Japan's 3G network and "the most beautiful mobile phone" were originally related to this old man

time:2023-03-24 11:11:14 source:scripttoolbox.com author:Chassis
Japan's 3G network and "the most beautiful mobile phone" were originally related to this old man

After watching the TV series "Naoki Hansawa", you must be deeply impressed by the intricate case and the reorganization of the airline company involving a shocking scandal. While the airline is the backdrop to the story, its real-life prototype can still be seen as a classic example of modern business and aviation operations: Japan Airlines, the world's third-largest airline at the time, officially filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and two years later But successfully turned losses into profits. (Source: JAL) After JAL filed for bankruptcy, Kazuo Inamori, then 78, was ordered to serve as the chairman of this company that is related to the Japanese economy. In just two years, entrepreneurs from the manufacturing industry handed over the management philosophy summed up by their own experience to the management, and used the "amoeba management" model in which a small team assumes business responsibility to change the original system, and eventually went bankrupt with profits. The restructured JAL brought out the quagmire. On August 24, 2022, Kazuo Inamori passed away at the age of 90, and his ideological and commercial success was mentioned again. Before saving JAL a few years ago, he successively founded two Fortune 500 companies, Kyocera, a technology company, and KDDI, the second largest communications operator in Japan. Similar to the tech companies we know well, these two companies have made a profound impression on the mobile phone and communication industries in his country.

Kyocera from ceramics to smartphones

Kazuo Inamori founded Kyoto in 1959, when he was 27 Ceramics Co., Ltd., which is now Kyocera. Kyocera initially focused on ceramic products. After the ceramic insulators used for picture tube TVs gained a firm foothold in the market, it gradually expanded its ceramic product line to more electronic components, industrial manufacturing, and scenes required for daily life, beginning to take shape as a technology enterprise. (Source: Kyocera) Kyocera, well-known to photography enthusiasts, is the Kyocera camera product line formed after the merger with Yashica in the 1980s and the acquisition of the Contax brand from Zeiss. Kyocera cameras are not related to ceramic materials. At their peak, they were mainly point-and-shoot cameras and high-end products for film photography. Zhihu users think that Kyocera’s lag in imaging technology made it launch the camera market in 2005. Just like most of the top Japanese technology companies that have experienced the wave of technology and the era of the bubble economy, there are still many cases of Kyocera's "doing business": it launched a portable laptop computer powered by batteries, and sold audio such as CD players and tape recorders. equipment, dabble in more electronic components than ceramics, and even sold photovoltaic products around the millennium. The Kyocera mobile phone that we came into contact with earlier is relatively "young". In 2000, Kyocera acquired Qualcomm's mobile phone design and production department in the United States, and then established Kyocera Wireless to enter the mobile phone market. In 2008, Kyocera bought the Sanyo mobile phone division and merged and reorganized the two mobile phone business subsidiaries. At the same time, Kyocera hopes to gain market share in Latin America and other markets with the help of entry-level mobile phones. Inheriting the CDMA network technology route from Qualcomm, and also a mobile phone company led by a Japanese entrepreneur, Kyocera's mobile phones are naturally basically customized by operators. Businesses need to do designs such as three-proof and elderly machines. However, in the history of Kyocera mobile phones, it is not completely without highlights. The Kyocera mobile phone most recognized by Chinese mobile phone users is the Kyocera KSP8000, which was launched as a telecom customized machine when Kyocera tried to enter the Chinese market again in 2012. As early as ten years ago, this phone had a rather different horizontal flip dual-screen design, and provided multitasking parallel display or a single application dual-screen expansion experience at the software level, like the old predecessors of folding screen phones. (Picture source: Kyocera) Unfortunately, the dual-screen concept did not allow the KSP8000 to seize the Chinese market opportunity for Kyocera, and only overheated among players who favored special experiences. Today, Kyocera is still launching carrier-customized mobile phones overseas. In North America, it is mainly "muscle-shaped" products with three-proof and outdoor attributes. In Japan, it is mainly based on sub-scenario products such as smart phones for the elderly with clamshell shape and large font interface. . Kyocera has the typical characteristics of a large number of large Japanese companies. It has firmly established itself in the market by relying on its fortune business, and has boldly tried new product lines in the historical process. In the end, it is still known to the world for its main business and founder anecdotes. Yes, in reviewing the contents of Kazuo Inamori's life, he often mentions his humanistic business management ideas first, and then gives an example of such a company he founded.

