Chapter 861 – Mobile phone
“Old Xu, Old Duan, what sort of good news you all want to tell me?” Feng Yu picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Duan Yongping looked at Xu Lihua. “Old Xu, you should be the one saying this.”
Xu Lihua nodded. He had contributed the most to the team and was also the leader.
“Manager Feng, we had successfully developed a mobile phone!”
Feng Yu put down his teacup immediately and asked: “It is developed?! That’s great! Is it the flip phone I suggested?”
“This is the prototype.” Xu Lihua opened a small box and took out a mobile phone carefully.
This is Aiwa Electronics’ first successful developed mobile phone prototype and it’s valuable. If it wasn’t for Feng Yu, he would never take it out.
Feng Yu switch on the phone and the screen is small, and it is black and white. The buttons are also tiny, and the phone is only about 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. But the thickness is more than 3 cm.
But this is a flip phone, and it is understandable for it to be slightly thicker.
Feng Yu frowned as he checked the menu and go through the functions. There are only two functions in the phone. Making calls and SMS. There should have some simple games!
Feng Yu was even more unpleased when he heard the ringtone. This is not 40-polyphonic Ring Tone?
Xu Lihua and Duan Yongping saw Feng Yu’s expression, and the joy and excitement on their faces disappeared.
Manager Feng is not satisfied with this mobile phone? But they felt this phone is already the best.
“You all must improve on the following. First, when the phone is not flipped open, you can’t see the number. There are incoming caller ID services now, and you also should know, right? Although this service is expensive, more people will start using it in the future, and the call will be answered when I flip open the phone. What happens if I do not want to answer calls from this number? So, you all should add a small LCD screen on the cover to display the incoming call’s number and a button to hang up the call on the side. If I don’t want to answer the call, I can hang up.”
Xu Lihua immediately takes out his notebook to record it. Manager Feng’s suggestions are priceless…
“Secondly, the cover is so big, and the screen is too small. Didn’t I say you all can cooperate with Wind and Rain Electronics on the screen? Their LCD technology research is quite advance and why is it in Black and White? Overseas mobile phones are already using colored screens and we must do the same.”
“Third, the ringtone is too awful, and there is only the most traditional ringtone inside. You all should improve on the ringtone’s quality and then increase the varieties of ringtones. Also, we must have our own unique ringtone and when people hear this ringtone, they will know this is our phone. Never mind. I will prepare this ringtone myself.” Feng Yu needs time to decide which music to be used as Aiwa’s mobile phone’s ringtone and opening tone.
“Fourth, the functions of this phone are too little. Other than making calls and sending SMS, you all can add in some simple games, like Tetris, Snake, etc.”
Xu Lihua was shocked and asked. “Manager Feng, this phone is not cheap and is not those handheld games. Who is willing to use this phone for games? What if the buttons are damaged when playing games?”
“That’s why you all must make the buttons sturdier and make sure our phones are durable. What’s the point of getting something so expensive and not pressing the button?” Feng Yu rolled his eyes.
In Feng Yu’s previous life, Nokia phones were the best and can be used to break walnuts. But the later generations of phones did not focus on durability, as no one will drop their phone purposely. In the end, it was the phone’s protective covers that become popular. Furthermore, if the phone’s buttons were damaged when playing games, the consumers will get a new one.
“Lastly, it is the phone’s operating system’s functions. You must tell Kingsoft to increase the functionalities. Alright. I will speak to them about this. You all just try to make this phone thinner and studier. The exterior designs must be improved and offer more color varieties like our pagers. Oh, how long can this phone’s battery last?”
“The batteries are custom-made by Wind and Rain Batteries, and it can last longer than the phones in the market. The talk time is 50% longer, but the cost is much higher.”
“Expensive is not a problem. This will also be one of our selling points. The people who buy mobile phones are mostly businessmen and they will not want their phones to go dead during crucial times. When we introduce our phones, we must include a spare battery for our customers to change battery when their phones go dead.”
“Give out a free battery? Our cost will increase further.”
“Can’t you include the spare battery’s cost into the retail price? This is like we are selling one more phone battery!” Feng Yu gave Xu Lihua a stare. These engineers are so stupid!
Look at Duan Yongping. He is also a researcher, but he is flexible! Aiwa’s cordless phones and Wind and Rain cordless phones are selling so well, and the advertisement he chose left a deep impression with the viewers.
Products must be developed based on the user’s requirements and must emphasize the user experience. The product must not be designed based on the researcher or engineer’s preference. Also, products are developed to be sold and not for show. It must be profitable!
Xu Lihua suddenly realized this. That’s right. We can tell the consumers that the phone comes with a spare battery, and the cost of the battery can be included in the selling price. Manager Feng is so smart. Why didn’t I think of this before?
“What’s the cost of this phone now?” Feng Yu played with this heavy phone in his hands and asked.
“If we are mass-producing this phone, the cost can be lowered to below 2,000 RMB.” Xu Lihua replied proudly.
The mobile phones in the market cost at least 6,000, and some better brands cost more than 12,000 RMB. Not all of these phones are imported and one of these brands is a Chinese brand, Panda!
Panda started producing mobile phones in 1993 and is China’s first domestic company to get a network access license. But their technologies are average, and their products’ designs are ugly.
When Feng Yu suggested producing mobile phones, Xu Lihua said they will exceed Panda phones within 3 years. Feng Yu was furious when he heard this. This idiot lacks ambition. What’s the point of exceeding Panda? If they were to exceed some companies, it should also be Motorola.
If the target is not set higher, the engineers will not be motivated. In Feng Yu’s previous life, Nokia had beat Motorola. Why can’t Aiwa Electronics do the same?
Aiwa has sufficient funds and futuristic designs. If Xu Lihua and the rest still cannot meet Feng Yu’s expectations, Feng Yu will be utterly disappointed!
“This should be enough to guarantee our profitability and competitiveness. Our next step is to prepare the mass production of mobile phones, and our pager production must be stopped within 3 years. In the future, people from all over the world will be using our phones!”
