17: Screen patents

"And their so-called Lingxiao S1 with Lingxiao Architecture, I feel like it's just a rebranded ARM Architecture. What self-developed architecture?"

"Do you guys know how difficult it is to self-develop chips, especially the instruction set architecture?"

"To the person above, stop talking. You can talk until you're blue in the face, but the Red Star 1 is only 1998!"

"You say the Lingxiao Architecture isn't self-developed, but its performance isn't inferior to Qualcomm s2, and it sells for 1998!"

"You say its lens can actually rival Sony's latest lens module, then isn't 1998 even more worth it?"

"At this price, even if it blows up my battery while charging, I'd say it blew up well and blew up fast!"

"A ten-year Red Star fan here, uninvited. After reading Wan the Blogger's analysis, my determination to buy Red Star has become even firmer!"

Zhang Fugui looked at the constantly flashing '1998' and sat down dejectedly in his chair.

He couldn't win, he completely couldn't win.

He didn't know where so many ten-year fans had suddenly appeared from.

No matter what you said, they only had one sentence: 'Mine is 1998.'

Clenching his fists, he thought, 'Red Star, you just wait. Making me lose face like this, once it goes on sale, I'll definitely snatch one and pick it apart thoroughly.'

'I don't believe I won't be able to find a single flaw.'

As the launch date approached, many netizens were rubbing their hands in anticipation, preparing to snatch one up.

The scenes of the mi 1 rush were still fresh in their minds; they just hoped that as a large factory, Red Star's production capacity would be a bit higher.

Soon, at ten in the morning, as the purchase interface opened, well-prepared netizens instantly flooded into the Red Star Mall.

"Haha, this is much easier to grab than Xiaomi. I got the blue one."

"I got one too, it's black."

"It's a pity that this sale is all China Unicom versions. I don't know how long I'll have to wait for my China Telecom version."

"Sigh, unfortunately I already bought the da mi 1st generation, I just don't know when it will ship."

The expected sell-out within seconds didn't happen; the first batch of 200,000 Unicom 3G units took 7 minutes to barely sell out.

Chen Chen looked at the sales data.

Sometimes, you're afraid if it sells too fast.

But you're even more worried if it sells slowly.

Worried that netizens won't like this model or won't buy into it.

"Uncle Lu, go post a message on the official blog. Say that our first batch of 200,000 Red Star 1 units sold out within 5 minutes, and shipping will be completed within a week."

After arranging things with Lu Weibing, Chen Chen prepared to go to the R&D department to have Dr. Zhou study the technical parameters of this 1080p screen set first, and then hurry to apply for patents.

As he walked, he pondered whether to adopt Xiaomi's hunger marketing strategy to package the Red Star 1.

After thinking it over, Chen Chen decided against it. Although this thing could bring hype, it was also a major blow to reputation.

In the early stages, there was no need for deliberate hunger marketing; he just needed to control the quantity.

At the press conference, he said he wasn't making money and was just making friends.

In reality, what company actually does charity?

For a phone selling at 1998, the material cost was less than 1400 rmb, with the rest being taxes and other expenses.

It was simply about controlling the sales volume in the early stages, and then making a profit once material prices dropped and production capacity increased.

Arriving at the R&D department, Chen Chen handed a hard drive to Dr. Zhou. "Uncle Zhou, the hard drive contains the latest screen technology. Please take a look at it first, then apply for the patents as soon as possible."

Dr. Zhou took the hard drive curiously and asked, "The latest screen technology? How new? There are already manufacturers in China mass-producing 720p screens. They're just a bit expensive."

"It's 1080p. Not only is the technology there, but also the full set of production processes."

Dr. Zhou's hand holding the hard drive trembled slightly.

Technical parameters were understandable, but production processes were very difficult to obtain.

For example, for the same chip, those mass-produced by TSMC using different processes would have worlds of difference in performance.

Tacitly avoiding asking where this set of technology and processes came from, Dr. Zhou connected the hard drive to the computer and began to examine it carefully.

After looking for a while, he rubbed his head and said, "I only have a smattering of knowledge about screen technology and don't understand it very clearly. I'll call Old Li over. Don't worry, Old Li has been with our Red Star for seven or eight years; he's reliable."

Seeing Chen Chen nod, Dr. Zhou went out and brought in a middle-aged man.

"This is Old Li, who is mainly responsible for screens at Red Star. President Chen brought a set of technical data that you need to look at."

Old Li didn't say much. He nodded to Chen Chen and went to the computer to check.

"Impressive! The technical parameters of this screen are completely world-leading, and it even has the full set of production processes."

"With this, it wouldn't be a problem for Red Star to build our own panel production factory. President Chen, where did this technology come from?"

Old Li marveled as he watched, but after the last question, Dr. Zhou nudged him gently.

Old Li also realized he had asked something he shouldn't have and immediately changed his tune: "President Chen, should we build our own panel production factory? With this technology, we can definitely be in a leading position."

"Building our own factory is too big an investment and too slow; we won't make it in terms of time and capital. The best way is to find a panel factory to cooperate in development and production after we apply for the patents."

This was something Chen Chen had decided long ago. After all, Red Star didn't have the strength to invest in building a panel factory right now. Building one factory would cost at least four or five billion, and if they wanted a factory to supply all Red Star Mobile Phone screens, the total investment would likely exceed ten billion.

"Current panel manufacturers in China include BOE, Tianma, and oh, Huaxing Optoelectronics."

"Huaxing just put a giant factory into production this year. This is a project jointly promoted by the Shenzhen government and TCL. I heard the total investment exceeds 20 billion rmb."

Old Li knew the domestic panel manufacturers like the back of his hand and quickly narrowed down a few manufacturers they could cooperate with.

"Let's go with Huaxing Optoelectronics. I've also heard about their project in Shenzhen. The total investment is huge, and TCL also possesses strong panel technology."

Chen Chen still decided to continue cooperating with Huaxing.

"Old Li, Dr. Zhou, organize the materials as quickly as possible and apply for the patents. Regarding the cooperation with Huaxing, I'll have Uncle Lu and Old Li go to Shenzhen together later."

"Alright, President Chen."

After Lu Weibing posted the news that #200,000 Red Star 1 units sold out in 5 minutes# on the official blog, he immediately went to get busy with the next batch of production.

It could be said that before Chen Chen came to the company, Lu Weibing was the busiest person there.

Since Chen Chen arrived, Lu Weibing had become even busier.

However, Lu Weibing was happy with this kind of busyness; at least there was something to look forward to.