"Completely crushing xphone 1pro?"
Wang Hong was overjoyed and heartily agreed:
"Good, then our HTC One X will also offer full-payment pre-sales, directly global pre-sales. The first batch will target Diguo, Xide, Falan Country, and other developed European and American countries."
The vice president nodded, then asked:
"What about domestically…"
Wang Hong sighed:
"The domestic market is Xingyi Technology's home turf, we can't beat the xphone 1pro there. Even if we start full-payment pre-orders domestically, not many people will order, and we'd just be asking for trouble. However, Taidao Province is our home market, so we must arrange for its initial pre-order."
"Alright, I'll announce it immediately and arrange for a trending topic."
"Hmm."
Soon, a piece of news sensationalized the entire internet:
[Quad-core flagship phone HTC One X opens for full-payment pre-sales. The first batch of pre-sale countries and regions includes Diguo, Xide, Falan Country… Everyone is welcome to pre-order in-store, launching in late March.]
This news also caused a sensation, especially on foreign websites:
"HTC One X full-payment pre-order, what a pity, it's not the xphone 1pro. If it were the xphone 1pro, I'd line up to pre-order with full payment!"
"Exactly, it's a shame the xphone 1pro isn't globally available. I wonder when the grey market versions will appear."
"The xphone 1pro will launch domestically next month. The grey market versions will be out at the earliest in April, and the price will double."
"To get an xphone 1pro as soon as possible, you either travel to Xia Country or find a proxy shopper."
"That said, buying an HTC One X isn't bad either. Although it's a big step down from the xphone 1pro, it's also quad-core and can get the job done."
"Right, the HTC One X is a low-spec xphone 1pro, it's a good buy."
"The xphone 1pro isn't launching overseas, so I'll buy an HTC One X to make do for now."
…
Watching these comments, Wang Hong's expression was extremely complex:
"Excessive! They're all praising the xphone 1pro and disparaging the HTC One X! Is our HTC One X really that insignificant?"
"They even say the HTC One X is a low-spec version of the xphone 1pro, and if you can't get the xphone 1pro, the HTC One X can make do."
"Listen to these words, so grating, truly grating! It's too much!"
Wang Hong was very upset, even a little disoriented.
To think that last year when she met Wang Yi, he was still selling clothes!
At that time, Wang Yi had just transitioned into making phones, and the arrogant Manager Wang of HTC didn't even consider Xingyi Technology worthy of notice.
She even thought Xingyi Technology was a joke, ordering tens of millions of chips at once, probably going bankrupt in half a year!
But who would have thought, half a year later, Xingyi Technology not only hadn't gone bankrupt but had also successfully made phones!
To the point where it crushed HTC, making HTC envious, jealous, and hateful!
To the point where even Manager Wang had to look up to them!
It was truly incredible.
Among other things, the xphone 1 sold 15 million units in three months after its launch, with total sales easily exceeding 30 million.
The xphone 1pro came on strong, with an explosive configuration.
Even if it sold at a high price of 5000, with slightly fewer sales, it could still sell 20 million units.
The combined sales of the two phones would be 50 million, which already surpassed HTC's total sales for the entire previous year.
It was truly incredible.
Manager Wang was so jealous her back molars were ground to dust!
"Chairman Wang, oh Chairman Wang, you are truly modest!"
"Last year you said Xingyi phones were just a small venture, just testing the waters?"
"Your 'small venture' reached an annual sales volume of tens of millions?"
"Your 'testing the waters' led to punching Apple, kicking Samsung, even sending HTC flying, and dominating the domestic market?"
"I must have had water in my brain to believe your nonsense back then!"
"If I had known you'd achieve this today, I would have certainly nipped you in the bud, and it would have been even more impossible to sell you the CDMA authorization!"
"Wait, CDMA!"
Wang Hong's expression subtly changed, and she suddenly thought of many things:
"They also poached many chip engineers from Texas Instruments, and even quite a few people from MediaTek and UMC."
"Could Wang Yi be planning to self-develop processors? Or even SoCs?"
"Is he crazy?"
Wang Hong was startled by her own thought, but upon closer reflection, it was highly possible.
"After all, Wang Yi is a fearless person who dares to do anything!"
