"

"Perhaps, you will say again, since it is so important, why set up one?" Ye Qiu's question is believed to be the doubt of many people present, because Ye Qiu clearly understood this point from their eyes.

"I have used your prototype, and I found that you have been mistaken about one very important thing, and that is the mobile phone!"

"In your prototype, I noticed that you have made a very creative development, and you can even say it is a genius!" Ye Qiu smiled and praised these people, because he really admired it, which even he I didn't even think of it at first.

That is, they set the gravity sensor in the mobile phone, and let the mobile phone run smoothly in any direction, and then use the gravity sensor to automatically adjust the orientation of the screen. This is a very creative function in the tablet computer in the future, but in On mobile, it does very little.

"The mobile phone screen is usually smaller, 3 inches, and it will gradually develop in the future, maybe it will reach 5 inches, and then 4 inches, but it will definitely not be too big. The reason is very simple. There is another very important feature of mobile phones, that It is easy to carry, just put it in your pocket and take it away.”

"Rectangular mobile phone screens are generally arranged vertically or horizontally. I believe that many people choose to lock the vertical orientation and prohibit rotation. As long as we guide the design, I don't believe you will want to try it. Turn around and play with your phone, unless you deliberately trouble me!"

Everyone present burst into laughter, and had to admit that it was true because the screen was small.

"I once told Andy Rubin that our research and development of mobile phones is only the first step. Next, we will develop a brand new electronic product, tablet computer. Note that it is a computer, not a mobile phone. It has strong portability. , but it has a lot of computer functions and is boxy. At that time, your innovation will be very useful, and many things you developed in the prototype can be realized in the tablet. "

Those present were all the company's R&D executives, all high-level figures, and they all signed contracts, so Ye Qiu was not at all worried that they would switch jobs and leak out. On the contrary, he felt that it was necessary for them, the core people, to know The direction of the company's operations, let them see hope, which will make them more motivated.

"Back to the topic, because most of them are arranged vertically, and a small part may be arranged horizontally due to factors such as games. Then there is no need for more Home buttons on the phone, one is enough!"

As soon as Ye Qiu's words fell, Andy Rubin was the first to stand up and applaud, followed by several senior executives in the R&D department also stood up and applauded. Obviously, they were all shocked by Ye Qiu's words. Persuaded.

For a long time, the company's research and development seemed to be moving forward according to Ye Qiu's ideas and the direction provided, which made many experts with strong innovative capabilities feel dissatisfied, and even felt suppressed. They encountered huge difficulties, and when the design even came to a standstill, Ye Qiu easily helped them solve it and developed a brand new way of thinking, which made them very admired.

In addition, Ye Qiu also told them some initial ideas for tablet computers, but this tempting idea can only be carried out after the launch of mobile phones, but I believe that with the foundation and experience in developing mobile phones, tablet computers will be relatively A lot faster, after all, many things are ready-made.

At the same time, Ye Qiu is also delighted that the company's Facebook users have exceeded 100 million. After all, this is a good start for the company, and services such as Youtube and Twitter are also in the process of improvement.

It can be said that Leaf Technology has gradually established its reputation and status through Facebook. At present, the number of users has exceeded 100 million, most of which are from more than 200 universities in the United States. More importantly, the proportion of men and women is evenly divided. This is very It is important, and it is also the reason why the website continues to attract more young people, even adult users.

According to Eliza's idea and plan, after Facebook's operations are stabilized, the company will launch a complete Youtube video sharing website, followed by Twitter, and will launch PC versions of several games one after another. The next launch campaign.

Ye Qiu very much agrees with this plan, and the Chinese version of many software and websites will also be launched. These are handed over to Chen Zhong in China. In addition, the Android store is also actively preparing. As soon as the mobile phone is announced to the public, the Android store It will be open to third parties, attracting more mobile phone software developers to enter, and when the mobile phone is listed, users can directly download applications from it.

But in the final analysis, it is still mobile phones. Leaf Technology wants to be a hit. Mobile phones are very important, so Ye Qiu also gave Andy Rubin a death order. There is plenty of time, but mobile phones must be the best from software to hardware. , to give users first-class user experience, and grab users directly.

