Reinventing the Millennium

Chapter 978 Debut (4k)

The public opinion of Nokia and Yike that had been calmed down was stirred up again because of a word from the big short Paulson.

More attention from hedge funds, more analysis from financial media, and more consideration from industry stakeholders.

Moreover, the tougher attitude of the head of Yike has attracted more attention to the patent competition between the overlord and the dark horse.

Even China's domestic media finally began to report on the before and after process.

Previously, Yike didn't want to make such a thing public in the country, and the public opinion deliberately silenced and kept a low profile, but many well-known overseas media were following up, which made the local voice unable to cover up.

Some people wrote about the brutality of patent competition, some criticized the injustice that has been revealed in the Korean market, and some worried about the future of a rare Chinese international mobile phone brand.

Some people also quickly noticed that Mr. Fang's statement seemed to sound the horn of attack—it was time to short Nokia.

Huh?Why is this sentence familiar?

After Mr. Fang used Lehman to buy houses for everyone, is he going to start distributing cars?
Many people posted on Weibo and Zhihu @Fangzong, but they didn’t receive a response, and they didn’t see any bank launching a new wealth management fund last time.

The Internet didn't work. Some people thought about calling Yike Company, and some people dialed the after-sales numbers of Yike mobile phone and e-buy website, and put forward the request to fight for Mr. Fang together.

But this also doesn't do much, it just exercises the after-sales affordability of the two companies.

"Boss Fang is doing business abroad, so he has no time to talk to us."

"Mr. Xiong, Mr. Xiong, come out, we know you are watching, hurry up and persuade Mr. Fang to bring someone to drink soup!"

Xiong Xiaoge, the co-founder of Zhihu, once serialized the profits of shorting Lehman on Zhihu, and this time he was also called out, but he also did not respond.

On the one hand, he is carefully and actively observing Yike's patent dispute and Mr. Fang's high-end bureau, and is considering whether IDG Huaxia should buy some stocks now.

On the other hand, he is also quietly trying to influence IDG's strategy in the United States.

Key patents, the secondary market, ITC rulings, the battle of major manufacturers, the most prestigious short sellers on Wall Street, the advances and retreats of the mobile phone industry, the success and failure of Echo's global market...all kinds of factors are mixed together.

Xiong Xiaoge lives in China and his heart is in New York, so he is extra cautious because of his interests.

On January 1th, he saw Mr. Fang update his Twitter account, and saw his Twitter account followers soared by 24. He immediately had a clear understanding that this would be an extremely influential high-end event in the Internet age. Bureau.

Two days later, Xiong Xiaoge saw Mr. Fang update the content on Twitter again, this time to promote the Google live interview on the last day of February. At that time, he will personally talk about Yike's road to success.

There is no doubt that this is Mr. Fang's start to build momentum.

Xiong Xiaoge still remembers the other party's phrase "I like to be a minority" that many consumers still love to talk about, and he trusts his ability to muddy the water.

However, he did not expect that on the last day of February, besides Mr. Fang himself and Google CEO Schmidt, in the Google live broadcast room on YouTube, he did not know which of the two actually put Jobs, the head of Apple, was also invited.

Echo and Apple are fierce competitors.

Google has cooperation with Eke and Apple on the search engine side, and the former is the leader of its Android camp.

However, Apple first negotiated with Nokia, and then made a public statement. It seems that it has a tacit understanding with Echo. This change is very puzzling.

At least, Xiong Xiaoge didn't guess why Apple would do this.

It can't be Mr. Fang who broke into Apple's office and threatened Jobs, right?

No matter how bad Mr. Fang is, he has a bottom line.

Yike used YouTube's live broadcast function in last year's press conference. Xiong Xiaoge had won a Mars2 at that time, and when he logged into his account again this time, he couldn't help but make a small suggestion before the official start.

Xiong Xiaoge regretfully typed a sentence in English: "We should invite Kallasvuo from Nokia over here, what a pity."

The YouTube live broadcast room is undergoing final adjustments. Google CEO Schmidt also personally arranged the interview site. He personally adjusted the position of the sofa and signaled the staff to adjust the projection angle of the live broadcast room so that they can clearly see the interaction Comment.

Although all three of them are of high status, the atmosphere of the interview was very relaxed and natural, without too much design.

Fang Zhuo was drinking tea with a smile, feeling a little regretful that Kallasvuo rejected his invitation, otherwise, it would be great for everyone to have an open debate face to face.