"Well, at present, the chip market sees Texas Instruments in decline, MediaTek only focusing on low-end, while high-end is just Qualcomm and Nvidia. And Nvidia, without a baseband, might not even be a competitor. If Xingyi Technology joins the fray, it would be interesting."
"I hope you have the capability to achieve what even we at HTC couldn't!"
HTC once had great ambitions, wanting to research and develop chips and basebands.
Its subsidiary, Via Telecom, specialized in basebands and had even produced a 55-nanometer external baseband.
Huawei's early HiSilicon chips did not integrate basebands; they all used external Via Telecom 55-nanometer basebands.
It wasn't until the Kirin 910 in 2014 that Huawei first integrated its own Balong 710 4G baseband.
Wang Hong sighed:
"Chairman Wang, if Xingyi Technology can really launch its self-developed chips, I will truly be convinced by you. But it's too difficult; even we at HTC couldn't do it, and neither can you. It might end up with money spent, chips not made, and all efforts wasted."
Wang Hong shook her head, no longer paying attention to these thoughts, but instead began to focus on the number of full-payment pre-orders for the HTC One X.
Unlike Xingyi Technology, current mobile phone sales are primarily through offline physical stores.
Even for Apple, Samsung, HTC, Huawei, O, V, and so on, this is the case.
Xiaomi, on the other hand, is purely online, with zero offline presence.
Xingyi Technology, however, is pushing forward comprehensively with both online and offline sales!
Why are Xingyi phones sold in Meiyou and Zhenyou flagship stores and specialized stores?
It's because Xingyi Technology cannot establish thousands of physical stores in a short time, and the thousands of Meiyou and Zhenyou physical stores happen to be perfectly usable!
Online shopping was not yet fully developed in 2012, so physical stores were very important.
Especially for an excellent product like the Xingyi phone, sales are more easily driven by in-store displays.
Many female customers came to Meiyou just to buy clothes, but then saw the xphone 1 and couldn't resist, so they bought it on impulse.
Others came to Zhenyou just to buy cosmetics, unexpectedly became interested in the Xingyi X1 Pro, and bought it with a credit card.
It can be said that every additional physical store opened can generate numerous sales.
It is also because of the thousands of Meiyou and Zhenyou flagship stores and specialized stores that the xphone 1 could sell 15 million units in three months.
Wang Hong smiled faintly:
"Arrange for someone to contact the physical stores, compile the full-payment pre-order quantities and amounts. In two days, we'll also make a big announcement. No, tomorrow we'll announce it."
"Alright."
But unfortunately, the next day, looking at the full-payment pre-order quantity, Wang Hong's expression turned grim:
"The xphone 1pro had 1 million full-payment pre-orders on its first day in Xia Country, and 2 million in two days. Our HTC One X opened for pre-orders simultaneously in multiple developed countries, but only got 500,000 in one day? This sales figure is too unsightly, isn't it?"
The Marketing Director seemed helpless:
"Chairman, it's a full-payment pre-order after all, this volume isn't small."
"It's only half of the xphone 1pro's, not even a million. How do you expect me to announce these sales figures?"
"I…" The Marketing Director was speechless and could only say, "How about we announce it tomorrow? It should exceed a million by tomorrow!"
"Fine, it has to be this way."
Unfortunately, the next day, the full-payment pre-order quantity for the HTC One X still didn't break a million, reaching only a little over 950,000.
"It's becoming less and less impressive. Look at the xphone 1pro, then look at the HTC One X, there's no comparison."
Wang Hong was furious:
"But we can't delay any longer, we must announce it."
The Marketing Director nodded:
"Then we'll embellish the figures a bit and say that the HTC One X received 1 million full-payment pre-orders in two days!"
"No, don't state a specific number. Just say that in two days, the HTC One X received over one million full-payment pre-orders!"
"One million, over one million?" Wang Hong nodded, "That wording is good, let's go with that."
Soon, another piece of news hit the trending topics:
[HTC One X is selling well globally, with over 1 million full-payment pre-orders in two days!]
This news also caused a sensation.
"Over one million in two days? Although not as good as the xphone 1pro, it's still very impressive."
"Yes, after all, it's the world's second quad-core phone, much stronger than the iPhone 4s."
"The xphone 1pro only has two million full-payment pre-orders in Xia Country alone in two days, while the HTC One X has just over one million across multiple countries globally. In reality, the gap is still significant."
