Reinventing the Millennium.

Morningstar Semiconductor wanted to go public. Although there was only a message from the Prophet, Fang Zhuo greeted Goldman Sachs in just one afternoon.

Of course, he mainly mentioned Ti Yongke, and incidentally mentioned the matter of Morning Star.

Morningstar's top executives will come to Shanghai, and there will be further contacts at that time. In addition to the listing, they also need to talk about the chip design that has frequently failed to tape out.

Fang Zhuo calculated the time and hoped that its listing could be completed within half a year, so that he could complete his bloodletting.

The time has entered March, and the first to bear the brunt is the iPhone's new product launch conference.

Because of the time difference, Fang Zhuo saw Apple's product information on the morning of March 3.

In fact, he doesn't have too much expectations for the iPhone. According to the current news, this generation is obviously to supplement 3G and match the more popular functions of competitors, and there will be no major changes.

Mars in June is similar to this idea, which is to further enhance competitiveness.

For example, the current rear camera of Mars is 200 million pixels, while the N95 is 500 million pixels. This is the image experience that can be continuously improved after initial success.

Although manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, and LG have expressed a more positive attitude, Fang Zhuo also revised his estimate in time because of the so-called resistive full touch screen design he obtained from Sony Ericsson. I am afraid that the competition in the market this year will The model is indispensable for a slide phone with a full touch screen + keyboard.

This year, there will definitely be designs similar to Mars and iPhone, and there will definitely be classic models that persist, and there will also be a lot of compromise products that take into account both.

Regardless of Mars or iPhone, the current design and functions can still be played after making up for shortcomings.

On the 1st day, Fang Zhuo was mostly thinking about operator channels, Android system ecosystem, planning for the first battle in China, especially domestic pricing.

According to his idea, no matter how the Yike mobile phone is priced, the domestic cooperative operator Unicom should maintain the same price or even use a lower price to match a specific package. However, Unicom's initial feedback is that...they want to increase the price.

Yike provides two domestic pricing plans, 3499/3999 yuan.

What is the level of this in the domestic mobile phone market?
07年的国产手机里，夏新和联想稍微有些市场反响的中端手机价格在2200元左右，而诺基亚如N95、索爱如K850i的价格在5000元左右。

But there is a difference between Sony Ericsson and Nokia. Nokia’s price of 5000 yuan can be stabilized, while the price of Sony Ericsson mobile phones tends to dive faster, dropping by several hundred yuan, and eventually stabilize at around 4400 yuan.

Yike's two plans are to stabilize the mid-to-high-end positioning.

But what China Unicom means is - sell at a higher price!

They want to increase the price by 1000!

If you sell Yike for 3499, it will be 4499, if you sell it for 3999, it will be 4999!

According to China Unicom——Your Yike mobile phones have been proved to be able to play abroad, and you don’t need to sell them to the market with a low price + package. I will increase the price first and then return the increased price to the package.

What you said seems to make sense...can you sell it?
Not sure, but China Unicom is very confident.

In this way, the added money is returned to the user as a call fee, and more money will definitely be earned.

but……

Fang Zhuo just had one feeling, are you guilty?

This matter requires effective communication and dissuasion. Facts abroad also prove that the money earned from mobile phone packages is enough to earn back the retail price, and there is no need to ruin the reputation in this regard.

Fang Zhuo wants to do long-term business. I don't know if China Unicom wants to do short-term business because of the arrival of 3G. Anyway, he has ordered the lower departments to be tougher.

If no agreement can be reached, then he will come forward by himself and persuade the senior management of China Unicom to benefit consumers (serious face).

When it was evening, Fang Zhuo received a call from Yu Hong.

He was a little surprised: "So early? Nervous about today's iPhone launch?"

It's past four o'clock in the afternoon here in Shencheng, and it's past four o'clock in the morning in New York.

"I'm not too nervous about the iPhone. The latest news is that Nokia's Symbian S60 version 5 system will be launched this month." Yu Hong said seriously, "What is confirmed now is that LG may launch The first V5 mobile phone, Nokia's mobile phone originally scheduled for the third quarter will also be available ahead of schedule."

"Oh, LG." Fang Zhuo thought for a while and asked, "The Nokia mobile phone is also this month?"

"Maybe next month, gossip, not sure." Yu Hong replied.

