"Changliao users about to break 100 million?"
Wang Xing was startled, so much so that he didn't hear the latter half of the sentence:
"When we signed, Changliao only had over 50 million users, right? It's going to break 100 million so quickly? This..."
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"50 million, that's ancient history. It's 90 million now, and breaking 100 million before the end of the month will be no problem at all."
Without Xiao Lizzi's endorsement, Changliao users would have taken two more months to break 100 million.
But with Xiao Lizzi's endorsement, Changliao's popularity surged, coupled with its powerful features and excellent user experience, a rapid increase in user numbers was only natural.
In this day and age, the power of a superstar endorser was truly terrifying.
Wang Xing's expression was complex, inevitably a little sour:
"Amazing, truly amazing! When will our Meituan also break 100 million users?"
"It will happen, probably by the end of this year,"
Wang Yi said with a smile:
"The prerequisite is that you must persevere and outlast all your competitors!"
"Okay, Chairman Wang, I'll go all out!"
Wang Xing felt invigorated again:
"Baidu Nuomi, Alibaba Koubei, as long as I have Chairman Wang's support, I'll take them all down."
"Hahaha."
Wang Yi laughed:
"I really appreciate this... drive of yours!"
With Wang Xing's Meituan attracting fire from Alibaba and Baidu, Wang Yi could rest assured developing Gaode Dache and Ele.me Waimai.
Wang Xing changed the subject:
"Chairman Wang, but the pressure on my side is indeed a bit high right now. Alibaba and Baidu's moves are too terrifying, relentlessly pouring in all sorts of resources..."
Wang Yi understood Wang Xing's meaning; he wanted tangible benefits!
This was why Wang Xing wanted to invest:
"That's easy to say. The next xphone 1 system update will have the Meituan APP pre-installed!"
"Thank you! Thank you, Chairman Wang!" Wang Xing was beaming with joy; this was exactly what he wanted.
Current Changliao already has a Meituan first-level entry, which can bring a large number of users to Meituan.
However, this Changliao first-level entry is still not as convenient as having the Meituan app directly pre-installed on the phone.
That means tens of millions of Xingyi phones will all have the Meituan APP pre-installed!
In the future, if Xingyi phone sales surge, it won't be a matter of tens of millions, but rather tens of millions!
At that time, Meituan is bound to explode!
Wang Xing was overjoyed:
"Chairman Wang, I'll also change Meituan's default payment method entirely to Changliao Pay!"
This was a reciprocal gesture, an exchange of resources.
Alibaba wanted a monopoly, forcing Meituan to use Alipay as its sole payment method.
Wang Yi had no such demands, but since Xingyi phones were pre-installed with the Meituan APP, Wang Xing couldn't pretend to be ignorant and decisively changed Meituan's default payment method to Changliao Pay.
Of course, users who didn't want to use Changliao Pay could still choose Alipay or UnionPay.
It would just require a few extra clicks each time, making it less convenient than the default Changliao Pay.
Over time, users would completely get used to using the default Changliao Pay and abandon Alipay and UnionPay...
"Good."
Wang Yi nodded in satisfaction; this guy was smart.
That's how business works: mutual benefit, but without forcing the other party.
Everyone has their bottom line; if you insist on pushing someone's bottom line, you're asking for trouble.
Alibaba was just too domineering, constantly going for full acquisitions, leading to founding teams leaving and outsiders managing insiders...
They also wanted Meituan to use only Alipay, and even to swallow Meituan...
This led to Meituan's break with Alibaba, giving Wang Yi an opportunity.
After work, Wang Yi went straight to Lin Shu's house.
His Summer Palace Residence villa was still under renovation.
Because several construction teams were working simultaneously, with one team responsible for each floor, efficiency was greatly improved.
As of now, the renovation was largely complete, and in another two months, it should be entirely finished.
Calculating the time, the renovation would be done in April, airing out for half a year.
When the weather turns cool in November and formaldehyde emissions sharply decrease, it would be perfect for moving in.
Formaldehyde emissions are ten times higher in summer, especially above 25 degrees Celsius, than in autumn and winter!
Wang Yi dared not live in a new house in summer; that would be asking for death.
However, many recent college graduates don't know this; most come to a new city after graduation to work and rent.