"No choice, if the xphone 1pro were sold globally, who would buy the lower-spec HTC One X?"
"Hope the xphone 1pro goes on global sale soon, looking forward to it."
"Even so, the HTC One X is already very successful. We should hurry and pre-order, otherwise we'll be waiting for months."
"Exactly, I'm going to pre-order now."
…
Watching these public opinions, Wang Hong was in a great mood.
As expected, once the pre-order quantity was announced, HTC One X sales increased significantly.
Jian Ziyan noticed this information and quickly approached Wang Yi:
"Chairman, HTC One X has also announced its pre-sale volume, and sales have increased significantly. With its global launch, it might overshadow us later on, especially since we only sell in Xia Country."
The consumption potential of one country is still far less than that of the entire world.
This was also HTC's calculation.
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"Don't bother with it."
"Huh?" Jian Ziyan was a little surprised, "If the xphone 1pro's sales are overshadowed by the HTC One X, wouldn't the impact be significant?"
Wang Yi, however, was unconcerned, and said meaningfully:
"It's fine. Just because we don't act doesn't mean others won't. Let's watch, someone will make a move."
"Really?" Jian Ziyan was skeptical, but Wang Yi had been right about previous matters, so this time was probably no different, "Then, who will make a move?"
"Guess."
Wang Yi smiled faintly.
Jian Ziyan began to analyze carefully:
"Hmm… HTC One X is launched globally, while xphone 1pro is only launched in Xia Country. Even if HTC One X sells well globally, it still can't beat xphone 1pro in Xia Country, so Xingyi Technology doesn't need to rush. But Apple and Samsung, brands that also sell well globally, will be hit the hardest!"
Jian Ziyan's eyes lit up:
"So, with HTC One X selling well, Apple and Samsung will be the first ones unable to sit still! They will definitely make a move!"
Wang Yi smiled faintly:
"And Nokia."
"Right, and Nokia! Last year, Nokia sold 417 million units, making it global number one, Samsung 327.4 million second, Apple 93 million third, LG 88 million fourth, and ZTE 66.1 million fifth."
Jian Ziyan remembered these figures clearly, having obviously studied them:
"Although Nokia's sales have plummeted this year, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, so it cannot be underestimated."
Wang Yi nodded:
"Exactly. These companies, plus LG, none of them want to see HTC grow big. If the HTC One X had been more low-key and not exploded in sales, its future might have been a bit better. But now, Wang Hong is imitating our high-profile approach, which is simply asking for trouble. Just wait and see, those brands will take turns smashing them!"
Those who are like me live, those who learn from me die!
Wang Yi dared to be so high-profile because he had directly made the worst-case plans, directly abandoning the vast overseas market and selling only in Xia Country.
HTC, wanting both the global market and a high profile, was purely asking for big trouble!
Indeed, on March 1st, the morning after HTC announced its full-payment pre-order figures, Samsung issued a statement:
[HTC One X infringes on several of Samsung's core patents. Samsung has filed lawsuits in Bangzi Country and the EU, demanding HTC immediately cease infringement and ban the sale of HTC One X. It also demands a public apology to Samsung and payment of relevant patent fees and compensation!]
As soon as this news broke, it once again caused an uproar.
Wang Hong was even more enraged.
An apology and patent fee payment were already fatal enough, but the most severe part was the sales ban!
Once sales are halted, it means the HTC One X cannot be sold!
Wang Hong was furious:
"This little xiba Samsung is truly despicable. They play patent wars when they see us selling well, demanding us to stop selling, how ruthless!"
"And they sued us simultaneously in the EU and Bangzi Country. This way, if we lose, the HTC One X will be banned in both Bangzi Country and the EU."
"The small Bangzi Country market doesn't matter, it's gone if it's gone. But the EU market is so huge, it could take half of our lives!"
"Samsung xiba! So shamelessly despicable!"
The vice president also had a grim expression:
"What I'm most worried about is a chain reaction. If Apple and Nokia also file lawsuits, then we're finished."
"This…" Wang Hong's expression changed dramatically, and cold sweat broke out, "Given their characters, they'd love to see HTC die. There's an 80% chance they'll follow suit and sue HTC. Big trouble."
"Yes, last year when our sales boomed, they started targeting us. Now that the HTC One X is selling so well, we'll be targeted even more!"
HTC sold 43 million units last year.