"That's quite interesting. LG is the first mobile phone equipped with S60V5? Is this an experimental product or something?" Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "Apple's iPhone was released on the 1st, and there will be LG's competing products within this month. , There may be a Nokia touch screen next month, and I feel that the iPhone may be more nervous."

Yu Hong immediately called the boss after being woken up by the news, and was taken aback when she heard the words: "Yes, this is putting pressure on the new iPhone. We still have time to observe changes in the market."

"Sleeping again?" Fang Zhuo asked.

"When I wake up, I won't sleep. It's just right. How is the domestic operator negotiation?" Yu Hong is not sleepy. There are more competitions this month, which is worth paying attention to.

Seeing this, Fang Zhuo also talked about the communication between the company and China Unicom.

In addition to the fact that the operator wants to increase the price to sell, another very important negotiation has actually been relatively smooth. China Unicom is willing to determine a purchase price of 0.8-0.84% ​​off according to the final sales volume.

That is, if you buy Yike 3499, it will be 2800, if you buy Yike 3999, it will be 3200.

Although Yike came up with two pricing plans, it seems that the profit margin is relatively large, but Unicom is showing pride. You can decide whatever you want, and I will start with a 8% discount as a base.

Yu Hong couldn't help laughing, and commented: "It seems that whether it is a price increase or a purchase, China Unicom has more confidence in Mars than you, the chairman."

Fang Zhuo sighed and said: "Who says it's not? So, it's more in place, so I can only talk about the price increase strategy with a red face. It's its business."

Just as he was about to continue talking, the landline in the office suddenly rang.

"Let's do that first, we'll talk when we have the latest news from home and abroad." Fang Zhuo ended the call with Yu Hong ahead of schedule.

He put down his mobile phone and looked at the incoming call from the landline, which was relatively unfamiliar.

When he answered, he was a little surprised by the call from the head of Datang Telecom.

The surname of the head of Datang Telecom is relatively rare, the surname is "Zhen" and the first name is "Caiji".

The real head took office in the middle of last year and took over the position of the former head Zhou Huan. In this phone call, he not only invited Mr. Fang to attend the meeting and negotiation between Datang and SMIC, but also talked about possible cooperation with Bingxin.

"Mr. Fang, your Yike mobile phone has achieved great success abroad. It's really not easy." The true master said with emotion, "Especially, I think Yike mobile phone uses chips made by Bingxin itself. , which is even more difficult.”

He continued: "The development of Bingxin is not easy. I really admire Mr. Fang for his dedication."

Fang Zhuo said a few words modestly.

The real head said: "There are wafer manufacturing and terminal products. Presumably Mr. Fang knows that our domestic mobile phones still lack the link of chip design. Our Datang will establish Leadcore Technology dedicated to domestic chip design this year. The company will also ask Mr. Fang's ice core to help us a lot."

Fang Zhuo was taken aback, and really became interested, and asked, "Leadcore? The domestic mobile phone industry chain really needs to improve in the design part."

"Yes, I hope Leadcore can provide chips and solutions for 3G and 4G mobile terminals in the future." The real boss said with a hearty smile, "I hope that in the next two years, I can come up with a mature chip design, which can be accepted by Mr. Fang like this." Procurement from powerful manufacturers can realize overtaking on curves in this link.”

Fang Zhuo pondered for a while after hearing this: "Datang Telecom has the advantage of the 3G communication standard, which can form a synergy."

He paused for a moment, and then directly stated the reality: "But the chip design must also be solid and prudent. For example, our ice core will also connect some mobile phone chip tapes. There are quite powerful manufacturers here. However, the result is repeated tapes It's a shame to fail."

"This work must be pragmatic, solid, and done step by step."

The real leader smiled a little, and still said: "So, we are very eager for the advanced technology of ice cores. We hope to use the help of local technology and rely on Datang Telecom's industrial chain advantages to try our best to surpass the 3G corner. opponent."

Fang Zhuo doesn't think 3G is a corner that can be surpassed.

In particular, Lianxin has not yet been formally established.

But that's all he said, and if he talked about it in depth, he would offend people again.

The design of mobile phone chips will not only face strong competition from international giant manufacturers, but also have to compete with local chip manufacturers in the low-end market. Moreover, it absolutely requires continuous investment in research and development costs, and it is still a talent-intensive and technology-intensive field. .

Such a link has a long way to go. Even if Fang Zhuo thinks about combining Ice Core’s wafer manufacturing, Yike’s end products, and tyranny...no, plus uniting with partners, he must be cautious and solid.

