Chapter 829: Xiao Ao and I Are Connected by Heart (Two in One)

On May 27, the G1 of the 2006-2007 Western Conference Finals of the NBA was held at the Spurs' home court.

Half an hour before the game, the nervous Jay Chou saw Fang Ge who had arrived in a hurry.

But before he could chat for a few words, several men in suits and hooked noses came to invite Rockets boss Fang to sit in the luxury box.

This invitation was declined, and the two sides chatted for more than 20 minutes in the first row, attracting many sports media to take pictures.

Normally, because of the playing style of the Spurs team, its game ratings are relatively low, but this round of the Western Conference Finals is regarded by many experts and retired players as an early decision of the championship, and there are many media on the scene that exceed the standard.

Of course, this is also inevitable from the Rockets boss's topic and his deliberate promotion.

When Fang Zhuo sat down, the game was about to begin.

Jay Chou noticed that Brother Fang's mind was obviously not on the court, so he asked, "Brother Fang, was that the league's top executive just now?"

"Oh, no." Fang Zhuo came back to his senses and stamped his feet, "Do you know the name of the Spurs' home stadium?"

Jay Chou was stunned and couldn't answer. He was impressed by the black and white color scheme of the Spurs' home stadium, but to mention the name...

"This stadium is called AT&T Center, and those people just now are AT&T's top executives." Fang Zhuo smiled slightly, "The Western Conference Finals are played here, and it just so happens that Yi Ke and they may be involved in some business cooperation, so they came to say hello to me and chat for a while."

Yi Ke and AT&T have a very shallow contact. There is already Apple there. Compared with icing on the cake and sending charcoal in the snow, T-Mobile or even V-Shang can negotiate better conditions.

Jay Chou nodded. It turned out to be a business matter.

He suddenly felt a little emotional. It's not easy to be a rich man.

Since the Rockets beat the Mavericks, I haven't seen Brother Fang at all. I heard that he either went to Silicon Valley or flew to New York.

Unlike me, I can drink milk tea in the villa when I want to drink milk tea, drink red wine when I want to drink red wine, go to the stadium to play with a group of NBA substitutes, and watch the team games of the two consecutive championship teams up close.

Life is so happy!

Oh, except that I still owe Brother Fang money to buy the team shares.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Jay Chou immediately shifted all his attention to the court.

The Spurs and Rockets are old rivals in the West. There have been many wonderful buzzer-beaters and desperate game 7s in the past two years.

One is very stable in the regular season and has excellent strength, and the other is away from injuries and in a strong state in the playoffs.

The indecisiveness in the first quarter of the first game of this round seemed to set the tone for the Western Conference Finals.

Jay Chou was nervous and satisfied watching it.

However, after the game ended, he looked back at Brother Fang and found that the team owner seemed to be distracted, so he pretended to care: "Brother Fang, has Yike's mobile phone been going well recently?"

Fang Zhuo was asked this question and became more energetic.

It was not that things were not going well these days. After the last negotiation with T-Mobile, Legere softened his attitude after seeing the cooperation terms from competitors, and the second round of negotiations on May 24th moved forward a lot.

Fang Zhuo's first and most important thing was to let operators subsidize consumers so that Yike Mars could be competitive in the mobile phone market.

This is to survive without reducing product quality.

However, after T-Mobile initially expressed its willingness to give Mars similar cooperation, how to live better became a more important issue.

The scale of the negotiations on the 24th expanded. The atmosphere in the first half was very harmonious, and the second half was more intense when it came to price.

Including Google, Schmidt and Legere also had a quarrel over the logo on the back of the phone.

Schmidt hopes that Yike's mobile phone can highlight Google or Android elements, while Legere hopes that the "T-Mobile" logo will be printed directly on the back.

Legere's attitude is very clear. No matter how much T-Mobile and Yike's purchase price is, it is actually subsidizing consumers so that Mars can compete with Apple's iPhone. This is the most important thing.