KDDI, which promotes the beauty of mobile phone design

In 1984, Japan opened up the communications industry and allowed private capital to enter the market, led by Kazuo Inamori The next Kyocera and Mitsubishi, Sony, Secom and a total of 25 companies jointly established a communication operator called Second Denen (DDI). In 2000, three communication companies, DDI, KDD and IDO, merged to form KDDI, the second largest communication operator in Japan today. Japan's 3G network commercialization process is relatively early. KDDI has officially operated CDMA2000 network since 2002. The data communication bandwidth has been greatly improved and combined with the promotion of operators, it has a rich application and service system. According to reports, KDDI, which appears in the communication market under the au brand, has launched a free service for intra-operator communication, so many companies use it as the choice for work communication. (Source: KDDI) Watching news, chatting, mobile wallets, infrared remote control, mobile games, high-definition shooting... More than a decade ago, Japanese mobile phones had functions with names similar to today's smartphones. However, all this is limited to the name. Japanese communication operators are racing around the ground, so all functions are limited to a relatively niche market space, and the experience level cannot be compared with openness and tolerance. The advancement of mobile communication in the 3G era has prompted the popular QR Code (QR Code) in the world to appear widely in Japan as early as possible. However, the application scenarios at that time were still slightly "rigid", and most of them only used the basic functions of QR codes to carry text information such as hyperlinks with graphics, as shortcuts that existed in reality and did not require manual input of URLs, and were rarely extended. A deeper experience. KDDI's far-reaching influence on global technology enthusiasts focuses on the Infobar series of mobile phone products, showing what kind of sparks can collide between mobile phones and design. The Infobar, run by Naoto Fukasawa, brings the impression of color blocks with prominent features and contrasts. It is also unique in the Japanese market when a hundred flowers bloomed in the past, and it also expanded the influence of Naoto Fukasawa's design in the technology circle. (Source: KDDI) In public perception, mobile phones carry more of their tool attributes as communication devices, so the appearance design is relatively not a point that should be prominent. In the era of smartphones reinvented by the iPhone, those mobile phone products with the most top-notch creativity and manufacturing standards have also chosen a shape that is not too public, to help users focus on the various content displayed on the screen. Infobar has always done the opposite. After entering the era of smartphones, this product line first reproduced the classic candy bar button shape, and then transferred most of the front area to the screen, bringing the design style into the In the overall system interface and interactive experience. Unfortunately, as we know, Infobar still has a large number of fans, but the interface does not need to be overwhelming for daily use.

Classic and beauty will live on

Whenever there is a trend of people with far-reaching influence, we always say that an era changes with him leave. As for whether the series of business management philosophies advocated by Kazuo Inamori that focus on humanistic care will disappear in the social environment of productivity changes and the gradual growth of new labor relations, this question can only be left to future generations to answer. It's just that in any age, the best working environment tends to be warm. After several years in the business of precision ceramic electronic components, Kyocera has increasingly invested in photovoltaics, displays, and other fields that are closely linked to state-of-the-art productivity. However, the focus of the industry has long been shifted from Japan to the United States, China and other places, where the relationship between supply and demand is the most frequent. Whether a Japanese-led company can grasp the future direction needs to be explored by Kazuo Inamori's successors. Since the iPhone "black boat", the experience barriers established by Japanese communication operators in the 3G era have been broken and rebuilt. Users have begun to freely choose communication packages and mobile phone models, and the mobile Internet experience has also been dominated by Line and Google. Infobar has become a more pure decoration, the latest product has changed back to the button function key, and KDDI also cooperated with Bandai to launch a classic product linkage pendant. Fortunately, Kazuo Inamori and the bright spots of the company he founded will always be remembered and continued in new ways. People will seek the iteration of the enterprise architecture management model to promote a new balance of production efficiency, labor relations, and personal value realization; people will yearn for a new round of technology explosion, looking forward to how it will change life and work; finally, people will always pursue those beautiful things.

(Responsible editor:Small parts)