mesbooks Chapter 426 Qualcomm: We Need More Money
Chapter 426 Qualcomm: We Need More Money
Lei Jun's anger was genuine, and the others didn't look too happy either.
Especially Lin Bin, since 4G networks weren't fully operational when he said that...
Several mobile phones were placed on the table at the same time: a large-screen Note3, a Transsion S5, and a Huawei Mate8. All three phones were running speed tests simultaneously.
However, the probability of Dami failing was higher than they imagined, because while the other two companies achieved download speeds of 148Mb/s, Dami seemed to be displaying a gray "E" (2G network) at the top of the screen due to continuous testing.
After Lei Jun finished venting his anger, the conference room fell silent again. Lin Bin coughed lightly and began to analyze the situation for everyone.
"The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has just issued licenses, fully opening up 4G."
The pricing has also been adjusted, and most people can now experience the basic package.
Both the S5 and Mate 8 are compatible, and carriers are also promoting them.
Lin Bin sounded troubled, as the company had fallen behind in its 4G rollout.
Why are the operators moving so fast? 4G has just become widespread. Shouldn't they take their profits a little longer? Even if the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires you to use our base stations, the cost is too high. Should we fight back?
Why do it this way...?
Of course, what angered him even more was that their Note3 couldn't find a 4G signal.
Although Fire Dragon supports some frequency bands, they bought a completely stripped-down version, which is not just as simple as TD-LTE.
Lei Jun picked up the Redmi Note 3 again. This phone is still excellent when it doesn't overheat, and its performance is still up-to-date even for business owners.
But... he has a fever, and it gets hot to the touch in a short while.
At this moment, Lei Jun felt the malice emanating from the world. After a while, he put down his phone and asked again:
"What did Qualcomm say? Can they provide a 4G solution?"
"Mr. Lei has already called and asked!"
Qualcomm says the Snapdragon 801 fully supports 4G, has an integrated baseband, and its signal strength is slightly better than the Snapdragon 800.
But there's a problem...
As they were talking, the secretary next to him presented Lei Jun with the results of Lin Bin's conversation with Qualcomm.
"You need to pay more!"
Lei Jun looked at the report and his brows furrowed instantly. At that moment, he felt that the hostility towards rice was not only from China... but also from Qualcomm.
For the first time, he found those three words so jarring.
"The 4G and 3G versions of the 801 cost more than $13. Although Transsion is being fair, it is still a huge cost for us."
They also said that previous orders cannot be changed; we need to continue using the existing batch of Fire Dragon 801 units. If we want to upgrade to the 4G version, we need to place a new order.
Everyone in the conference room looked at Lin Bin in shock.
"Mr. Lin, is what you're saying true? Let me see!"
Zhou Shouzi hurriedly stood up and took a summary of the conversation from the side...
His face was filled with disbelief.
"Who gave Qualcomm the nerve? Doesn't they know that their two flagship processors, the 800 and 801, have both failed miserably?"
Li Wanqiang slammed the report on the table. As one of the few domestic supporters within the rice industry, he could only say that he had made an effort, but ultimately failed.
Lin Bin was also very angry, but there was nothing he could do.
Of course, there are still some problems facing them.
仓库里还有78万颗火龙800，150万的火龙801 3G。
If the Mi Note 3 and Mi Digital series do not continue to use these 3G versions, then the cost of this batch of inventory chips will be completely wasted.
However, if they continue to use it, their phones will not support 4G, which will put them at a disadvantage in terms of public opinion.
毕竟在全面开放4G的档口，另外两家也在疯狂地炒作4G的噱头，谁还会花2000多买一台只能用2G和3G的手机。
Most importantly, the overheating problem of these two chips has not been resolved, and the meme of "ceramic hand warmer" is still circulating online.
How can we sell phones like this?
"How about we lower the price to clear out the inventory?" After thinking for a long time, Li Wanqiang finally came up with this idea: "Let's lower the Note3 price to 1800 yuan and continue with the cost-effective strategy!"
"If you bring flagship phones down to mid-range prices, switching to Honor won't be any easier."
Zhou Shouzi shook his head. He was in charge of finance and was very familiar with all kinds of figures.
"If the price drops to 1800, we might lose tens of yuan per unit. If we clear out the inventory, we'll have worked for nothing this year."
"But what if we don't lower the price?"
Li Wanqiang countered, "After all, it's not about how much we make now, but about clearing out the inventory and minimizing losses!"
"President Li, I understand what you mean, but this issue needs to be addressed..."
After saying that, he looked in Lei Jun's direction, since he couldn't be the one to bring up the issue of price reductions...
Lin Bin was in a dilemma. Many distributors were urging him when Da Mi would release a new phone, especially a 4G phone.
Regardless of whether it's actually useful or not, it certainly has a lot of hype...
When everyone's attention turned to Lei Jun, and all the burdens fell on his shoulders, he still didn't say a word and continued to pace back and forth in his office...
He kept thinking about the problems with the Rice Note3, the ceramic fairy... until the complete failure.
That's not a problem with the rice (referring to the rice company), it's a problem with Qualcomm. Qualcomm earned just as much as they did, but all the blame fell on the rice company. It just goes to show...
"For the Fire Dragon 801, we'll start with 50 units of the 4G version, but we need to lower the price. We can only cover the cost of 4G by a maximum of five dollars."
"What should we do with the remaining Fire Dragon 800s in stock?"
"Two options: either redesign the Note3, add an external indoor baseband, and redesign the motherboard and heat dissipation solution."
When the Mi Note3 4G version was released, the back cover was removed and replaced with ordinary glass, and the price was set at 1599 to clear out inventory.
Either they can directly distribute it to Redmi, aiming to crush the competition at low cost.
Upon hearing these two proposals, Lin Bin's hand immediately stopped moving.
He looked at Lei Jun with disbelief. "They say there are two plans, but isn't there really only one?"
After all, external basebands increase power consumption, which is an industry consensus. The ROG Strix 800's overheating was already outrageous, especially with an external baseband...
This is a genuine invitation to treat users to grilled pig's trotters!
"We'll have the design department design a Redmi model later. The standard version will use the Snapdragon 800 to drive down the price, create hype, and then we'll stop selling it once we've cleared out the inventory."
Then, the high-end version will continue to clear out inventory using the Fire Dragon 801 3G version.
After this plan was proposed, no one raised any objections, because it was the best plan.
After all, they can make changes to Redmi phones and cut out some less important things, but they can't do that with regular rice.