Chapter 289 Housekeeper

When Ye Qiu personally got this heavy, square, and brick-like prototype in the Leaf Technology laboratory in San Francisco, his first feeling was, Oh, Maga!

This is a thing with no aesthetics at all. Although Andy Rubin repeatedly told Ye Qiu that this is just a prototype. In order to facilitate experiments and research, this prototype does look a bit outrageous. It is full of various interfaces, such as USB interface, Ethernet interface, etc.

Although it is big, it has everything it should have. It’s just that sometimes designers are always like this, eager to stuff all the things they think are useful and good into their designs. This makes The entire design looks excessively bloated, even to the point of being unbearably fat.

"For Zeus, it must first be a mobile phone, a mobile phone that everyone can use and find it easy to use. It needs to have a bright appearance design, excellent screen display, smooth and stable operating system, and most importantly The best is the user experience that makes people get used to it right away! ”

Following Ye Qiu's words, everyone in the laboratory, including Andy Rubin and others, looked obviously embarrassed.

Many things seemed insignificant to Ye Qiu, but to them, they seemed to be huge problems. This was the difference.

Ye Qiu was obviously aware of their suspicions, so he introduced them one by one. For example, the mobile phone interface and the Ethernet interface were completely useless and could be given up. He even proposed that all interfaces, such as USB interfaces and charging interfaces, should be integrated into Together, throw away those useless things, so that you can save a lot of space.

The same goes for those applications. He felt a headache when he saw the densely packed applications inside, because they were almost like moving a computer in, but in fact there were many useful functions on the computer. , it can be said to be completely useless on mobile phones.

In fact, not only Andy Rubin, who once made an Internet phone, is no stranger to smartphones, but almost all designers present are familiar with it, because it is not that there are no smartphones nowadays, such as Nokia's Symbian, such as TREO600 launched by PLAM last year, as well as Blackberry and so on.

It's just that they had some misunderstandings about Ye Qiu's ideas, thinking that Ye Qiu wanted to develop a mobile device similar to a tablet computer, but they didn't know that what Ye Qiu wanted was a mobile phone. After the tablet computer came out, Say it again.

After streamlining a lot of functions, what Ye Qiu left behind were some of the simplest and most practical functions, such as phone and address book, email, browser, MP3, text messages, calendar, pictures, camera, map, weather, etc. Wait, the rest are the mobile applications of several websites launched by Yezi Technology, such as Facebook and Youtube, etc.

Ye Qiu also explained his decision to use full touch on all mobile phones but leave a physical home button alone.

"Our computer case has two buttons, power and restart. These are the two buttons with the highest authority. In the same way, mobile phones also need to have such high-authority buttons. Needless to say power, we need a restart. But we don’t recommend users to restart directly when they encounter problems, such as lag or crash, so we need the Home button to go home!”

"Our setting up such a button is actually a continuation of life. You know that we often encounter many, many problems in our lives. For example, when you go to the bathroom, just press the toilet and it will flush automatically. , I believe that when you press that button, you will feel a very special feeling in your heart, right?"

This metaphor may seem a bit vulgar, but it is very close to life. After thinking about it seriously, many people present found that it seemed to be the case, but they did not pay attention to such details in daily life.

“The purpose of setting up the Home button is actually to tell our users that when you are in trouble, when your phone becomes a mess, when you want to throw it out, press it. It will help you solve everything, and then you will go home and the world will be clean again!”

After hearing this, Andy Rubin couldn't help but nod his head repeatedly. He had to realize that this was indeed a very genius idea. To some extent, it was a metaphor for human psychology in a mechanical way. and echo, creating a psychological resonance with users.

In fact, this is also a hint, use it with confidence, and if something goes wrong, use it to solve everything!

"Then, why do we have to use physical buttons instead of touch controls?" Ye Qiu continued to analyze. These were his experiences in using mobile phones in his previous life, and this time he decided to use a home button that was not the one used on Android. , menu key and return key, but there is only one Home key, which is the same as the Iphone, and the others are embedded in the system.

At the same time, Yezi Technology has also begun to apply for patents on related designs. This time, it is not only the design patents of Iphone, but also some designs of Samsung and Android, just in case.

"Physical buttons and touch buttons are actually similar in function, but in actual use, the user feels completely different. Because your screen is touch-sensitive, your fingers will inevitably go beyond the screen. If the buttons are also touch-sensitive, If the finger goes beyond the screen, it is easy to cause misoperation. "

Ye Qiu remembered that in his previous life, he used an Android phone to play games, such as cutting fruit, or playing some games with relatively large movements. He often caused misoperations and accidentally pressed the touch function keys. Although this is nothing, when you play When you are very nervous, if something like this happens suddenly, you will go crazy.

"Of course, you can set the buttons to be concave or convex like physical buttons, but I believe Dr. Westman will fight with you!" Ye Qiu pointed to Westman from the touch team. The latter shrugged.

