Chapter 205 iPod Release

Author: Crow One

Chapter 205 iPod Release

In 2001, BlackBerry had not yet started making mobile phones. BlackBerry's products were mainly pagers, pagers with the function of sending emails.

Without Mphone, BlackBerry's email system would have been the only functioning communication system during this period.

Thanks to Mphone's built-in M-mail function, communication can also be realized. At the peak of communication explosion on September 3, Mphone even allowed people to send text Weibo.

Weibo with pictures is still saved locally and will be uploaded automatically after the communication network is restored.

With the Mphone in front, BlackBerry did not attract much attention, and a large number of White House dignitaries used Weibo to convey information to the outside world.

Weibo conveyed a large amount of first-hand information when the disaster occurred, and many precious photos of the plane were sent when it was about to land.

Netizens dug up the decisive moment when Zhou Xin explained the camera function of the Mphone at the 2000 Mphone launch event.

Because the entire Mphone press conference was videotaped and posted on the Matrix official website for netizens to browse, it is very easy to dig out this passage.

The question on Quora about how to evaluate the Mphone has also become popular again. Many bloggers who were not optimistic about the Mphone when it was first released came back to re-edit their answers, saying that they were slapped in the face by reality:

"I feel sorry for underestimating Newman and the Mphone product when it was first released. I originally thought that the Mphone would be like the Matrix keyboard, an expensive product that was not well-received. As a result, the Mphone was in terms of sales volume and user base.

Its popularity far exceeds my estimate at this time last year.

Because I am a loyal supporter of Newman, when the Matrix keyboard was launched, people on Quora were asking which fan would pay for this product?"

(Fans, that is, Fans, appeared in American English as early as 1889.)

"I want to tell you that I am the passionate fan who is willing to pay for the Matrix keyboard. I went to an offline experience store in Los Angeles to buy the Matrix keyboard. My feedback on this keyboard from its appearance to its feel to its typing has been overwhelming.

Satisfied. Of course, these are not enough to make me willing to pay for the high price of the Matrix keyboard. It is more out of support for Newman.

So when I later saw a large number of replicas of Matrix keyboards made by Newman's Chinese compatriots on eBay for only $50, I was dumbfounded. I could only comfort myself that there was still a difference in feel between the replicas and the original ones. Matrix keyboard

It is a typical product that is not popular because of its high price, and is also considered by netizens to be a rare failure of Newman's product.

I transferred my knowledge of the Matrix keyboard to the Mphone. To be honest, just from Newman’s press conference, I didn’t see much that attracted me to the Mphone. On the contrary, NewPay’s electronic payment is very creative, and you can scan the QR code.

The method is intuitive and advanced enough.

But overall can it really support the price of US$599? Judging from the reaction of the audience at the time, I think it is not enough. Because I was lucky enough to be at the Quora Gold Selected conference and the Mphone conference.

When I attended the event, comparing the two press conferences, I could clearly feel that the atmosphere of the Quora Golden Election press conference was much more lively.

The audience at the Mphone launch conference was more out of support for Newman. Well, Mphone does have some new ideas, but again, these new ideas are not enough to support the price. When the mainstream market price of mobile phones is US$199,

How can a mobile phone with a price starting at US$599 gain recognition from consumers?

Newman's fame is obviously not enough to affect the material world. The result is that users are really willing to pay for applications, and users are willing to pay to experience Internet applications on their mobile phones.

I have a new understanding of the new media concept mentioned by Newman at the Mphone conference. Compared with the traditional Internet, Internet applications on mobile phones interact more frequently and are more real-time, giving users a stronger sense of involvement and participation.

feel.

Due to network limitations, compared with the traditional Internet, Internet applications on mobile phones are mainly based on the interaction of text information, and the support for picture information is far less than that of the traditional Internet. With the development of communication technology, when the network transmission speed of mobile phones becomes faster and faster

As time goes by, mobile phone applications can also support real-time transmission of pictures and even videos, and the importance of mobile Internet applications will further increase.