While its total phone sales didn't make it into the global top five, its smartphone sales were in the top three, second only to Apple and Samsung!
Although Nokia, LG, and ZTE had high sales, they primarily focused on feature phones.
Most of HTC's sales were smartphones.
Therefore, HTC was currently known as the third-largest smartphone brand, trailing only Apple and Samsung.
Precisely because of this, it became a thorn in the side of major brands, constantly being sued, banned from sales, and suppressed.
This is standard practice in the phone industry!
Wang Hong's head throbbed:
"Big trouble. This patent war is too troublesome. Once we lose, we really will be banned from sales, directly losing the Bangzi Country market and the EU market. If other brands follow suit and sue us in other regions, then it's truly over. What solutions does everyone have?"
The roomful of executives looked at each other, but were helpless.
There was truly no good solution for this kind of situation.
Patent lawsuits are hard to cheat; it all comes down to the number of patents.
An executive sighed:
"There's no other way. We can't just sit and wait. We have to retaliate, quickly find where Samsung's new flagship infringes on our HTC patents, and launch a patent war against Samsung, demanding a sales ban on Samsung's flagship phones!"
"Right, counterattack is the only way out."
"Exactly, not counterattacking means certain death. Counterattacking offers a glimmer of hope."
Wang Hong nodded:
"You're right. If we don't counter-sue, consumers will think that HTC only infringes on patents, and they'll stop buying the HTC One X. Only by counter-attacking can we show HTC's strength and let the public know that HTC also holds a large number of patents, and that Samsung has infringed upon them!"
"Form a special team as soon as possible to research the HTC core patents involved in Samsung's new flagship and initiate counter-litigation!"
"Yes!"
At her command, HTC quickly sprang into action.
Wang Hong sighed:
"Counter-litigation requires finding evidence, and that takes time. I'm just afraid that before we even initiate counter-litigation, other brands will file new lawsuits against HTC! Sigh, what a hassle."
However, what one fears, comes true.
Before HTC could find evidence of Samsung infringing on its core patents, that same evening, Apple sued HTC in Diguo for infringing on its core patents, demanding an end to the infringement and a sales ban on the HTC One X!
Wang Hong's face turned pale:
"One Samsung, one Apple. One suing in the EU and Bangzi Country, one suing in Diguo. This is a complete sales ban, leaving me no way out!"
"Chairman, what should we do? Should we also collect evidence of Apple infringing on our patents and initiate a counter-lawsuit?"
"Find it!"
Wang Hong said sharply.
However, this was just the beginning.
On March 2nd, Nokia sued HTC in Finland for infringing on its core patents, demanding an end to the infringement and a sales ban on the HTC One X!
On March 3rd, Sony sued HTC in Nihong Country for infringing on its core patents, demanding an end to the infringement and a sales ban on the HTC One X!
On March 4th, LG and BlackBerry also joined the lawsuit army, demanding a sales ban on the HTC One X…
Besieged on all sides!
Facing one Samsung and one Apple, HTC could still barely hold on.
But now, Nokia, LG, and Sony have all launched patent lawsuits against HTC, and in different countries and regions, making it clear they are jointly besieging HTC, aiming for a global sales ban on HTC.
Your HTC One X sold over one million units in two days, didn't it? Isn't that impressive?
We'll just slap a global sales ban on you and see how you sell well!
For a time, HTC was in utter despair, yet powerless to resist.
And online public opinion completely exploded:
"How many patents did HTC infringe on exactly? To be sued by so many companies?"
"It's over, the HTC One X is really finished this time, definitely going to be banned from sale."
"The HTC One X is going to be banned from sale before it even launches? What should I do about the money I paid for the full pre-order? I can't lose both the money and the phone, can I?"
"F***, this is a serious problem, I'm going to the store to ask for a refund right now."
"Me too, five hundred euros is not a small amount of money!"
"Everyone planning to full-payment pre-order the HTC One X, be cautious, there's a high probability it will be banned from sale and unable to ship."
"F***, HTC is unreliable, I'll just wait for the xphone 1pro grey market version!"
…
Immediately, consumers who were preparing to pre-order the HTC One X with full payment abandoned their plans.
Those who had already pre-ordered with full payment also started to cause a commotion in stores, demanding refunds.
HTC Headquarters.
