Reinventing the Millennium

Yike's Zhurong chip is something that everyone within the company attaches great importance to.

Moreover, Bingxin is also paying attention to the market feedback of this new machine.

However, when Fang Zhuo finished digesting the news from Qualcomm and Google, he turned to the reactions of users. Whether it was abroad or domestic, it seemed that except for enthusiasts and some professional media, no one was interested in discussing this significance at all.

This can't help but make him a little disappointed. Hey, the chip that was finally produced is a collaboration between three manufacturers, and they are prepared to insist on iteration. You should do more!

There are reviews, and Qualcomm is taking action behind the scenes, but...it always feels different from what was expected.

Fortunately, someone else came to help lift my spirits.

Three days after Yike's press conference, Fang Zhuo received news from Washington that a Taiwanese semiconductor company was lobbying lawmakers, hoping to pay attention to the development of semiconductors in the mainland, especially the two companies Yike + Bingxin, which were already very competitive. .

Fang Zhuo was very pleased. Sure enough, his competitors cared about him the most.

Maybe every bit of improvement on our side will be magnified ten times and taken into their eyes.

Although this news was somewhat unexpected, Fang Zhuo believed that it was still worth taking seriously. He was quite impressed by the white paper written by the Taiwanese Journalist after Zhang Zhongtong's comeback.

Nowadays, the gasoline man Kong Yu is active in Europe, working hard to accumulate wealth for everyone. Fang Zhuo did not let him come forward, but called his good friend two days later. The content he talked about was about ice core. Future financing and listing.

It is very easy for a company to go public and increase its wealth. Bingxin has already seen a very good trend. On the one hand, it has made steady progress in its manufacturing process, and on the other hand, it has cooperated with companies such as Yike and Qualcomm.

What can this bring?

Taiji's current market value is US$42 billion.

According to the current development, Bingxin is backed by the huge mainland market and is likely to be worth tens of billions of dollars upon listing. Moreover, this is far from the end.

The content of Fang Zhuo's call was very straightforward, and he even gave a judgment. He was optimistic that the market value of Taiji would exceed 200 billion US dollars in the future. Whether it was continuous investment in technology or the stabilization of a large customer base, there was no reason why Taiji should not continue to guide This track of foundry.

As for whether the good friend opposite believes this judgment.

What the world's second best CEO said can always provide some reference.

Because I am not in the United States, I don’t pay attention to convoluted speeches. The main thing is effective communication. In other words, it is also responsible for shareholders and conveying the true situation to avoid misjudgment on certain occasions.

In fact, Ice Core is not strong and only plays the role of a chaser. Like BOE, it is subject to others in terms of materials and equipment.

Fang Zhuo hopes that this pursuit can continue again.

The behind-the-scenes operations will not cause any splash on the lake, including the opponents' lobbying, which will not be revealed to the media, but it will indeed make Fang Zhuo think more and take more actions for this purpose.

However, with the release of Yike's new phone, most of the important work at hand has been completed. The domestic pricing of M and S series phones has changed this year, which has attracted some criticism. However, it has its own chips and new important functions. Overall public opinion is still acceptable.

The most important thing is that as one of the five countries where Apple iPhone4 will be launched, its domestic price has also been released. The 16G retail version of iPhone4 is 4999 yuan, and the 32G version is 5999 yuan.

The prices of Mars4 at the same level are 4,499 yuan and 5,499 yuan respectively. This was the price of Nokia’s mainstream models in the past. From 2007 to 2010, Yike has firmly established this position in 3 years.

Selfy2, which has a lower positioning, is a substitute in the price range. The two versions are priced at 3,499 yuan and 4,499 yuan.

As a result, this year Yike has used models and versions to cover the mobile phone price range of 3,499-5,999 yuan. Yike products can be purchased for 3,000+, 4,000+, and 5,000+.

However, it is a pity that Yike missed Taobao’s 618 event by a few days this year. Otherwise, Yike’s new machine would have become even more popular, Taobao’s GMV would have increased, and the relationship between the two parties could have been repaired. Isn’t it beautiful?

Yike's work in June is very busy, and the group buying market is still advancing steadily. The turmoil in Alibaba's Iron Army team has gradually subsided, but the relationship between Yike and the two heads of Alibaba has probably really deteriorated.

There was originally an exchange meeting for Internet companies in Shanghai in July, and the heads of the four domestic giants were invited to attend. However, as of the end of June, both Ma Chen and Ma Huateng were confirmed to be absent.

Fang Zhuo was very sorry when he heard the news. These two people are unwilling to come to Shanghai next month. Is it because he wants to participate?

Isn’t this a rare opportunity for everyone to talk about communications business and organizational structure in person?

You can't really avoid it like this for the rest of your life, right?

In that case, I would have to sign up for conferences of all sizes.

Fang Zhuo complained in his mind and promoted Shanghai's industry exchange meeting in his circle of friends.

However, on June 30, just as Yike’s new phone advertisements were overwhelming online and offline, Alibaba suddenly held a media conference led by “Temujin” Lu Zhaoxi, announcing its entry into the communications field and the release of an instant mobile phone called “Laihuang”. Communication Software.

