[Chapter 652: Dream On]
At the beginning of a new year, Europe's top three mobile phone companies -- Siemens, Ericsson, and Nokia -- successively launched their digital mobile phones. Motorola's dominance in the market had come to an end.
William White stared blankly at the three phones on the table. Damn it, what was this? In his past life, he didn't recall designs like these.
Okay, maybe there were similarities; Siemens' S3 was quite rounded. Nokia was angular and quite traditional. As for Ericsson, although the flip phone was a bit thick, it wasn't bad at all.
"Sir, all three models are in high demand in the market. Competition in Hong Kong is incredibly fierce right now," Dominic Fain said, returning to the U.S. after just a couple of days in Hong Kong.
"Filson, how are things going with the feedback?"
"Consumers seem to prefer Motorola, but their digital mobile phones have only just started to be marketed. We still need time to assess. The problem is, the stock price has already become unstable; it's dropped by 12% in just a week."
William White waved dismissively; he didn't think the stock price mattered. Compared to other similar companies, Motorola's valuation was clearly too high.
"Filson, the previous stock price was already unreasonable; now it's just reverting to a rational level. What worries me is that if competition intensifies, profits may drop significantly next year."
"Yes, I believe the shareholders will be concerned too. Sir, should we consider launching our new phone ahead of schedule?"
William White felt overwhelmed. He didn't want to change his plans. The most profitable time for a new phone is right now.
Releasing a new model would inevitably plummet the prices of the older ones. That was certainly not something William White wanted to see.
The long and the short of it was, he was in the mobile phone business and it was a one-time deal. There was no need for him to engage in a loss-making endeavor just for the sake of hype.
"Gentlemen, it's not feasible for now; the current situation with three main competitors won't change in the short term. Additionally, this industry will attract even more entrants. If I start a price war now, even if I eliminate these three competitors, it won't create a monopoly. Look, Filson, you and I know that Panasonic and Sony are interested in collaboration, right? If we work together, we also have the Samsung Group. There shouldn't be any problems."
"Sir, this could lead to a tremendously chaotic situation."
"Chaos? Do you really think it's just a coincidence that these three companies launched new phones one after another? They can band together. Should I just sit back and let it happen?"
Filson and Dominic fell silent; they understood the gravity of the issue. If the three companies were coordinating, Motorola would definitely be in trouble.
There was no way around it; William White was limited in what he could do at Motorola. If he wasn't planning to develop any cutting-edge technology, he wasn't really a match for the combined forces of those three companies.
William White knew very well that those products from Japan and South Korea stood out, especially the Japanese. If those idiots weren't so focused on insular development, the mobile phone market would be extremely lively.
The most frustrating thing was that their best products were for domestic sales. If you didn't flash the firmware, you couldn't even use them abroad.
If it was just one company, you could call it odd, but from Sharp to Panasonic to Sony, they all operated this way.
Before Apple's smartphones came out, they already had phones with camera and payment functions. Well, maybe they were afraid of imitation -- stubbornly refusing to go international.
As for the final outcome, it was, of course, swallowed whole by Apple. On the other hand, that clunky Samsung group, even when facing the mighty Steve Jobs, still managed to maintain its standing.
The European players, of course, were not satisfied with the current state of affairs. They had made significant investments to bridge the gap in mobile communications.
What left them speechless was that, being a step behind in securing contracts for server room equipment, they almost suffered complete defeat.
Now everything was in line; from server equipment to mobile terminals, they had finally caught up with the United States. In terms of system transmission and stability, they even surpassed America.
So the question arose: how should they slice up this large American pie?
William White was well aware of the subtle scheming of these players. Yet, he wasn't worried in the slightest. The phrase "fair competition" had never been applied meaningfully since its inception.
Ha, did they really think Americans were fools?
"Sir, the CIA has requested collaboration on information exchanges. There's something off about this!" Filson expressed his instinctive unease, believing these guys were up to no good. Without legal constraints, how could anyone know what they planned to do?
William White waved away Filson's concerns. "What's so strange about this? The American PRISM program didn't spare even their allies. Of course, we need to cooperate. Hold on, Filson -- didn't you realize I prefer face-to-face conversations or using those anonymous SIM cards for important matters?"
"Sir, are you saying they've already been doing this?"
"What's odd about it? If it weren't for these encrypted devices, they could access any computer in my company. Even with that in place, it only adds some hassle. Ha, I'm really curious to see whether our European friends will actually agree."
William White couldn't help but feel a bit smug. Our European partners were probably overthinking things. If possible, the U.S. would certainly want to keep such technologies under its control.
If it were just for economic benefits, the U.S. wouldn't have waged a war over 5G.
The logic was straightforward: I've been listening to and observing your little secrets all along. If one day, they suddenly said they weren't going to let me see anymore.
Cough, while it was despicable and shameful, so what?
These matters had already come to light when Snowden fled the U.S. Just look; Europe could only mutter impotently about it.
Did the U.S. show any intention of repentance?
Nope.
From this perspective, William White was a benefactor who wouldn't change a thing. Or rather, it was something he couldn't change. If you truly angered those idiots, they'd do whatever they wanted.
"Alright, sir, I understand the message. What should I say at the board meeting?"
"Simple, just say 'America First!' Then we'll look for lobby groups. Trust me, Filson, those lobbyists have been itching to get started. If you don't make a decision soon, they might lobby for free."
Faced with this situation, Filson had no idea how to respond. Damn, there were just too many hidden agendas here. It was no wonder the boss was indifferent; it turned out it was this kind of situation.
By roping in the Japanese and South Koreans into the fray, they could muddy the waters of the terminal market. As for server equipment and transmission towers, it really wasn't a matter of cost.
Some things were better left unsaid. Even though everyone knew about your voyeuristic tendencies.
That's why Snowden was such an annoying figure. He leaked information to Europe that they didn't want to know. Damn it, while they were covering their ears, you had to send a text message, oh, and used vibration mode? Aren't you just being irritating?
*****
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