Schmidt also insisted on his own opinion. Without Google's great efforts in the development of the Android system and the establishment of the Open Mobile Alliance, Mars would lose its most important intelligent feature.

Both sides have very hard tempers.

Fang Zhuo's mind is that it is best not to add anyone.

But he temporarily maintains a neutral attitude in this round of negotiations, and still takes it as his responsibility to promote T-Mobile's purchase and share.

After two consecutive days of negotiations, T-Mobile is willing to subsidize users to maintain Mars's listing competitiveness, and the purchase price is 220+50=270 US dollars.

220 is the current basic real hardware cost of Yike mobile phones.

Thanks to the package price of Qualcomm processor and baseband + the internal price of Sony sensor + the continuous decline of storage market + the communication of hardware manufacturers in the Open Mobile Alliance, Yike mobile phone should be close to the lower limit of Apple mobile phone cost range or even lower.

This is because Yike Mars is determined to use 8G storage and 16G storage versions.

If it is changed to 4G, there will be some profit space.

However, mobile phones cannot only be calculated by hardware cost.

Fang Zhuo argued with Legere on this point and was very dissatisfied with the purchase price of $270.

In addition, the $3 for new users and $11 for switching users, Legere agreed to this very easily, but he disagreed with the 10% ratio of value-added service revenue and was only willing to share 5%.

The second round of negotiations can only be said to have a large difference on the basis of confirming mutual cooperation.

Such differences may not be resolved before June 26, but they have provided a good precondition for the release of the mobile phone.

Fang Zhuo and Jay Chou briefly talked about the running around in the past few days, and they were indeed quite nervous.

Jay Chou listened politely and only waited for the second quarter to start to cheer for the Rockets.

Fang Zhuo said this to the team's small boss, and also to himself.

The in-depth cooperation with T-Mobile is to follow the operator AT&T, and it is also hoped to be a pioneering demonstration of cooperation with domestic operators.

Last time, I asked my brother in Shencheng to help find the senior executives of China Unicom. Now there is a team of inspectors from China Unicom flying to Houston.

This is the case for T-Mobile and for domestic operators.

The reform and merger of the six domestic operators will inevitably lead to fierce competition in the 3G era.

Fang Zhuo hopes to cooperate with domestic operators in this direction under the existing example of sharing user revenue with American operators.

Once this happens, he will be able to fulfill a childhood wish.

If the people of the country are willing to give me one dollar each, then I will have 1.3 billion.

If the mobile phone users of China Unicom or more domestic operators can share a piece of meat, then Yike Company will have a steady stream of profits.

Fang Zhuo is not sure whether such cooperation can be achieved. The time point of domestic 3G may be the second half of next year in 2008. Then, the momentum of Yike mobile phones after they are launched in the United States will be very important.

If it becomes popular overnight, no matter how much it is, it will be a lot of money.

If it is a dud, then there is no need to think about it at all.

Fang Zhuo pondered over and over, considering how to make money from the mobile phone hardware.

In addition to the relationship with Brother Zheng, the senior executives of China Unicom who flew here also inquired from many sources and found that the ICBC director on his side also had some connections.

In short, before the domestic operators merge, lay a foundation for mutual negotiation.

Fang Zhuo was full of things, and he lacked some of the previous passion for the fate of the Rockets who reached the Western Conference Finals.

The first game ended under his occasional gaze.

Familiar with the start, the Rockets lost the first game.

In three consecutive rounds, they lost the first away game, and then rebounded and ate one point in the second game.

After the game, Fang Zhuo was interviewed by reporters and mentioned this issue.

He was uncharacteristic and answered very truthfully: "The Spurs are very strong, and have always been very strong. It is normal for anyone to win this series. Of course, I hope my team can reach the finals, but I hope that the two teams will bring enough exciting games to the fans."

The morale of the Rockets no longer needs to be boosted. At this point, the coach and players want to make history more than him as the boss.