"Laiwang is an instant messaging tool for socializing with acquaintances. We hope that it will become a new generation of interactive platform, not only for communication, but also for linking different application scenarios such as life and consumption."

"We are very confident in Laihuang and will let it rely on Alibaba's huge user base to create new wireless application scenarios."

"Compared with the products on the market, Laiwang not only has basic communication functions such as voice and text, but also supports 'moments', 'burn after reading' and 'emoticon graffiti'. I hope it can bring more different social interactions to everyone." experience.”

Lu Zhaoxi expressed his strength firmly and confidently at the press conference.

In addition to releasing this "Laihuang", Lu Zhaoxi, as a Taobao talker, also talked about the future strategy of transforming to the mobile terminal and adapting to the development of the times.

This sudden action from Alibaba attracted a lot of attention in the sales wave of Yike's new phones.

After Yike and the Penguins fought like a stick, another giant finally came to an end?

Alibaba also wants to make communication software?

What about Baidu? Come or not?

In fact, Baidu also has instant messaging software. As early as two years ago, it briefly tested the waters on the PC side and released an IM tool called "Baidu Hi" in an attempt to gain something by leveraging its huge community of users and search status.

But Penguin was hard to shake in this field. When Baidu saw that it couldn't shake, it just said "Okay, let's do that" and said nothing.

Now, when Yike, Penguin, and Alibaba have entered the mobile communications market, as a giant Baidu... what will it do?

You must be gathering strength and can’t wait to release it!

Fang Zhuo was also a little curious about this.

The butterfly wings have been flapping for a long time. Maybe Baidu is really preparing to stir up the market?

However, even Ali may be a bit late at this time.

Because of the emergence of "Laihuang", Fang Zhuo listened to Yixin's analysis seminar. During this period, with the fission of Yixin's existing users and the support of China Unicom operators, Yixin has begun to assume a coercive posture.

Since it exceeded 30 million users on March 1, Yixin turned this number into 40 million in three months to June 1.

Compared with previous promotions with similar efforts, the growth rate of users in a single month is more than three times faster. Even if the factors from operators are weakened, this natural growth is obviously fast.

However, in the full month of June, Yixin's internal data shows that the growth curve has declined. This reason is believed to be restricted by the domestic smartphone base after discussion and analysis.

It’s not that Yixin is not good, it’s not that there is no fission of users, but that the overall market group needs to grow with the development of smartphones.

Just in mid-June, there was news circulating that it was unknown whether it was true or false. The number of "letter" users that Penguin diverted and converted with all its strength exceeded 25 million. The even more shocking data is that Penguin diverted and converted letters from QQ in 2018. A maximum of 1 million users were converted in one day.

According to Penguin’s official data, the number of letters exceeded 10 million at the end of February. If the data is true, although the 25 million in mid-June is not as good as Yixin, the average monthly growth of more than 6 million is quite rapid, almost 2 times the growth of Yixin. times.

Letters backed by Penguins still pose a strong threat, and Penguins involved in core areas cannot give up.

According to Zhang Xiaolong's words at the meeting, Penguin has reached the point where "Moscow is behind it." The intensity in the first half of this year has been crazy, and the compulsory diversion and transformation are quite strong.

However, just as Yixin encountered the problem of the upper limit of user groups, Letters obviously also has problems.

"If you convert 1 million in one day, it would be 30 million in 30 days a month. As a result, it only increased by 15 million in four months from February to June, which shows that Penguin's madness is unsustainable."

"We are slowing down, and Penguin will also be slowing down after the diversion is over. In the next period of time, we have to work hard on user reputation, not only the number of users, but also the parameter of active users."

Fang Zhuo attended Yi Xin's meeting, and everyone spent most of the time talking about penguins and letters.

After the conversation was almost complete, Zhang Xiaolong mentioned Ali's "dealings."

"Alibaba is powerful, e-commerce is very powerful, and Wangwang in e-commerce is also very successful, but this communication software... well, it is obviously very learning."

Ali's "Laiwang" has fully absorbed the successful experience of two blockbuster products on the market. Needless to say, voice and text, "read" and "moments" are all intact, coupled with the "differentiation" that has emerged. "Burn after reading" seems similar.

It’s just that you easily write to Moments, he writes to Moments, and I communicate with Moments. How many Moments should we have?

With Yixin’s RMB 40 million and Laixin’s RMB 25 million, it is obviously not enough for “Laiwang” to break through with some differentiation that is not core enough.

How to break through is a question that any company entering the communications field must think about.

At this juncture of the transition from PC to mobile, just looking at the user base of the four giants, Penguin is the strongest, followed by Baidu, Alibaba again, and Yike is the weakest.

However, Yike took the lead in taking the lead by relying on two popular events and creating, and introduced the resources of operators, and now it is the number one.

Alibaba does not lack users, or in other words, all giants will not lack users. However, the competitive pressure of cross-domain operations is indeed great, and transformation is indeed difficult.

