novelArmy of Inferior Brands
| ← Ch.209 | Ch.211 → |
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When news of Xing Hai Technologies' conference reached the M nation, Google was flustered. It was impossible for them to maintain calm and remain complacent toward the threat of Star Cloud OS.
Even if Star Cloud was still struggling on a technical level and underperformed when compared to the Android system, it still posed a colossal threat because Xing Hai Technologies was wealthy. They had hundreds of billions of dollars in cash flow.
Money was the mightiest superpower in this world. With Xing Hai Technologies handing out hundreds of billions of dollars in disregard of return, they could shape a complete ecosystem of applications within two to three years' time.
Not to mention that Star Cloud OS was not bad at all. With the addition of Work Assistant, which was capable of hiking programming efficiency by 10-fold, they would be screwed. In at most one year's time, Xing Hai Technologies' Star Cloud OS would expand into a frightening leviathan.
"Spread the word immediately: Android will be free of charge!"
In a rage, Larry Page had decided to reverse the decision he had made only days before and continuing keep Android free. He would rather forgo billions of dollars in profit to suppress Star Cloud OS and strangle it in its infancy.
Both cofounder Sergey Brin and CEO Sandal Pichai supported this decision. As innovators in the technical field, they were convinced of the potency of Xing Hai Technologies. So rather than causing the Android market to shrink and lose the entire Z nation market, they had to postpone their promise to their shareholders to improve the company's profitability.
This decision, however, was not appreciated by the investors.
"Mr. Page, Mr. Brin, are you guys so terrified that you peed your pants? An operating system that just launched defeating Android, which has decades of history? Are you kidding me?"
"We own more than 80% of the market! Our application ecosystem includes hundreds of thousands of companies, millions of terabytes of data, and tens of millions of applications. We are a powerful, invulnerable empire!"
"It's been more than two years since Android has imposed a charge. Patent fees for each mobile phone is 20 euros. Until now, there have been no signs of a third OS that posed a threat to us. Those people can just pull out their wallets for us as far as I'm concerned."
"The Fruit company charges for everything, and their profit last year was three times more than ours!"
"Mr. Page, we have already given concessions. Ten dollars for a mobile phone is the same amount that the Z's spend on two meals. That country is already rich, maybe even richer than us."
"I have 50 million dollars' worth of Google stock, and the profit I gain every year is not even 1 million dollars. I have limits to my patience. Please honor your promise to improve profitability!"
Opposition from the investors was equally outraged, citing Larry Page's and others' decision to retract their plans to impose a fee on Android "a premature death."
Facing this tirade of joint opposition whose only collective interest was profit, Larry Page was helpless and regretful.
Why must Google be a listed company?
...
On March 23rd, just short of one day after the launch of Work Assistant 1. 0, the executives of Xing Hai Technologies received many phone calls from local hardware manufacturers requesting admission to the League of Star Apps.
The number of phone calls received by customer service was so overwhelming that Ling Dong Jun himself handled at least a hundred of them. His phone had been at his ears from morning until night, when he looked at the stars through the window while on his last call. Only after his phone shut down after becoming too hot did he finally have relief.
Only the wealthy and influential had Ling Dong Jun's direct phone number, and these were the entrepreneurs he had been talking to all day. The day's chaos had proven the enthusiasm of the domestic hardware manufacturers.
At noon on the 24th, however, as Ling Dong Jun was reporting to Chen Jin on the previous day's success, Chen Jin's mirthful expression slowly faded into helplessness.
"Mr. Chen, in the list of partnership applications, the bigger brands are Red Pepper Mobiles, Luvaly Mobiles, and Nutshell Mobiles. All these brands have annual sales in the millions, and Red Pepper alone sold more than 5 million units last year. Their products are still hot on Laipinduo and are very popular in fourth- and fifth-tier cities. It's just that..."
"They are all inferior brands, right?" Chen Jin interrupted.