But the Spurs with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are really strong.

Fang Zhuo's mediocre answer was reported by the media.

There was no Why not this time, but everyone had a higher evaluation of the Rockets boss.

"Championship team, three consecutive championships."

"The calmer the Rockets boss is, the more confidence he has in the team."

"The Rockets' G2 winning rule is going to take effect!"

The American sports media praised it, and CCTV in China has been broadcasting it live. The sports media circle is not big, so it is natural to flatter without money.

On the contrary, after the first game was lost, Xiao Ao, who had always been Fang Zhuo's initiative to call, quickly called back.

"Mr. Fang, I'm thinking about going to the finals to cheer for the Rockets." Xiao Ao watched the live broadcast, and didn't think that Mr. Fang was confident like the media did. He intuitively thought that he was absent-minded.

Fang Zhuo was a little surprised by his call, and smiled when he heard this: "I am also looking forward to the finals, but if you can come to G6/G7, it will give the team more confidence."

This Xiao Ao has to wait until the finals are almost certain to appear.

"I'll try my best to make time, but Mr. Fang, you know, since I announced my candidacy, I've been busy with so many things." O'Neal mentioned the candidacy. If it weren't for the public opinion linking the championship with the black leader, he wouldn't have paid so much attention to this NBA game.

"Then I'll also try my best to urge our players who have the heart of a champion. There's still hope this time." Fang Zhuo knew that the other party didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

Perhaps it was really the law of rebounding to win, or perhaps it was the connection of fate. The second game on May 30 ended with the Rockets pulling back a game away from home.

As time entered June, the Rockets will welcome three home games as usual.

That is, in this month, Apple is about to release, and Yike is about to hold a press conference. Fang Zhuo just felt that he was gradually getting a little nervous from the inside out.

US operators need to talk, domestic operators need to lay a foundation first, the mobile phone itself needs to be continuously optimized, and the supply chain needs to be finalized one by one...

On June 1, the Rockets unexpectedly lost their first home game, losing to the Spurs 89:102.

This also means that the Rockets must return to the Spurs' home court to play again, and it is impossible to end the series in the red home sea like in the first two rounds.

On June 3, the Rockets once again tied the Spurs with a big score, and the two teams tied 2:2.

That night, Fang Zhuo learned from Google CEO Schmidt's advanced experience and gave the draft contract between Yike and T-Mobile to China Unicom's senior management, which clearly stated the purchase price and the proportion of profit sharing.

At the same time, he also used the similar cooperation between Apple and operator AT&T as an example to talk about the competition in the 3G era.

One company has already reached an agreement, and the other is negotiating.

With such a fresh example in front of them, China Unicom's senior management really felt... fresh and incredible.

"The touch screen is very interesting, Mr. Fang, and the intelligence you mentioned is also good."

"Oh, and there is also this front camera."

"But your mobile phone includes that Apple's competing mobile phone, Mr. Fang, I don't mean to offend, can such a new thing really grab a large number of users from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung?"

China Unicom's senior management expressed their thoughts.

Whether it can get users, only time can prove.

"The iPhone will be launched at the end of the month, and Mars will be launched at the end of the year." Fang Zhuo replied, "I believe that AT&T and T-Mobile will soon know whether it is worth it for them to choose touch-screen smartphones, choose to subsidize users, and choose to deepen cooperation with mobile phone manufacturers."

Similarly, this is also a witness to what changes the two mobile phones can bring before China Unicom's reform.

Fang Zhuo entertained the visiting domestic operator executives very well, and watched the Rockets' last home game of this series in the box with them.

On June 5, the Rockets will visit the AT&T Center again with a 3:2 advantage.

Three days later, the Spurs defeated the Rockets, confirming that the two teams will play seven games in the Western Conference Finals twice in three years.

On June 10, the Eastern Conference has confirmed that the Cavaliers led by LeBron James will win the Eastern Conference championship for the first time in team history. The last game of the Western Conference Finals series will determine who will meet the Cavaliers in the finals.