At this time, he saw a comment on YouTube - "Kamperika from Nokia should be invited here, what a pity."

Fang Zhuo glanced at the user name, and instructed: "You should invite this person out, you must be kind."

Xiong Xiaoge's account was kicked out by the administrator.

He refreshed the interface in astonishment and found that he could only be a tourist who could not comment.

"Haha, I'm just kidding, don't kick, don't kick, whatever you want to say today." Fang Zhuo laughed.

The administrator remained silent.

Xiong Xiaoge yelled silently, I'm not kidding, I was really kicked!
"Mr. Fang likes to make jokes like this." Jobs at the scene finished his meditation with a cold face and said so.

"I'm optimistic and think that Yike can be competitive no matter whether it's facing Nokia or Samsung." Fang Zhuo replied.

Schmidt next to him sat down quickly: "Has it started? Has it started?"

Fang Zhuo and Jobs looked at Schmidt together and asked who it was.

Schmidt went to YouTube again and got an all-OK gesture.

He showed a steady smile and said to the camera: "Welcome to Google's live channel. In the past year, YouTube and CNN have cooperated to lead debates, and have cooperated with new attempts in music, sports and other fields. More viewers and users came.”

"YouTube is a thriving video platform. We plan to live broadcast the Super Bowl and Lincoln Park concerts to global audiences in the future, and plan to make YouTube more dynamic."

Schmidt noticed the expressionless faces of the two leaders on the left and right, canceled the rest of the tirade, and said: "Of course, we are also very concerned about the current discussions that have transformative significance for the mobile phone industry. Jobs and Yike’s Fang Zhuo would like to talk about their respective views on the company’s development.”

YouTube's live broadcast room began to flood in with more viewers as the website diverted.

Schmidt took out the card in his hand, recalled the previous rehearsal plan, considered how to smoothly warm up and ask questions.

Seeing him dawdling, Fang Zhuo asked Jobs directly: "How does Apple view the patent competition between Echo and Nokia?"

Schmidt cheered up, okay, very direct.

In fact, he was also surprised by Apple's sudden change in position.

Jobs said honestly: "Apple is carefully assessing the impact of the patent competition between the two companies. Just like now, we are ready to wait for the dust to settle on your mutual complaints before continuing to cooperate properly."

He used a word, mutual complaint.

"That is to say, wait for Yi Ke and Nokia to lose both?" Fang Zhuo was very straightforward when he came up.

"A lot depends on the strength of your words." Jobs didn't feel uncomfortable in the live broadcast, and said straightforwardly, "I'm curious, if Kallasvuo is still the president of Nokia, will Yike not reconcile with it? ?”

This is one of the motivations for his willingness to come today, and he is eager to hear the answer from the person concerned.

"Of course, after all, it won't be too long before our new phone conference in June." Fang Zhuo explained the matter from the perspective of the company's operations, "I saw a lot of hedge funds discussing the fact that Yike was banned from selling by the ITC .”

"However, they are all hiding something from the public intentionally or unintentionally."

"Nokia's application to the ITC for a ban on the sale of Echo Mars1 and Mars2, the Mars3 we released in June is not included in the ruling."

"Tomorrow is March, and June is very close. Our new products are going well."

Jobs cut in: "But your lawsuit with Nokia is likely to come to an end in April, and a two-month hiatus would be a deep wound, wouldn't it?"

Fang Zhuo replied calmly: "I have confidence in our Mars3, and I also have confidence in our distributors. In fact, there is still a buffer period of 60 days after the ITC ruling, which is enough for our Mars3 to go public smoothly."

Jobs positively pointed out the impact: "The launch of new products means the price reduction of old models. Without the old models, Echo's 2009 financial report will not be very good, and it will also face great competitive pressure."

Fang Zhuo admitted this: "Indeed, but I think Echo's efforts are worthwhile. Nokia can't defeat Echo. Its future products that try to get a response in the capacitive screen market will be targeted by Echo's patents. Nokia are in far greater trouble than we are."

Yike was banned from sale, which was cut in half.

Then came the all-out Nokia.

This is the view of many media.

What Fang Zhuo is refuting now is this kind of assertion that Yike will be affected, but this impact is within an acceptable range, because Yike's smartphone brand has already established a position, but Nokia's smartphone based on Symbian Haven't gotten much good feedback.

Once this situation continues, Nokia's market share will decline even more alarmingly.

Now, Yi Ke is taking on the role of a stuck pass.

