Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 665 This day is coming

Cheng Yi tightened his grip on her arm, making her more comfortable against his chest, then stared at the ceiling, organizing his thoughts.

Lin Qingyin's postgraduate major was mobile communications, which was also to prepare for the future direction of Momo Group.

At their current level, they no longer need to do many things personally, but as senior executives, they must understand and be proficient in them.

They can pretend not to understand, but they can't actually not understand.

The direction in Europe has now been determined: to achieve a leapfrog development in the mobile phone sector.

The limit of the Moc-OS system is that it can only reach countries around China. They really don't have the ability to compete with Microsoft in the PC field.

Microsoft has decades of experience and foundation, which cannot be shaken so easily.

What Enze Capital wants to break through now is the ability to independently research and develop and manufacture mobile devices.

ARM, a company under Enze Capital, already has the capability to produce chips; the only breakthrough is to obtain the full support of the European Union.

Saying "full support" is easy, but doing it is extremely difficult, because it could very well lead to direct action from the US government.

With less than six months to go before the release of the world's first truly Apple phone, they must help ARM break free from its seal before the original iPhone is released.

For example, by paying a sufficiently high price, the EU could negotiate and persuade the US to allow ARM to design, develop, and produce chips for automotive infotainment screens.

Once this point is overcome, it's equivalent to entering the mobile phone industry ahead of time.

The car's central control screen is actually a manifestation of mobile phone technology, but no one has paid attention to this area yet.

Even Microsoft no longer believes that a small mobile phone can truly browse the entire internet.

Since their battle with Microsoft began, Apple has been quietly making a fortune. They sold off all their shares, including those in ARM, quickly cashed out, and invested the proceeds into the research and development of capacitive screens.

Since being acquired by Microsoft, Apple's PC business has been almost completely cut off, and now they have no choice but to forge a new path through other areas.

Since 2003, Enze Capital's corporate spies have been spread throughout Apple's management level, sending Apple the latest R&D data almost every week.

According to the data, Apple's research and development has been stuck in a bottleneck, with capacitive multi-touch technology being the most difficult to solve.

Capacitive multi-touch technology is actually quite simple; it utilizes the electrical current sensing characteristics of the human body.

When a finger touches the screen, it draws a tiny current. The controller can accurately calculate the location of the touch point by analyzing the ratio of the current flowing out of the electrodes at the four corners of the screen.

But while the principle is one thing, achieving real success is still quite difficult.

Just a few days ago, British company Mass Research Technology successfully developed a touch sensing chip.

This technology immediately excited many European automakers.

At that time, Nokia and Motorola, which held 60% of the global mobile phone market share, had not yet realized the importance of capacitive screens. Only LG Group, which held 6.3% of the market share, realized the difference of capacitive screens and, together with European car manufacturers, rushed to Ryokawa Technology Co., Ltd.

In fact, the original intention of Liangyan Technology in researching capacitive touch screen technology was to create a central control screen that is easier for car owners to operate while driving.

It's estimated that no one expected that their technology would completely change the entire mobile phone industry, and even kill Nokia and Motorola, which held 60% of the global market share.

Cheng Yi organized his thoughts, intending to first explain to Lin Qingyin what a real smartphone is, without being too shocking, but still guiding her in the right direction.

"Qingyin," he said in a calm voice, "You've hit the nail on the head. It's not about whether it will come or not, but that it will definitely come, and it will come sooner than most people imagine."

He paused, feeling the girl in his arms listening intently, and continued, "Look at the cell phones we use now."

He casually picked up his Nokia N-series business phone from the bedside table. Although its functions were top-notch at the time, its bulky body and small screen were far from being considered "smart".

"They are more like mobile phones and can't be called smart at all. The core difference between a mobile phone and a smartphone lies in the interaction method and concept."

"Interaction method?" Lin Qingyin exclaimed softly.

“Yes.” Cheng Yi nodded and said, “Think about how we operate computers. We rely on a mouse and keyboard, which is precise and efficient. But what about mobile phones? The complex menu hierarchy and clunky button operation mean that they cannot handle complex tasks. The first thing that future smartphones must solve is how to have smooth conversations with people.”

He guided her thinking, saying, "What if... I mean, what if the screen itself could sense our finger touches, instead of being a cold button, but a dynamic interface that could slide, click, zoom in and out with our fingertips? Like painting directly on a canvas."

Lin Qingyin's eyes widened instantly. This idea sounded a bit bold in 2006, but it wasn't a pipe dream.

Resistive touchscreen technology already exists, but its application scope and user experience are extremely poor.

"Touching it is all you need to operate..." she murmured to herself, her mind already racing as she envisioned the requirements this interaction mode would place on the underlying system: event handling, gesture recognition, UI rendering...

"Yes, touch will be key, but not the resistive screens that require force to press. We need more sensitive and smoother screen technology, even one that supports multi-touch." Cheng Yi did not mention the specific term "capacitive screen," but he gave a clear technological direction.

"This requires a deep integration of hardware and software. The operating system must be designed for touch from the kernel level, rather than being patched later."

He continued, "Then there's the network. 2G and pseudo-2.5G are too slow, and GPRS is just a drop in the ocean. Future mobile phones must live in high-speed wireless networks, just like fish live in water. 3G or even faster networks are the foundation for making them truly intelligent. Only a high-speed network that is always online can support the location-based services, anytime and anywhere social sharing, and rich online applications you just mentioned."

Cheng Yi didn't go into too much detail, nor did he mention that Enze Capital had been investing heavily in upgrading the Iridium satellite system for nearly three years.

Lin Qingyin said thoughtfully, "Therefore, the operating system needs to deeply integrate network service management, intelligently schedule network resources, and ensure a balance between battery life and performance..."