Wang Hong's face was ashen, and she convened another emergency meeting:
"Facing patent lawsuits from multiple companies, how should we respond? Everyone, please share your thoughts."
After a brief silence, an executive was the first to speak:
"With so many companies initiating patent lawsuits, it will be difficult for our HTC One X to sell normally. In my opinion, we should temporarily halt production, revise the design to bypass the relevant patents, and then launch it again."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room fell silent.
This plan was prudent, but the losses would be too great!
After all, the HTC One X was already in production.
Once production stopped, the ordered components and the production lines of the contract manufacturers would all be problems, all money!
Someone quickly objected:
"We cannot stop production. If we do, the losses will be too great, and all our investment in the HTC One X will be utterly lost."
"Exactly, if we stop production and sales, it's completely over. If we don't stop production and sales, we can still sell for a while and earn a wave of profit."
"Right, even if Apple, Samsung, and other companies have filed patent lawsuits against us, we can counter-sue and then wait for the trial and its outcome. It won't be too late to stop selling once we lose the case."
"In other words, until the unfavorable verdict comes out, our HTC One X can continue to sell and make money as usual."
"Especially these past few days, the full-payment pre-order quantity for the HTC One X has exceeded 1.5 million units. Putting everything else aside, let's first get the profits from these 1.5 million units!"
"Even if we lose the lawsuit and sales are halted later, that's a future matter. From these 1.5 million units, we can earn at least over 3 billion, which will cover our costs!"
"Moreover, we can continue selling until a verdict is reached, and our HTC One X sales are expected to reach 2 million, or even 2.5 million, with profits potentially exceeding 5 billion!"
Listening to everyone's words, Wang Hong's eyes lit up, and she strongly agreed:
"Good, then we will counter-sue, drag it out, and at the same time, produce and sell aggressively. When we eventually lose the lawsuit, we'll consider stopping sales. First, let's make the money!"
"Chairman is wise!"
It's foolish not to make money when there's an opportunity.
This resolution passed smoothly.
However, just then, the Marketing Director looked at a text message on his phone, and his expression turned grim.
Wang Hong keenly noticed this:
"Director Fang, what happened?"
Fang Jin opened his phone and sighed:
"Chairman, something big has happened. All the consumers who pre-ordered with full payment are now clamoring for refunds, and the flagship stores and specialized stores don't know what to do!"
Wang Hong: "…"
The executives: "…"
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
Just now, they were thinking about delivering the 1.5 million units already fully pre-ordered and pocketing over three billion.
Now, these people are clamoring for refunds!
What to do about this?
It turned out that with so many people coming to request refunds all at once, HTC's flagship stores and franchised stores were at a loss.
At first, seeing so many full-payment pre-orders, the franchised stores thought the HTC One X was sure to be a huge seller, so they decisively collected the pre-order money and placed large orders with HTC headquarters.
Now the goods haven't even arrived, but customers are all asking for refunds.
Isn't this a joke?
What can the stores use to refund them?
But not refunding isn't an option either.
More and more consumers are demanding refunds, and the next step might be rights protection!
Overseas, rights protection is common, and even "zero-yuan shopping" (shoplifting) is considered normal.
Helplessly, the franchised stores could only appease consumers while calling the head office hotline to explain the problem.
This matter was reported up through the ranks, reaching Marketing Director Fang Jin, and then Wang Hong and the other executives.
Wang Hong sighed, feeling the situation gradually spiraling out of control, and reluctantly asked:
"Director Fang, how many people want refunds? Is it a lot?"
Fang Jin nodded:
"According to the information coming in, half of the 1.5 million pre-orders are demanding refunds. The remaining half will likely follow suit!"
"So many!"
Wang Hong's face changed dramatically, and her expression was exceedingly complex:
"It's truly realistic. When HTC wasn't being sued, the HTC One X was a god-tier quad-core phone, even if not as good as the Xingyi xphone 1pro, it could still crush the iPhone 4s, and consumers eagerly bought it with full-payment pre-sales."
"Now that HTC is being sued, those consumers are resolutely demanding refunds, even causing trouble if they don't get them!"
"Alright, truly alright!"
"What a bunch of die-hard fans! So loyal!"
But facing this, Wang Hong was out of options.
Refund them, and it's over, not a single penny earned!
Don't refund them, and incur public wrath, damaging the brand image, with even more severe losses!
(End of Chapter)