While the two were drinking water, Schmidt briefly explained the point of view of the head of Yike, then looked at Jobs and asked, "Apple will completely cancel the cooperation with Nokia based on the interests of the company. Koka kills the future of Nokia phones, doesn't it?"

Jobs laughed without saying a word, and did not answer.

But the answer is self-evident. Apple has already shown whose market they covet more.

Despite the decline, Nokia still occupies the largest share in the world.

As long as Yike pulls Nokia down with blood, Apple and other manufacturers will benefit from it.

"From the release of the iPhone and Mars in 2007 to the third generation of products of the two companies this year, in just over two years, I must honestly say my feelings. As the CEO of Google, in 07, I I never expected that Nokia would be forced into this position." Schmidt said with emotion, "I was even threatened by someone pointing at the president's nose."

Fang Zhuo corrected: "It's not a threat, it's my attitude after being threatened by others."

Schmidt did not change his words, and continued to ask: "I believe I am not alone in this rapid change. What is going on? How did everything happen?"

This question is somewhat broad.

The two masters were silent to each other.

Fang Zhuo opened his mouth first: "Actually, looking forward at this time of this year, I think there is an interesting point worth noting. Nokia was basically in its heyday in 07, and its market share exceeded 40%. This is extremely terrifying. number."

"Nokia's market share is a brilliant achievement, but also a dazzling shackle."

"Because it is relatively saturated in the market, and its expansion largely comes from customer replacement. I didn't bring the data today, but this replacement rate should be far beyond linear expectations."

"It is a hidden danger to rely heavily on mobile phone upgrades from old customers. It is at this moment that Yike and Apple appear."

"Of course, there are many factors that have contributed to Nokia's success today."

"For example, it still insists on using Kallasvuo Kallasvuo, who has served Nokia for 30 years and is close to 60 years old, as CEO at the moment of business decline. This is the short-sightedness of its board of directors, because..."

Fang Zhuo's mouth was a little dry, and he unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle.

Schmidt waited for the next article.

Jobs was exaggerated by the atmosphere of the discussion, and gave his own observations and opinions: "Such a CEO has a very distinct bureaucratic label of a large company."

Fang Zhuo put down the bottle and nodded in agreement: "Look, I'm not the only one who said that."

Schmidt complained on the side: "It's because both of you are his competitors?"

Fang Zhuo added: "Huh? Isn't it because the three of us are his competitors that we are here today?"

In the YouTube live broadcast room, I felt that this seemingly unfair and unobjective discussion became very interesting. The leaders of the three companies have thick skins!

"We won't discuss Kallasvender today." Fang Zhuo waved his hands, unwilling to gang up on President Kang. "Nokia will pay the price for him. Its board of directors doesn't believe it, just wait."

He motioned to hear Jobs' point of view.

"I talked about specific products at the press conference." Jobs said impromptuly without talking about the product point of view, "I think of Ford. The period Ford was in was the technology popularization period of automobiles. What usually happens in the technology popularization period? The technology is better and more expensive, and the latter often prevents the adoption of the former.”

He continued: "Whoever can reduce the cost of technology popularization through economies of scale will have the greatest advantage."

Fang Zhuo pointed out a specific operation: "So, you find the telecom operator to share this cost."

Jobs glanced at Mr. Fang, assuming that this factor was there by default.

He paused, and then said: "In 2007, the competition for mobile phones was already fierce. This is not a new industry. However, finding the trend of smartphones in a saturated industry is a new direction from the old track. Consumers are willing to pay for differentiation."

"Now Apple and Echo have completed a virtuous cycle of larger scale and lower cost, and the smartphone market has undergone substantial changes."

Jobs said meaningfully: "Nokia may not have realized this. Now, it has become a challenger of smartphones."

Fang Zhuo applauded lightly, expressing that he liked this sentence.

The comments in the YouTube live broadcast room were swish, and everyone liked the rare face-to-face discussion of this level.

At the same time, Kallasvuo, who returned to the Finnish headquarters, immediately witnessed the de facto alliance between Yike and Apple.

Enemies have come together for the greater good.

The key patents of capacitive screens are in the hands of these two companies.

Nokia did usher in a severe test.

Kallasvuo looked at YouTube blankly, without panic. He thought of the new force facing this situation, another low-key giant that competed with Google and mastered a large number of patents.

Microsoft.

You are not the only ones who unite!
Go get Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer!

(End of this chapter)