Zhang Xiaolong spoke eloquently at the meeting and evaluated Ali's actions in an attitude that remains to be seen but may not be a threat.

In fact, after the meeting, he talked about another company, Baidu, which had not yet taken action, and took his attitude more seriously.

"Mr. Fang, I think with the number of active users like Baidu Tieba, it's impossible that it doesn't have ideas, it just doesn't know when to take action." Zhang Xiaolong was quite dignified.

"When will we do it..." Fang Zhuo thought for a while, "I will probably see Li Yanhong in a few days, and I will ask you in person."

He felt that Baidu might move, but he also felt that it might just step on the watermelon rind and slide wherever it goes.

"Is this good?" Zhang Xiaolong hesitated. The most important thing is, can he believe it?

"It's not a bad idea to ask. It just so happens that YMS and Baidu are also in contact. I'll take Qi He with me this time to help people talk about collecting money." Fang Zhuo said.

Zhang Xiaolong hesitated again, but this time he didn't ask. He just thought in his heart that Mr. Fang was having another attack. Everyone said he would come one by one.

Not only does he have such thoughts, but also Li Yanhong himself...

A few days later, when Li Yanhong saw all the guests at the Shanghai conference but there were no figures of Ma Chen and Ma Huateng, he couldn't help but wonder, are those two really incompetent with Mr. Fang?

The last Ali incident was a bit hazy, the solution was relatively peaceful, and the truth behind it was unknown.

"Hi, Mr. Fang." Li Yanhong turned around and said hello, then turned around and saw the arrival of the head of Yike.

The relationship between Baidu and Yike is actually average. They have blocked searches and competed to invest in Sogou, but in comparison, they can at least meet each other.

"Hi, Mr. Li." Fang Zhuo walked over quickly, exchanged a few pleasantries and then smiled, "We were chatting about Baidu on the way here. Let's sit together later."

Li Yanhong said half-jokingly: "I was also talking about Yike on the way here. We have talked internally several times and we are waiting for Yike to come to compete. I waited and waited but no one was there."

In May and June, Baidu really seriously discussed Yike's support for Sogou, as well as the rumored sword test by giants, which slightly raised the vigilance of public opinion.

But, I'm here to stand ready, why don't you come over there?

Not only did they not come, Yike went to sell mobile phones in a hurry, with no intention of collision at all.

Fang Zhuo said disapprovingly: "Hey, Yike is a mobile phone company, not a hedgehog. Our mobile phone mission this year is very heavy."

Li Yanhong knew that Yike was a mobile phone financial company, but Mr. Fang's style was still irritating.

He smiled and said: "When I came here, the company gave me a special task and asked me to ask Yike whether he wants to enter the search market in a big way."

"What a coincidence, Yi Xin also asked me to ask Baidu when it will launch communication." Fang Zhuo said a little surprised.

When Li Yanhong heard this question, he thought for a while before replying: "We already have communication products, but we really need to learn more."

Fang Zhuo understood the meaning. This was because he didn't do much strategic planning.

He also answered the other party's question: "Why is Yike making such a big move? We have invested in Sogou. Sogou has to look at Sohu's attitude. Oh, yes, speaking of it, it is really a matter. The manufacturers of Yike YMS I want to discuss a cooperation with Baidu."

After hearing Mr. Fang's answer, Li Yanhong felt that this was also the case. Sogou's previous words were very satisfactory, but Yike's short and medium term seemed to be tentative at best.

"Mr. Fang, let's sit down and talk."

Fang Zhuo nodded, looked around, and asked Qi He to sit on the right side of Mr. Li to make it easier to communicate about the payment collection.

After Li Yanhong sat down, he listened to a brief summary from the vice president of Yike.

Then, his expression turned pale, and he wanted to take money from me.

Forget it if Yike is now a well-known international brand, the two sides may be able to talk, but Yike has Sogou built in, and now these small domestic entry-level manufacturers are bundled together and want to share money from Baidu.

Only Baidu collects their money, how can it be the other way around?

Li Yanhong listened politely to Qi He's cooperation proposal.

Then, he looked at Mr. Fang's expression and joked: "Mr. Fang, if I refuse today, can I walk out of this venue?"

"What are you talking about? This is not a dragon's den or a tiger's den, nor is it Yike's business." Fang Zhuo smiled, "Ecological cooperation will benefit both sides. From my personal point of view, I think Baidu can consider cooperation."

Li Yanhong also smiled: "If you can go out, let Mr. Qi find someone in the company to connect with you. I'm not responsible for this either."

Fang Zhuo still tried his best to help and said: "It just happens to be today, so think about it. Domestic smartphones, especially entry-level models, are really developing faster and faster."

"Haha, Mr. Qi, please add me to Yi Xin. I'll recommend someone from the company to you. You guys can talk." Li Yanhong said tactfully, "We won't talk about the specific business today. Mr. Fang, the meeting is about to begin. .”

Fang Zhuo saw that Mr. Li had a firm attitude inside, so he had to give up. This matter seemed to have little hope. The grassroots manufacturers of YMS had to rely on their own efforts.