The experience of using Mphone during this period tells me that the mobile Internet is not only a supplement to traditional Internet applications. Even if Weibo launches a web version, I would still prefer to use Weibo on my mobile phone. The mobile Internet is an upgrade of the traditional Internet and is a more

Advanced interaction methods. Newman deserves to be the king of the Internet. He discovered a new route for the future of the Internet.

When the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and other media attribute the success of Mphone to the destruction of the World Trade Towers, Mphone performed well in the crisis. This is just an appearance, and the essence behind it is Mphone itself.

Excellent performance.

Internet mobile phones are increasingly recognized by traditional mobile phone manufacturers. At the end of this year, a number of traditional mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung began to promote their upcoming Internet mobile phones in major media. When traditional mobile phone manufacturers came to an end,

We still don’t know whether Mphone can still maintain its advantage in the field of Internet mobile phones.

But just for the good applications of Weibo, WeChat and NewPay, I think unless the Internet phones launched by these traditional mobile phone manufacturers are much ahead in terms of user experience, I will not replace my Mphone."

The Internet mobile phone named iPhone by Nokia will be released during Christmas this year. When Zhou Xin was waiting for his flight at San Francisco Airport, he saw the big Nokia logo and the word iPhone on the airport billboard. He felt aroused.

A powerful illusion.

When did Nokia produce iPhones?

After he opened the web version of Baidu search on his mobile phone, he discovered that the full name of the mobile phone Nokia was going to build was Internet phone, or iPhone for short.

This group of traditional mobile phone manufacturers has sensed a sense of crisis. The giants will launch their own Internet mobile phones as early as the end of this year or as late as the spring of 2002.

Not everyone sees the future of Internet-based mobile phones and recognizes this future. But they can see the market and see that consumers are willing to pay for mobile phones with Internet applications and bear high premiums.

This alone is enough for them to start trying mobile Internet.

Mobile phone companies have cooperated with Internet companies one after another. Therefore, after the Twin Towers were hit, the impact was more on companies in traditional industries. Internet companies were not greatly affected because of their development prospects on the mobile Internet.

As pioneers, mobile phone companies hope to have Weibo and NewPay built-in, but they are not interested in WeChat.

Mobile phone manufacturers do not want to introduce WeChat, ICQ or MSN. They do not want to introduce instant messaging software from any Internet company. They hope to create their own mobile instant messaging software.

Because in the eyes of mobile phone manufacturers, this thing is not difficult. They can completely implement the text message function sent through the Internet by themselves.

Regarding the cooperation requirements, Zhou Xin only agreed to cooperate with NewPay. NewPay will be available on other brands of Internet mobile phones, and Weibo will still be an exclusive application for Mphone.

In Zhou Xin's view, at this stage, even if other mobile phone brands launch Internet mobile phones, the number of users will not be very large.

The price of Internet mobile phones is much higher than that of ordinary mobile phones. The price will limit the number of users in the entire market who are willing to pay for it. Mphone has already occupied three million sales, so the market space left for other mobile phone manufacturers is very small.

.

Therefore, there is no need to expand Weibo’s influence by opening it to other mobile phone companies. Electronic payment is different. Firstly, it is to avoid being accused of monopoly. Secondly, because electronic payment is much more important, a little market share is also a market. Anything that is conducive to cultivating

The user's payment behavior will not be blocked regardless of the situation.

This payment software named after him will be the biggest bargaining chip in the future.

When the Internet mobile phones of major mobile phone brands were ready for launch, the iPod launch conference was held in advance.

Unlike the original press conference where not many people paid attention, many media came to the scene because of Zhou Xin's participation and speech.

Jobs talked about iPod and iTunes, and sat in front of the computer to demonstrate in detail the use of iTunes and the synchronization of files between the two.

"We want users to buy music on the Internet through downloads, just like they buy vinyl records, tapes and CDs.