Experienced people would rather choose older houses with poorer renovations, even small, dilapidated ones.
But fresh graduates prefer brand-new, freshly delivered apartments, preferably just built, just renovated, and never lived in!
What they don't know is that these brand-new apartments, to save costs, use inferior renovation materials, leading to already excessive formaldehyde levels.
And it's their first year living there, in summer, when formaldehyde emissions are ten to twenty times higher than in autumn and winter—the consequences are unimaginable...
In his previous life, one of Wang Yi's classmates went to work in another city, lived in a new apartment for a few months, suffered formaldehyde poisoning, and ended up in the ICU...
Others buying second-hand homes dislike those ordinary, several-year-old houses with basic renovations.
Instead, they prefer those that are exceptionally well-renovated, looking like a 200,000 to 300,000 standard, barely lived in "pre-marital homes," ready for immediate move-in.
Little do they know, most of these houses are "speculative flip homes"!
Using the cheapest materials, let alone 200,000 to 300,000 yuan in cost, they're decorated for 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, truly gilded on the outside but rotten within, all to use lavish renovations to inflate the price and trick unsuspecting buyers.
But once an entire family moves in, the consequences are unthinkable...
Wang Yi would not be like that.
Even if all materials were the best, personally arranged and ordered by Jian Ziyan, they still needed to be aired out for half a year.
Arriving at Lin Shu's house, Lin Shu had already prepared a table full of food, along with peeled fruits.
At this moment, Lin Shu, dressed in pajamas, was staring intently at the Sony 4K TV:
"Xiaoyi, Modao Zushi has premiered, let's watch it together!"
Wang Yi smiled; it was clear that Lin Shu had been waiting for a long time.
It's worth noting that in the outline Wang Yi provided, the BL elements were cut, turning it into a proper fantasy novel.
Therefore, Lin Shu was very fascinated by this novel and had been following it.
Now that the anime had premiered, she was eagerly waiting to watch.
If not for wanting to watch it with Wang Yi, she would have long finished the first three episodes!
"Okay, let's watch together!"
Wang Yi washed his hands and sat down.
He also wanted to see what level of 2D animation Xingyi Animation produced!
Xianlan was a 3D animation made by Ruosen, while Modao Zushi was a 2D animation produced by Xingyi Animation itself.
The people at Xingyi Animation were original animators recruited by Xingyi Technology itself, forming their own team.
"Mua!"
As soon as Wang Yi sat down, Lin Shu kissed him.
Now, she had started to initiate kisses.
When Wang Yi first came home, when Wang Yi went out, before bed...
Lin Shu would actively kiss or ask for a kiss.
At first, she would blush, but now she savored it.
Wang Yi was delighted by this, as it represented Lin Shu's change, or rather, her growth and maturity.
Now she was actively asking for kisses; he estimated that the next step would naturally follow soon!
The two of them ate and watched the show, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
It must be said that Xingyi Animation's production standards were very high.
After all, those original animators were poached by Gu Qing with a lot of money; they were all industry elites.
The directors, producers, and other management were also highly experienced veterans.
For example, a portion of the core team from Hongmao Lantou Qixia Zhuan had been poached by Gu Qing.
Even before Qin Shi Mingyue, Hongmao Lantou Qixia Zhuan was a representative work of Chinese animation, achieving extraordinary success.
Wang Yi used to squat in front of the TV every day to watch it when he was a child.
Later, it was reported by certain individuals, causing the show to be ruined...
Although it was later re-aired, after such a long time, many things had changed...
It's a pity such a good work met that fate.
Therefore, when Xingyi Animation was established, Wang Yi arranged for people to poach talents from Hongmao Lantou Qixia Zhuan.
Sure enough, Gu Qing did not disappoint Wang Yi and indeed brought back many core talents!
With the addition of these talents, the strength of the Xingyi Animation team greatly improved, and Modao Zushi was also very successful.
It was not much worse than the Modao Zushi anime from his previous life.
Lin Shu was completely engrossed.
Wang Yi was already familiar with the plot and was instead attracted by the TV.
Lin Shu's TV was a Toshiba 4K TV REGZA 55X3, also the world's first 4K TV.
Of course, this TV was also a traditional TV and did not support smart operations like installing software.