“That’s not all,” Cheng Yi continued, “Think about it, current mobile phones only have cameras and microphones, but a real smartphone must have GPS, accelerometers, light sensors… These sensors shouldn’t just be isolated hardware functions.”

"A mobile operating system needs to become a sensory hub, capable of actively perceiving the environment. For example, it should automatically adjust the screen brightness based on ambient light, automatically rotate the screen content when the phone is turned, and know its precise location on a map wherever it goes... allowing the phone to truly understand how it is being used and what environment it is in." "These are not things that the current Symbian system can satisfy."

The concept of the sensory center greatly interested Lin Qingyin, as it was very close to her current research topic and completely transcended the current level of mobile phone systems that simply call hardware drivers.

"This requires a completely new sensor framework and API, allowing application developers to easily access this environmental information and create entirely new application scenarios!" She could almost picture some interesting applications.

"Speaking of applications," Cheng Yi grasped the rhythm of her thoughts and introduced the next core concept, saying, "This brings us back to your initial feeling: the soul of future smartphones lies not in how powerful the functions they come pre-installed with, but in whether they can support a thriving and open application ecosystem."

"Application ecosystem?"

"Yes, a software ecosystem similar to that on PCs, but more streamlined and efficient, and deeply optimized for mobile scenarios."

"We need an official, unified app store so that developers worldwide can create apps for the mobile phone functions they envision. It could be a convenient payment tool, a software for checking public transportation at any time, an online multiplayer game, or even a program that can identify plants..."

"These thousands of applications are the inexhaustible source of life for smartphones, while the smartphone operating system is the soil that nurtures this forest and the rule-maker."

Lin Qingyin finally understood.

Cheng Yi is describing not a single product, but a completely new platform driven by an ecosystem that combines software and hardware.

This is far more ambitious than a better mobile phone system currently envisioned by Andy Rubin's team.

"So," she concluded, "what we need is a platform that undergoes a comprehensive overhaul and integration, from interaction logic and network infrastructure to hardware collaboration and software ecosystem—similar to a completely new and independent mobile computing center?"

“Absolutely correct.” Cheng Yi looked at her with admiration. She had participated in the Android development work of Andy Rubin’s team, and her understanding of the mobile communications field was becoming more and more outstanding.

Cheng Yi sighed and said, "However, this path is too difficult. It involves the coordinated evolution of countless hardware components, such as chip power consumption, battery technology, screen manufacturing processes, and wireless communication. It also places extreme demands on the efficiency, stability, and security of the operating system. But this is also our most important battlefield for the next ten years."

He gently stroked Lin Qingyin's hair, his tone softening as he smiled and said, "Qingyin, your talent in systems and communications is one of the keys to opening this door to the future. But don't rush things. You can start doing some cutting-edge technology research and development. For example, think about how to design a system interface framework for the touch functionality of the Android system."

Lin Qingyin nestled in his arms, but her heart was in turmoil.

Cheng Yi's words unfolded a magnificent technological blueprint before her, instantly clarifying many previously vague ideas.

She no longer felt that the Android project was out of reach; instead, she saw aspects that could be learned from and surpassed.

“I understand.” She nodded gently.

She seemed to already see how, in the not-too-distant future, mobile smart devices, defined with the help of Andy Rubin's team, would profoundly change everyone's lives.

She finally understood why Enze Capital had invested heavily in supporting Andy Rubin.

Cheng Yi looked out the window at the distant starry sky and smiled, "That day will come soon."

Three days later, the anger of the European people finally reached its peak.

Late at night, the BBC's flagship interview program invited several highly respected European economists and industrial policy experts.

A scholar from Berlin lamented during a live broadcast: "We used to laugh at Enze Capital for kneeling in Brussels, but now it seems they are bearing this humiliation for the whole of Europe. Where was the European Commission when our own car industry was on the verge of shutdown due to chip restrictions? Where was the European Commission when the fate of our companies was arbitrarily controlled by a few companies across the Pacific?"

The moment this interview program aired, it immediately sparked a trending topic.

Kneeling for the EU.

This initially somewhat sarcastic label was quickly reversed in meaning on social media.

It no longer refers to the weakness of Enze Capital, but has evolved into a slogan full of pathos and resistance, symbolizing the helpless sacrifice of European companies under strong external pressure, and the powerlessness of EU institutions in the face of hegemony.

"Yes, they are kneeling, but they are kneeling on behalf of all of us."

“Look at Enze Capital, this is the consequence of not submitting to American technological hegemony.”

“EU, wake up! We need our own chips, our own systems, and our own digital sovereignty.”

Gradually, workers began to take to the streets to protest, but this time, the slogans were clearer and the anger was more focused.

"Microsoft, get out of Europe!"

"Break the Wintel monopoly!"

"Support European technology, support Enze Capital."

Some people even held up signs in the march thanking Enze Capital: "Thank you for bearing all of this for us."

European businesses, especially those in the automotive and machinery manufacturing sectors that have suffered greatly from the chip supply disruption, have also undergone a subtle but resolute shift in attitude.

In private gatherings, they referred to Microsoft and Intel as unreliable coercers, a departure from powerful partners.

A secret letter from several European industry giants, urging the EU to expedite the implementation of the European chip law and support the development of a domestic operating system, was also sent directly to the President of the European Commission.

Pressure, like an overwhelming tidal wave, has concentrated in Brussels like never before, from ordinary citizens to the elite.

European Commission officials are on tenterhooks.

They initially tried to gain stability by pressuring Enze Capital, but they never expected that Enze Capital would use this passive approach to direct all the blame and anger at Microsoft, and successfully ignite nationalistic sentiments and deep fears of technological sovereignty throughout Europe.

(End of this chapter)