"For the time being, touch technology is insensitive in both concave and convex states," Westman said.

Ye Qiu had talked to him about this, and had personal experience with him in his previous life, that was Ford.

Ford once spent a huge amount of money to develop a vehicle control system. They completely abandoned traditional buttons and knobs on the car's main control panel and instead used a wide range of touch buttons. But even in 2012, they This car system is still criticized by users because the depressions and bulges make the touch buttons very insensitive.

As you can imagine, Ford was cooperating with many big companies such as Sony at the time. By 2012, when touch control had become widespread, the recesses and bulges could not achieve the sensitivity of physical buttons. Now it is simply impossible to achieve it. He said that this should be regarded as a research and development direction.

"Another point is that we attach great importance to touch technology, but don't be superstitious about touch technology. Any technology will have certain flaws, including touch. So when we use the mobile phone and the program freezes, we often It was found that the touch control also lost its function, and at this time we need a button that can completely solve these problems, that is, go home! ”

Because everyone present had used prototype machines, lags and crashes were common occurrences, so when Ye Qiu mentioned this, everyone couldn't help but resonate in their hearts.

“I can talk about a lot of benefits of using physical buttons on the Home button. For example, using concave and convex physical button designs, we don’t need to use our eyes to see it, we can feel it with our hands. And the physical buttons will give you an operational feedback, letting you know that I’m working!”

"Perhaps, you will ask again, since it is so important, why set one up?" Ye Qiu's question is believed to be the doubt of many people present, because Ye Qiu clearly understood this from their eyes.

"I have used your prototype, and I found that you have always got one very important thing wrong, and that is the mobile phone!"

"In your prototype, I noticed that you have made a very creative development, which can even be said to be a genius!" Ye Qiu smiled and praised these people, because he really admired it, and even he I didn't even think of it at first.

That is, they set up a gravity sensor in the mobile phone, and allowed the mobile phone to run smoothly in any direction, and then used the gravity sensor to automatically adjust the orientation of the screen. This is a very creative feature in future tablet computers, but in On mobile phones, it has little effect.

"Mobile phone screens are usually smaller, 3.5 inches. In the future, they will slowly develop and may reach 4 inches, and then 5 inches, but they will never be too big. The reason is very simple. Mobile phones also have another very important feature, that It’s easy to carry, just put it in your pocket and take it away.”

"Rectangular mobile phone screens are generally arranged vertically or horizontally. I believe many people choose to lock the vertical arrangement and prohibit rotation. So as long as we guide the design, I don't believe you will want to try it. Just play with your phone upside down, unless you deliberately cause trouble for me!”

Everyone present burst into laughter, and they had to admit that this was indeed the case because the screen was small.

"I once told Andy Rubin that our development of mobile phones is only the first step. Next, we will develop a brand new electronic product, a tablet. Note that it is a computer, not a mobile phone. It is highly portable. , but it has a lot of computer functions and is boxy. By then, your innovation will be of great use, and many of the things you developed in the prototype can be realized in the tablet computer. "

Those present were all the company's top R&D executives, all high-level figures, and they had all signed contracts, so Ye Qiu was not worried at all that they would change jobs or leak out. On the contrary, he felt it was necessary to let them, the core figures, know The company's business direction gives them hope, which will make them more motivated.

"Back to the topic, because most of them are in vertical layout, and a small number may be in horizontal layout due to games and other factors, then there is no need for more home buttons on the phone, one is enough!"

As soon as Ye Qiu finished speaking, Andy Rubin was the first to stand up and applaud. Then several senior executives from the R&D department also stood up and applauded. It was obvious that they were all impressed by Ye Qiu's words. Convinced.

All along, the company's R&D seemed to be moving forward in accordance with Ye Qiu's ideas and the direction he provided, which made many experts with strong innovative ability present feel dissatisfied and even suppressed. However, when they encountered huge difficulties and the design even came to a standstill, Ye Qiu easily helped them solve the problem and developed a new idea, which made them admire him very much.

In addition, Ye Qiu also told them some preliminary ideas about tablet computers, but this tempting idea can only be carried out after the mobile phone is launched, but I believe that with the foundation and experience of developing mobile phones, tablet computers will be relatively fast, after all, many things are ready-made.

At the same time, Ye Qiu was also delighted that the company's Facebook users exceeded 1 million. After all, this is equivalent to opening a good situation for the company. Next, services such as Youtube and Twitter are also being improved.

Ye Technology can be said to have gradually established its own reputation and status through Facebook. At present, the number of users has exceeded one million, most of which are from more than 200 universities in the United States. More importantly, the ratio of men to women is half and half, which is very important. It is also the reason why the website continues to attract more young people and even adult users to join.

According to Eliza's idea and plan, after Facebook's operation is stable, the company will launch a complete Youtube video sharing website, followed by Twitter, and will also launch PC versions of several games one after another, all of which are to build momentum for the subsequent launch of the mobile phone.