The future smartphone market is a bloody battlefield. If you can't seize the commanding heights in the first place, even if you are a pioneer, you will be nothing but cannon fodder for the latecomers.

Sometimes Ye Qiu can't help feeling that women really take advantage, especially when this woman is beautiful and clever, she can really play men with applause.

In just half a year, Eliza quickly helped Leaf Technology to open up the situation in Silicon Valley and the United States, not only the launch of Facebook, but also the cooperation agreement from AT&T, the largest telecom operator in the United States, and the cooperation with Iphone Unlike the first generation of mobile phones that did not support 3G, Zeus has supported 3G from the beginning.

According to the agreement, the mobile phones produced by Leaf Technology need to be bundled with AT&T's network, but 10% of the sales during the contract period must be handed over to AT&T, and AT&T does not have to pay the price, that is, during the contract period, AT&T will pay for every Zeus mobile phone user. A monthly payment of 10 US dollars to Leaf Technology.

This agreement seems to be a loss for Leaf Technology, but in fact the loss is temporary, but the benefits are long-term, and Ye Qiu thinks that Apple's strategy in the previous life is worth learning, that is, after getting out of the name, the operators Going out of the house completely breaks the previous model that mobile phone developers have to obey the operators, and in turn, mobile phone developers are the main ones.

To put it simply, Leaf Technology can sell mobile phones to different telecom operators.

AT&T seems to be a compromise on the surface, but in fact they have not suffered a loss, because they can get huge returns from the high data traffic generated by smartphones, which they do not have now, and they are also at the core senior level. A compromise made after trying out the prototype.

Needless to say, the full-touch design and smart phone, the appearance design is also unique, and Eliza promised that the thickness of the mobile phone will be reduced to less than 12 mm. This is the confidence given by Andy Rubin. He promises to be able to compare 12mm is even thinner.

Motorola V3, which is very popular recently, adopts folding design. With a full touch design and a series of corresponding revolutionary innovations, there is no doubt that this phone will be popular, and it will be a hit!
These days in the United States, except for walking around with his wife, Ye Qiu mostly stays in the company, discussing and researching with Andy Rubin and others. Although he is not a technical expert, he is better than experience Rich, sometimes, he can solve the problems that they have been thinking about for a long time with a single sentence.

In addition, Ye Qiu also set up a research and development team to try out a brand new concept, that is IFTTT from the previous life.

If I post a message on Tencent Weibo, it is automatically shared on my Renren website.

If the weather exceeds 30 degrees, it will automatically send a text message to remind me.

If yes, this is IFTTT!

This concept is very dazzling and powerful. Ye Qiu was also very interested in learning about it in his previous life. He even felt that this service can cover everything, especially when your TV at home is smart, your mobile phone is smart, and all electrical appliances and household appliances are smart. After being intelligent, he is your most powerful IoT housekeeper, and as long as you set it up in advance, he will run silently.

However, the reason why IFTTT in the previous life has not improved much is that a very important reason is that this is a background service. Typical negative equity, no company is willing to invest.

But this service is a very, very good project for Leaf Technology. At least in Ye Qiu's previous life, Apple Icloud had this kind of function, and this is also a direction that Leaf Technology will develop in the future, that is Promote their Android system as much as possible, make it all-encompassing, and become synonymous with the intelligent age.

For the concept proposed by Ye Qiu, some innovators of Leaf Technology and their friends were stunned. This is indeed a super cool idea, not only can be used between different websites and service applications on the Internet, Even inside the mobile phone system, it can also be used.

All of a sudden, a large group of software engineers from the company asked to join, and even Andy Rubin himself announced that he would lead this group, and Ye Qiu finally kept asking repeatedly that the development of mobile phones and other projects should not be delayed. Next, it was decided that Andy Rubin would be in charge of the R&D team.

Eliza was very reluctant at first, thinking that this must be a huge expense. Fortunately, the budget submitted by Ye Qiu and Andy Rubin was not much, and the starting price was only 100 million US dollars, which was still acceptable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer signed it off.

Now she is more and more like a housekeeper!
(End of this chapter)