Therefore, Lin Shu used Xingyi Video on her laptop and connected it to the TV with an HDMI cable.
There was no other way; TVs at that time were all traditional.
As for network TV boxes, they were also in a backward, primitive state.
The most advanced TV box at the time was merely an Android 2.3 system, which was very poor, and its resources were not worth mentioning.
The mainstream TV boxes of his previous life, such as Tencent TV Box, Xiaomi TV Box, iQiyi TV Box, Tmall Magic Box, Youku Box, etc., were not yet on the market; the earliest ones wouldn't be released until next year.
As for wireless screen mirroring, it was also just starting and not yet mature.
Moreover, most traditional TVs did not support wireless screen mirroring.
Therefore, Lin Shu could only connect her laptop to the TV via HDMI, which was out of necessity.
Wang Yi suddenly realized that the market for Android 4.0 smart TV boxes was currently empty.
When Xingyi Technology makes TVs, they could simultaneously launch one.
After all, in 2012, all TVs were traditional, and all needed smart TV boxes.
This could be done.
Wang Yi had a plan in mind and casually asked:
"Xiaoshu, what are the specs of this TV?"
Lin Shu smiled and said:
"This Toshiba TV is 55 inches, 4K, supports 3D, launched last December, priced at 584,700 Japanese Yen. I bought it for over 30,000."
"55 inches, over 30,000..."
Wang Yi was silent for a moment.
There was no other way; this was the only 4K TV globally at the time, and being imported, it was hard not to sell it at a high price.
Wang Yi recalled that 2013 was the first year of 4K TVs.
In 2012, only Toshiba, and later Sony, were making 4K TVs.
As for companies like Samsung, LG, Panasonic, and Sharp, they all released a series of 4K TVs in 2013.
The first domestic 4K TV was Skyworth's Coocaa U1, released on the last day of 2013!
And LeEco's Super TV S40 and X60 were also released in 2013, around mid-year, but they were all 1080P and priced lower.
The X60, 55 inches, priced at 6999, was the king of cost-effectiveness at the time.
The X40, 39 inches, priced at 2499+499, was also a phenomenal price.
In the same year, four months later, the Xiaomi TV first generation was released, but it was completely crushed by LeEco...
After all, LeEco's quality, workmanship, and content ecosystem all surpassed Xiaomi.
Especially the content ecosystem, LeEco was at its zenith back then, and LeEco Video was also a top-tier video platform.
Xiaomi had nothing and could only buy resources from other platforms, so it naturally couldn't compare.
It wasn't until LeEco later courted disaster and Xiaomi collaborated with iQiyi, introducing iQiyi's resources, that it turned the tables.
Wang Yi still had a good impression of LeEco.
In his previous life, he bought a LeEco Super TV 4 X43 for 1999 yuan for his old home, and it worked for eight or nine years without any problems.
Later, he bought a 4K version of a certain brand's laser TV for 14999 yuan, and it was repaired three times in six years, all for the same fault: display chip damage.
After three repairs, even the Baixiubao technician became familiar with Wang Yi...
Luckily, he bought a six-year extended warranty from JD.com, otherwise the loss would have been huge!
No comparison, no harm.
LeEco company collapsed, the boss ran away, but the product still had no problems.
One can only say it's an all-time great.
While another company became a Fortune 500 giant with terrifying strength, yet required three repairs in six years, making it hard to truly love.
Of course, if it's a low-end product that breaks after the warranty expires, it's just the price of being cheap.
But the problem is a 14999 laser TV, a high-end series, still needed three repairs in six years—it's truly hard to describe...
Perhaps it was an isolated incident, or perhaps Wang Yi was unlucky, but even one such occurrence would turn a loyal fan into a mere passerby.
At the very least, Wang Yi would no longer consider that brand when buying a TV.
Why was brand influence so great in the past?
Because they were truly conscientious!
Some brands' products, let alone five or six years, even eight or ten years, would not break down; they simply wouldn't.
While some brands would break down right after the warranty expired, with a one-year warranty, they would have problems in a year and a half, or at most two years.
This is called planned obsolescence in the industry!
It's not that they can't make good quality products, but if they make good quality products, consumers won't break them and won't replace them.
If a consumer only replaces every ten years, they earn too little.
On the contrary, with planned obsolescence, if it breaks in a year and a half, it must be replaced.