We are very happy to have reached an in-depth cooperative relationship with Mphone. The original price is US$299, but if you buy both iPod and Mphone at the same time, you will get a discount of US$100.”

The original price of the iPod was US$399, but with Zhou Xin's insistence, it was reduced by US$100 from the original price. At the same time, unlike the original first-generation iPod which only supported Mac systems, this time the first-generation iPod supports both Windows and Mac operating systems.

At a price of US$399, only experienced Apple fans will be willing to pay, but it is a price that is difficult for other users to accept.

"Next, I would like to ask Newman to introduce to us the cooperation between Mphone and iPod."

Zhou Xin walked onto the stage and shook hands with Steve Jobs and said, "Just now Steve mentioned the cooperation between Mphone and iPod.

iTunes will be logged into the Mphone app store. After downloading the Mphone, users can purchase, download, and transfer music to their iPod via Bluetooth on the iTunes on the Mphone.

In other words, you can buy your favorite music anytime and anywhere without having to sit in front of the computer to download and synchronize it. Each time you download a song, it is like holding some kind of ceremony. The cooperation between iPhone and iPod helps iPod

The use of iPod liberates application scenarios, and the use of iPod becomes more flexible.

Just now Steve only mentioned that everyone can enjoy a $100 discount when buying an iPhone and an iPod at the same time. He forgot to mention that you can buy this combo set at Matrix or Apple's offline stores. You can also buy it at Apple

Or purchase this set from matrix’s official website.

I am very happy to be able to cooperate with a company with a long history like Apple. Apple's products have a very industrial aesthetic. When I was designing the first matrix keyboard, I used Apple computers to complete the design prototype.

Steve has the ultimate pursuit of products. I am very optimistic about the iPod product. You will definitely think that because my company cooperates with Apple, I say this. That is not the case. Everyone just spends $299 to buy an iPod.

I spent billions of dollars to buy Apple stock to show my recognition of Apple as a company.

So I hope everyone can support iPod more so that I can get my money back from the stock market as soon as possible."

Zhou Xin's style is obviously different from that of Jobs. He likes to intersperse some light-hearted content into it, while Jobs's style is more of a pure narrative function.

Use short and precise language to describe what my product does.

Like the first-generation iPhone, when the first-generation iPod was first launched, not many people knew how successful it would be in the future. It would completely subvert the traditional record industry and completely change Apple's destiny.

Now that the original iPod has been changed, the price of US$299 is still criticized by many consumers, who think that the price is too high. But Apple fans don’t think so. If you buy it with an Mphone, the price of the iPod will drop.

to $199.

Mphone has never been discounted since its launch. The only discount is the contract purchase launched in cooperation with the American telephone company A&AT. The contract purchase can enjoy a price of US$299.

The online and offline pricing of Mphone has always been firmly maintained at starting at US$599. Even on Halloween or Black Friday, these traditional American shopping festivals, Mphone does not have discounts and promotions.

Zhou Xin plans to discount the first-generation Mphone only after the new-generation Mphone is launched next year.

If you want to make a high-end brand of mobile phone, price is a very important factor. It is difficult for a mobile phone brand to be discounted not long after its launch due to the 618 and Double Eleven activities, so that users can recognize it as a high-end brand.

After attending Apple’s iPod launch conference, Zhou Xin quickly rushed to Los Angeles. On Double Eleven, the celebration was co-sponsored by CAAS, Americen-China Western Development Promotion Association and Americen-China Collectors Association.

A celebration party for Qinghua's official accession to the WTO was held in Los Angeles.

On November 10th at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, the WTO ministerial meeting approved China’s decision to join the World Trade Organization. In fact, China had already known about this matter before, so the next day, Chinese organizations in Los Angeles were able to

A celebration meeting was quickly held.

This celebration will be attended by more than 40 Chinese and overseas Chinese associations, led by CAAS.
To be continued...