Finally, this day has come, and Fang Zhuo's distracted mood of the phone has been pulled back by a decisive game.

He prepared throat lozenges, easy-to-tear jerseys, a group of friends waving team flags, and PR media cameras in advance, intending to participate deeply in the seventh game.

However, in the afternoon, O'Neal unexpectedly decided to come to the scene to watch the game and witness with his own eyes whether a miracle would happen.

The "If a black man can be the commander-in-chief" that circulated on the Internet stood on the sidelines of "If the Rockets can win the championship", which murdered many reporters' photos.

"What if we lose?" Fang Zhuo asked O'Neal after the game started.

"I believe in myself just like you believe in the Rockets." O'Neal's seemingly ambiguous answer.

The problem is that Fang Zhuo actually believes in O'Neal's miracle more.

He could only look excited, OK, believe in the Rockets, believe in O'Neal!

The game was tense.

From coaches to players to live audiences to live broadcast audiences, everyone was worried about the result of this game, which also made this game create a new high in the ratings of this year's playoffs.

Is it the Spurs' revenge championship, or the Rockets' Why not?

In the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, the two teams tied for the 13th time in this game.

Fang Zhuo took a breath and began to slowly peel the throat lozenges in his pocket.

He ate one first, then handed one to Xiao O.

"What is this?" Xiao O was puzzled.

"I have a hunch that this is the sweet taste of victory." Fang Zhuo answered seriously.

Xiao O ate the throat lozenges and found that Mr. Fang was lying. The taste was not that sweet, and the mint flavor was a bit irritating.

In the last minute, the Rockets and Spurs tied 84:84 again.

The Spurs made a mistake, and Carter grabbed the ball!

Carter pushed forward to half court, but was also made a mistake by Parker's steal.

The Spurs reorganized the offense, Parker held the ball, Ginobili ran, and Duncan fell to the low post.

There were only six seconds left in this offense. Ginobili received the pass and shot a difficult fadeaway jump shot!

It didn't go in! It bounced out of the frame! Duncan missed the tip-in!

Yao Ming protected the key rebound!

There were only five seconds left in the game, and the Rockets had the ball!

Rockets coach Nelson unexpectedly did not call a timeout, leaving everything to the players on the court.

Duncan tried to cut the basketball from Yao Ming's hand, and Rockets' Nash and Carter rushed to the front court from the left and right. They all chose to trust Yao Ming's long pass!

Yao Ming held the basketball high and threw it forward without hesitation.

Nash, who was two steps outside the three-point line, received this accurate pass and passed it to Carter, who was closer to the basket, in less than a second.

Carter received the ball!

There were only three seconds left!

He chose to layup!

In the last second, Carter seemed to have eyes behind him, and he faked a shot, shaking off Ginobili who was returning to defense, and gently sent the ball into the basket!

Time ran out, leaving no chance for the Spurs to kill!

The whole court was silent, the whistle sounded, the score was valid, the Rockets took off, and the live broadcast was boiling!

Fang Zhuo witnessed the classic trident cooperation in the last round of the tie-break. When he heard the whistle, he jumped up from his seat, tore off his jersey with all his strength, and reiterated the playoff culture in front of the home fans and media cameras.

"Why not!"

"Why not!"

"FFFF, Why not!!"

At this time, O'Neal also stood up excitedly.

Fang Zhuo turned around and yelled at O'Neal: "Why not?"

O'Neal responded in the live broadcast and under the camera, shouting loudly: "Yes, we can!"

Fang Zhuo raised O'Neal's hand and shouted: "Why not? Yes, we can!!"

Who said the Rockets can't win three consecutive championships? Who said O'Neal can't be the leader?

The organization has decided, and you will get the votes.

O'Neal and I are in the same mind, and O'Neal will approve it for me. Yes, U can, Yes, U can.