From the very beginning, he thought about overtaking on a curve. At the very least, Fang Zhuo had some disagreements on the strategy.

Changing to other fields, the first time I talked with the real head, he was flattering, but when it came to IC design, I couldn't help but say a few more words.

Fang Zhuo suppressed the thoughts in his heart and continued to chat with this man.

Zhenzhangmen’s phone call this time was mainly to express his position on Datang’s stake in SMIC, and he was willing to strongly support SMIC. At the same time, he also mentioned that he was willing to use the opportunity of the rapid development of TD-SCDMA’s 3G business in China to enhance the relationship between the two companies. International Competitiveness.

Fang Zhuo really didn't say any more when he talked about this.

Mr. Zhang is about to reply that as long as SMIC is willing to accept the influence of Datang, which is different from previous investors, he naturally has no position to say anything, purely from the perspective of small shareholders, he is willing to see a win-win situation.

Near the end of the call, Fang Zhuo tactfully refused to attend the negotiation meeting between the two parties again, and the reason was very good.

Yike Mars is facing fierce competition. The new iPhone is about to be launched, and new phones from LG and Nokia are also in sight. He must concentrate on meeting this wave of competition.

The real head expressed his regretful final statement on the cooperation with SMIC, and also looked forward to the future prospects of Lianxin and Bingxin, and hoped that he could visit Mr. Fang face to face when he had time.

Fang Zhuo agreed without hesitation, although he was somewhat judgmental in such a few words, but for semiconductors, the more people come in, the better, it is better than deserted.

When he put down the landline, he pondered about Datang, SMIC and Lianxin, and thought about meeting Zhang Rujing before flying to the United States, and hearing what the situation there was like.

In the evening, Fang Zhuo browsed the news of Silicon Valley, thinking about getting up early tomorrow morning to see the true face of Lushan in the iPhone generation, to see if it is what he expected.

However, before he fell asleep, he received an enthusiastic call from Judy, the leader of the new district.

"Mr. Fang, I heard that Yike, a well-known international company, is going to build a landmark headquarters?" Judy came here after smelling it.

"That's just what I mentioned, I'm not sure yet." Fang Zhuo turned around in his mind, guessing that Liu Suyi's mouth was loose, but his relationship with Lao Qiu was very good from the beginning, so it's not too surprising.

"I said a long time ago that the two big companies, E-Tech and E-Go, can't be squeezed in Hang Lung, and the employees are still running separately, which reduces work efficiency. Just find a good land in our new district and build an E-Tech Science and Technology Park. How grand !" Judy laughed.

Fang Zhuo asked: "Is there a discount for buying land? Go for the discount."

"As long as you come, there must be a discount. The district can't make a decision. I'll take you to the city and make sure Mr. Fang sees my sincerity." Judy said.

"What's the use of seeing sincerity? What I want is the ultimate benefit."

Fang Zhuo laughed and chatted for a while, and the matter of the new headquarters was slightly on the agenda.

There were no more extraneous things that night, and it was six o'clock in the morning, that is, six o'clock in the evening in Silicon Valley, and Apple on the other side of the ocean was holding a launch event for the new iPhone.

Fang Zhuo was brushing his teeth while browsing the latest news on his notebook.

The March 3st on the other side did not bring him any surprises. The 1G of the iPhone, the Apple Store, the addition of GPS components, the addition of front-facing cameras, more sufficient power, and the use of plastic back shells.

The first-generation iPhone had some bad reviews on mobile phone signals. In order to improve this problem, the second-generation iPhone replaced metal materials with engineering plastics.

However, the expectation of competing product information does not mean that this iPhone is not threatening.

The mobile phone released by Apple in advance has almost smoothed out the dislocation competition carried out by Mars. The front camera is no longer unique, and the same is true for the system ecology.

It will take time for consumers to respond to the market, but logically, Mars sales may continue to slow down.

Fang Zhuo thought about the changes in the mobile phone business, and had a simple breakfast.

But before he finished his breakfast, he suddenly saw the latest news from another mobile phone manufacturer.

——LG announced that it will hold a new product launch event on March 3.

In other words, LG launched the latest mobile phone products on the second day after the launch of the new iPhone.

Fang Zhuo felt this highly targeted information, and gradually became excited. LG is indeed a Korean manufacturer, and this action is really fast.

It is not clear whether LG will adopt a capacitive screen, or whether it will infringe several key patents held by Yike.