Ling Dong Jun nodded."Their phones are all low-end products of mediocre quality. The profit they make for every unit sold hardly passes the 100-dollar mark. Once Android charges them, they'll perish right away. Of course, they could choose to usurp the Android system and change vests when Google prosecutes them, resorting to a sort of guerilla warfare. In fact, Google has no way to charge them, either. Their request for cooperation this time is mainly aimed at the 50-billion-dollar loan and financing we'll be providing."
"Mr. Chen, should we agree to accept these inferior brands?" Ling Dong Jun asked.
Chen Jin shook his head."Who else could we take if not them?"
He would be elated if any of the top-end local companies such as Hua Yao, Da Mi, OV, Meihong, Nobia, and others would join the League of Star Apps. He would have assisted them with all the power at his disposal but, due to their fear of getting shut out by Google, none of them said a word.
Lei Xiao Jun had called Chen Jin personally and expressed his apologies."It's not that I'm belittling Star Cloud; it's just that Da Mi has more than 300 million devices out there with Android installed on them. We really can't see ourselves getting off of Android, but... Once Star Cloud matures and has a well-established ecosystem of apps, I will not hesitate to join the League of Star Apps. For now, I really can't afford to do it." Chen Jin had conveyed his understanding.
This left Xing Hai Industries with no choice but to establish the League of Star Apps with the hardware manufacturers of inferior brands of mobile phones, tablets, intelligent home product, and others, as only manufacturers of this caliber were willing to join the league.
"It seems we should start attacking from the outer rim. Take Red Pepper Mobiles, for instance: Their brand might be inferior, but their sales for mobile phones actually reached 5. 5 million units last year, positioning them at number six in the whole country. This is higher than what Lian Xiang company sold. Their brand reputation isn't that bad, either. This means that they are committed to making their products or else it would be impossible for them to have attained such scale. If I were to pick one among these dwarves, this Red Pepper company could be worth our utmost support, " Chen Jin said quietly.
Ling Dong Jun continued his report."Mr. Chen, there were another two companies that called me yesterday. They, too, want to join the League of Star Apps."
"Which two?"
"8848 and Nailed Mobiles."
Slosh!
Chen Jin almost sputtered, "These two... are still alive?"
Ling Dong Jun nodded."It seems so. Mr. Wang from 8848 and Mr. Luo from Nailed Mobiles are interested in Xing Hai Technologies' financing, especially Mr. Luo, who demanded 3 billion at his first go. He said that as long as Xing Hai Technologies cooperates with him, he can help make Star Cloud number one in the world."
"Reject them. Reject all their financing requests!" Chen Jin shook his head."It's fine for them to join the league, but don't let them bamboozle us! As for that nice "poet, " don't give him a single cent. Don't let his gibberish spoil Xing Hai Technologies' reputation."
"Got it, Mr. Chen." Ling Dong Jun nodded his head.
...
After some sorting, the list of the first local hardware manufacturers to join the League of Star Apps and expected to receive Xing Hai Technologies' financial support was ready on March 25th, with a total of 150 companies.
This list was not announced to the public. The companies were concerned about getting shut out by Google, and they weren't notable enough to be considered an advantage and, instead, possibly a detriment.
If veteran entrepreneurs were to see this list, they would label it an Army of Inferior Brands. They indeed were an army of inferiors and a motley crew but, as of this moment, these renegades were the only ones that Xing Hai Technologies could manage to recruit!
Chen Jin shook his head."This is the real world—success will not come easily! Even if I were to present technology of the Tirolians, it would not be just a day's effort to vanquish the empire established by Android!"
"I gave out a rallying cry in an attempt to attract Hua Yao, Da Mi, OV, and companies of their caliber to join us, but they have already spent billions of development dollars based on Android. It's impossible for them to forgo their flock, change the habits of their countless numbers of users, and join us in our new ecosystem, which is now literally a blank piece of paper."
"Xing Hai Technologies, established for no more than three years, has yet to attain a strong influence."
"Our goal to wipe the Android empire off the map is destined to be a long journey. The troops that I've managed to gather are only inferiors that only has money in their eyes."
"Even so!"
He clenched his fists and declared, "I will still lead this inferior army and let everybody see with their own eyes how one tears an empire apart!"
| ← Ch. 209 | Ch. 211 → |