Ye Qiu agrees with this plan very much, and the Chinese versions of many software and websites will also be launched online, which are all handed over to Chen Zhong in China. In addition, the Android store is also actively preparing. Once the mobile phone is announced to the public, the Android store will be open to third parties to attract more mobile software developers to enter. Once the mobile phone is launched, users can download applications directly from it.

But in the final analysis, it is still the mobile phone. Ye Technology wants to become famous overnight, and the mobile phone is very important, so Ye Qiu also issued a death order to Andy Rubin. There is plenty of time, but the mobile phone must be the best from software to hardware, giving users a first-class user experience and directly grabbing users.

The future smartphone market is a bloody battlefield. If you can't seize the commanding heights in the first time, even if you become a pioneer, you will only be cannon fodder for the latecomers.

Sometimes Ye Qiu couldn't help but sigh that women really take advantage, especially when this woman is extremely beautiful and has very clever means, she can really play with men in the palm of her hand.

In just half a year, Eliza quickly helped Leaf Technology open up the situation in Silicon Valley and the United States. Not only did Facebook launch, but also got a cooperation agreement from AT&T, the largest telecommunications operator in the United States. And unlike the first generation of iPhones that did not support 3G, Zeus supported 3G from the beginning.

According to the agreement, the mobile phones produced by Leaf Technology need to be bundled with AT&T's network, but 10% of the sales during the contract period must be paid to AT&T, and AT&T is not without a price, that is, during the contract period, AT&T must pay Leaf Technology a return of US$10 per month for each Zeus mobile phone user.

This agreement seems to be a loss for Leaf Technology, but in fact, the loss is temporary, while the benefits are long-term. Ye Qiu thinks that the strategy of Apple in the past is worth learning from, that is, after becoming famous, it will sweep away the operators and completely break the previous model that mobile phone developers must obey operators, and instead focus on mobile phone developers.

To put it simply, Leaf Technology can sell mobile phones to different telecom operators.

AT&T seems to be a compromise on the surface, but in fact they are not at a loss, because they can get huge returns from the high data traffic generated by smartphones, which is something they do not have now, and they made the compromise only after the core senior management tried the prototype personally.

Not to mention the full touch design and smartphone, the appearance design is also unique, and Eliza promised that the thickness of the phone will be reduced to less than 12 mm. This is the confidence given by Andy Rubin, and he guarantees that it can be thinner than 12 mm.

The Motorola V3, which is very popular recently, adopts a folding design. The configuration is very ordinary and there is no great innovation. However, the thickness is close to 14 mm, which is very popular among mobile phone users. If it can really reach 12 mm, coupled with intelligent and full touch design, and a series of corresponding revolutionary innovations, there is no doubt that this phone will be popular, and it will be a big hit!

During these days in the United States, in addition to accompanying his wife to go shopping everywhere, Ye Qiu almost stayed in the company to discuss and research with Andy Rubin and others. Although he is not a technical expert, he is experienced. Sometimes, he can solve the problems that they have been thinking about for a long time with just one sentence.

In addition, Ye Qiu also set up another R&D team to try a new concept, which is the IFTTT in the previous life.

If I post a message on Tencent Weibo, it will automatically share it on my Renren.

If the weather is over 30 degrees, it will automatically send a text message to remind me.

If it is, this is IFTTT!

This concept is very cool and powerful. Ye Qiu was also very interested in understanding it in his previous life. He even felt that this service could be all-encompassing, especially when your TV, mobile phone, and all electrical appliances and home appliances are intelligent, it will be your most powerful IoT housekeeper, and as long as you set it up in advance, it will run silently.

But one of the important reasons why IFTTT in the previous life never made much progress is that it is a background service. After the setting is completed, it rarely needs to be maintained, so the number of visits is small, but the service load is very large, which is a very typical negative asset. No company is willing to invest in it.

But this service is a very, very good project for Yezi Technology. At least in Yezi Qiu's previous life, Apple Icloud had this kind of function, and this is also a direction for Yezi Technology to develop in the future, that is, to promote their Android system as much as possible, so that it can be all-encompassing and become synonymous with the intelligent era.

Some innovative experts and their friends at Yezi Technology were stunned by the concept proposed by Ye Qiu. This is indeed a super cool idea. It can not only be used between different websites and service applications on the Internet, but also within the mobile phone system.

At one time, a large group of software engineers in the company requested to join, and even Andy Rubin himself announced that he would lead this team. Finally, Ye Qiu repeatedly requested that Andy Rubin be in charge of this R&D team on the premise that the development of mobile phones and other projects should not be delayed.

Eliza was very reluctant at first, thinking that this would definitely cost a lot of money. Fortunately, the budget submitted by Ye Qiu and Andy Rubin was not much, starting at only 1 million US dollars, which was acceptable, and the finance minister signed it.

She is now more and more like a housekeeper!