A consumer replaces six times in ten years, earning six times—that's the road to wealth!
Merchants, once they lose their conscience, often only earn more!
Wang Yi would not do this.
What he wanted to build was a brand, and he wouldn't resort to planned obsolescence, shoddy goods, or reduced quality control just to harvest more users.
Such short-sighted methods have no future and cannot retain users.
Only by building a brand with excellent quality and superior service, and by moving consumers, can there be long-term development.
In fact, Android phones also practiced planned obsolescence.
Android phones in recent years have been the most problematic.
An Android phone with 1GB of RAM this year would lag in a year, making it hard to last two years.
Coupled with Android systems becoming more bloated with each update, and software occupying more and more space, a 16GB phone now would be unusable in a few years, forcing users to replace their phones.
It can be said that in recent years, most Android phones were replaced about once a year, or at most once every eighteen months.
Up until 2021, the average replacement cycle for Android phones was 22-26 months.
Later, as Android flagships became more expensive, selling for five or six thousand, the replacement cycle increased to about two and a half to three years.
It was also at that time that the frequency of phone replacement sharply declined, and global phone sales dropped, leading some mobile phone manufacturers' leaders to ask,
"Why aren't people replacing their phones anymore?"
The fundamental reasons are that phones became more durable, and prices increased, leading to higher replacement costs!
But this is actually not good; a phone that lags unbearably after less than two years will only make users distrust and abandon the brand.
This was also the biggest driving force for Apple to surpass Android.
iPhone 5, Xiaomi 2, and Huawei P1 all launched in 2012.
The iPhone 5 could be used for four or five years, but the Xiaomi 2 and Huawei P1, launched in the same year, would lag in a year and need to be replaced in two!
There was no other way.
This was Android phones' biggest problem.
Similarly, xphone 1 also faced this problem; 1GB of RAM would be hard-pressed to last two years.
Those who could flash custom ROMs and tinker could extend it by another six months, but those who couldn't would have to replace their phones earlier.
For this reason, xphone 1 Pro directly upgraded to 2GB of RAM, and Wang Yi invested huge human and material resources to have the system development department heavily modify the Android system.
Through this modified Android system, by prohibiting software self-starting, linked starting, random pushing, etc., and optimizing background mechanisms, every effort was made to ensure that xphone 1 with 1GB of RAM could be used for two years without lagging, with a three-year replacement cycle.
This could be considered worthy of the first batch of users who supported Xingyi Technology!
And Xingyi TV also needed to be well-planned.
The TV factory would be delivered in the second half of the year, so research and development could begin now.
As for the sales strategy, it would still be high, medium, and low configurations, covering all segments.
All smart TVs would have Xingyi Video content resources built-in.
For low-end models, 39 inches, 1080P, a price of 3999 would be considered low.
That's right, TVs in 2012 were very expensive; a 39-inch 1080P domestic traditional TV cost over 3000.
Imported ones cost six or seven thousand, and 4K ones started at thirty thousand.
Wang Yi making a 1080p smart TV, with Xingyi Video content resources, would sell out even at 4000+, let alone 3999.
When LeEco S40 launched in 2013, its price was 2499+499!
A year later, LeEco S40 at 3000 yuan broke the industry's bottom price, even selling cheaper than competitors' 32-inch models.
Wang Yi's Xingyi TV coming out a year early, selling for 3999, was very normal and would definitely sell out.
For mid-range, directly 50 inches, also 1080P, priced at 5999, still unrivaled in cost-effectiveness.
At that time, 50-inch 1080P traditional TVs started at 5000!
Wang Yi adding smart TV features and making it better could easily push it to 6000!
As for high-end, directly 60 inches, as for the price...
It depends on whether 4K panels can be acquired.
If 4K panels can be obtained, directly go for 60 inches, 4K.
If Sony sells for 30,000, Wang Yi selling for 15,000 or even 20,000 would not be excessive.
If 4K panels cannot be obtained, a 60-inch, 1080P model could still sell for around 10,000.
There was no other way; mainstream TVs in 2012 were 32-inch traditional TVs, similar to feature phones.
A 60-inch 1080P smart TV would be an unrivaled existence, equivalent to a 120-inch, 8K giant screen TV a decade later!
