82: Africa or India

Red Star's Material Structure Lab is responsible not only for developing exterior materials but also for researching internal components like cushioning foam and heat dissipation materials.

This year, under Chen Chen's direction, the lab achieved a technological breakthrough in heat dissipation materials.

This year's Soaring Cloud S3 isn't particularly outstanding in architecture or performance; it's more of an upgrade and modification of the Soaring Cloud S2, with a significant boost to the main core frequency.

Using heat dissipation is essential. After completing the copper tube cooling system Chen Chen assigned, the lab moved on to attack VC (Vapor Chamber) cooling and has already made some breakthroughs.

[Note: Read more at Taiwan Novel Website, twkan.com]

After all, besides software scheduling, the most important factor restricting mobile performance is heat dissipation. Only by quickly and evenly distributing peak performance heat across the body can a phone sustain high power usage for short periods without frequency throttling.

This is also an important development direction for future mobile phones.

In addition, under the hardware development department, Chen Chen established a small specialized hardware group responsible for speakers, NFC, infrared functions, and vibration motors.

Fruit had used Z-axis linear motors as early as the CDMA version of the Fruit 4. As for X-axis linear motors, as far as Chen Chen knew, none had been used yet, except for Nokia's model last year where it was soldered directly onto the motherboard.

Compared to the Z-axis, the X-axis provides better haptic feedback. When the Fruit 7 canceled physical buttons, the feel of that massive X-axis vibration motor blew the market away.

Currently, the top-tier linear motors mainly come from AAC Technologies, which is also Fruit's primary supplier. The upcoming Kunpeng mobile phone 2nd Gen will feature a Z-axis linear motor for the first time. While it can't match the X-axis, it's still a selling point.

In the future, for the Full-Screen Display series that will change phone forms, the android 'Three Great Kings' (navigation buttons) will be removed in favor of Full-Screen Display gestures, making an X-axis linear motor indispensable.

The establishment of these Red Star labs is to push hardware optimization to the limit while building a bridge between hardware, software, and user interaction.

This ensures Red Star can truly become a high-quality, high-standard mobile manufacturer.

After all, a phone—especially a mid-to-high-end one—must not only have powerful hardware but also a certain level of coordination between software and hardware.

An excellent manufacturer cannot just be an assembly plant that integrates hardware; it needs to polish that hardware to perfection so users can enjoy the true experience it brings.

Once the Kunpeng mobile phone truly reaches the experience level of a high-end flagship, it will be time for Red Star to challenge Samsung and Fruit.

As the days passed, Chen Chen took the opportunity to continue optimizing and integrating the company's departments, especially in security.

As the saying goes, 'don't fear the thief stealing, fear the thief lingering.' Red Star's original security was already strict with access controls and campus patrols, but now, at Chen Chen's request, Lu Weibing added many camera systems to the campus.

Naturally, the security team had to expand accordingly. Chen Chen didn't have that 'overlord's aura' where he could meet a retired special forces soldier just by walking down the street, who would then bring a group of fellow veterans to form a loyal security detail.

To expand the security team, he could only use professional real-world security companies and buy their services with money.

As long as the RMB was sufficient, professional security companies were much more professional than a self-built ragtag crew.

“President Chen, barring any accidents this year, Red Star will be the mobile manufacturer with the highest shipments in China. Our first phase is nearly complete, and I plan to start expanding into foreign markets.”

Lu Weiqi finished speaking and looked at the pensive Chen Chen. For Lu Weiqi, foreign markets—especially Europe—were familiar territory; that's what he did at Gionee.

He was originally in charge of Gionee's overseas business, primarily facing the European market. When Gionee's domestic market share was collapsing, the boss urgently recalled him. However, after returning, he was constantly hindered by the Board of Directors, making it hard to reverse the decline. Eventually, he grew discouraged and chose to jump ship to Red Star.

Chen Chen knew Lu Weiqi's capabilities; he was contemplating whether to enter two specific regions.

One was India. In his previous life, Xiaomi's sales in India practically propped up the company, accounting for more than a third at its peak. Mobile manufacturers, including Xiaomi, almost monopolized the Indian market.

But the problem with the Indian market was: 'Money earned in India stays in India; don't think of taking a penny home.'

Those Indians would fine you at the drop of a hat, calculating your profits for blatant extortion.

And you couldn't just refuse. Companies like Xiaomi and OV (Oppo/Vivo) had huge initial investments—factories, stores, sales channels—so the sunk costs were too high, and they had to hold their noses and pay the fines.

The other region was Africa. Not just Third World countries; many parts of Africa are quite developed and can provide massive shipment volumes. Before Chen Chen's reincarnation, Transsion—the 'fighter jet' of mobile phones—and Bird, which couldn't survive domestically, had relied on the African market to reach fourth in the world.

“President Chen?”

Lu Weiqi saw Chen Chen hadn't responded for a long time and called out softly again.

“Mhm, I'm listening. I also have plans to go overseas, but the needs of foreign users differ from domestic ones. Plus, we have no sales channels; I'm afraid it will take up a lot of energy.”

To go overseas, the phone's system level must first be specifically optimized, which takes a lot of time. Currently, the Starlight OS department is working on this to prepare for Red Star's expansion.

“Since we're going overseas, we can't just look at Europe and America. We must also set foot in Southeast Asia, India, and Africa—especially the African market. Pick a group of elite staff from the company to go to Africa; keep it voluntary, but make sure the salary reflects the hardship.”

“Southeast Asia needs a dedicated manager too. Old Lu, you'll have to worry a bit more and coordinate the European market since you're familiar with it.”

“The African market?”

Hearing Chen Chen emphasize the African market, Lu Weiqi was a bit puzzled. What was there in those Third World countries worth such a fuss?

It seemed better to focus on Europe and America, as those were the primary regions for Red Star's high-end phone shipments.

“Old Lu, don't look down on the African market. It's a huge market. If done well, the scale isn't inferior to Europe or America.”

“You're the boss; we'll go wherever you say. It's just that the right person might be hard to pick.”

“Also, I'm responsible for domestic business, the Shine brand, and now overseas business. I'm not a multi-armed deity; I'm stretched too thin.”

Lu Weiqi gave a bitter smile. Since coming to Red Star, he hadn't had a moment's peace. Those few days at the Internet Conference in Wuzhen were a rare bit of relaxation; he thought he'd get some screen time, but he ended up being a total background character.

“Like I said, more work for the capable!”

After saying that, both of them laughed.

“Even a capable person has limits. I have a few old friends from Gionee who want to jump ship recently. President Chen, what do you think...?”

After talking for so long, Lu Weiqi finally revealed the ultimate goal of this conversation.

“As long as their character and ability are trustworthy, let them join Red Star. But they must first pass Uncle Lu's inspection.”