Of course, 4K panels would likely be difficult to acquire.
Currently, globally, only Toshiba had launched the sole 4K TV.
Sony would follow in the second half of the year, and other companies wouldn't until 2013.
Wang Yi buying 4K panels at this time would be quite challenging.
It seems he would need to contact Toshiba later.
If their 4K panels could be acquired, Xingyi TV 4K would be stable.
Of course, Sharp could also be approached.
Wang Yi had a plan in mind.
But he didn't expect Lin Shu to be staring at him intently.
"What's wrong?"
Wang Yi came back to his senses.
Lin Shu smiled sweetly:
"Brother, what are you thinking about? Your eyes were unfocused just now."
Wang Yi chuckled:
"I'm thinking about launching a TV that can directly install applications, such as the Xingyi Video APP. That way, you can watch Xingyi Video's resources directly by turning on the TV."
"Wow!"
Lin Shu's eyes lit up:
"If that's the case, it would be amazing! No more moving the laptop around to connect with an HDMI cable. When will it come out? I want one!"
Wang Yi smiled:
"Easy to say, I'll have people start developing it as soon as I get back, striving to have it ready in the second half of the year!"
The advantage was that Xingyi Technology had experience developing phones and tablets, so making a smart TV would be a dimension-reducing attack, relatively easy.
Moreover, Xingyi Video had content and resources, directly built into Xingyi TV, making it invincible from the start.
Boss Jia's path of hardware + content + ecosystem was absolutely correct, and Wang Yi decided to follow Boss Jia's path, leaving Boss Jia with no path to follow!
Simply put, with Xingyi Video, not only Youku and Tencent Video would be hit hard, but also LeEco Video, Sohu Video, and other platforms!
"That's wonderful!"
Lin Shu was in a great mood:
"I'll replace this one when Xingyi TV is released!"
Wang Yi laughed:
"This is a new purchase, the world's first 4K TV."
"It's useless, not smart at all,"
Lin Shu pouted.
"There's another way: develop an Android 4.0 smart TV box. Plug it into a traditional TV, and it becomes a smart TV!"
"Oh, that works too!"
Lin Shu nodded, her adorable look making Wang Yi unable to help but laugh.
After watching three episodes of Modao Zushi in a row, Lin Shu still hadn't had enough:
"Brother, why did it end so quickly? This isn't scientific!"
Wang Yi burst out laughing:
"Pleasant times are always short. We'll continue next Friday!"
"Alright, alright."
Lin Shu sighed, her face full of unhappiness.
Wang Yi held Lin Shu in his arms and comforted her for a good while.
That night, news of Modao Zushi's premiere topped the trending searches.
Once again, it caused a sensation across the entire network.
And Modao Zushi's viewership surged to the top spot on Xingyi Video's on-demand rankings.
It can only be said that its popularity was astonishing.
It's worth noting that, as an S-class self-produced anime, it was still exclusively streamed on Xingyi Video.
The first day had three episodes; non-members could only watch two episodes with ads.
Members got all three episodes directly and without ads.
To watch the third episode, many users opened Xingyi Video VIP.
This caused the number of Xingyi Video VIP users to surge again.
The massive success of Xianlan, Beijing Love Story, and Cliff had brought Xingyi Video over 19 million paid members.
Now, with the release of Modao Zushi, it brought in a large number of female-oriented novel fans.
As book fans, most immediately purchased annual memberships to support Modao Zushi.
Thus, in one day, Xingyi Video added another million paid members, bringing the total monthly paid members to over 20 million, with monthly membership revenue exceeding 300 million!
Coupled with the over ten million annual members gifted with xphone 1, Xingyi Video's current total member count has exceeded 33 million!
It can be said that Xingyi Video has thoroughly become a new cash cow.
Such brilliant performance put Wang Yi in a great mood, and he decisively held Lin Shu as they drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, at Xuanji Technology, the lights were still on.
A room full of senior executives gathered in the conference room, their faces grim:
"When people compare themselves to others, they die; when goods compare themselves to others, they're thrown away. Xingyi Animation has another hit, topping the charts on its first day!"
"Indeed, these numbers are truly terrifying, frightening, even more powerful than Xianlan."
"Useless Youku, no money, no resources. Following Youku means we're completely finished!"
(End of Chapter)