Steal the enemy's base at the start and build a technological empire.

Chapter 428 Star Language Mobile Version Launch

March 22, 2003, Silicon Valley, Star Language Technology.

Carly was sitting in the conference room, a large screen in front of her displaying Xingyu's user data—150 million registered users worldwide, 80 million monthly active users, and 30 million daily active users. The data looked impressive, but her expression wasn't relaxed. She picked up the phone and dialed Ling Yun's number.

"President Ling, the trend of mobile internet is becoming increasingly clear. Xingyu must release a mobile version; we can't wait any longer."

Lingyun said, "Okay, let's release a Java mobile version of Xingyu first. We can't just copy the PC version. Mobile screens are small, and the interaction logic needs to be redesigned due to touch operation."

"Core functionalities focus on text chat, voice calls, file transfer, and social media updates. Simultaneously, we are developing a complete mobile push service to provide a messaging channel for the future application ecosystem."

Carly jotted down a few notes in her notebook. "The team needs to expand. For mobile development, prioritize SparkOS. Symbian and Windows Mobile will be considered later. You can define the mobile interaction specifications. I only have one requirement—speed."

Carly said, "I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Carly immediately convened a meeting with the core mobile team. The meeting room held seven or eight people, including veterans transferred from the PC team and newly recruited mobile development engineers.

Carly relayed Ling Yun's instructions, then said, "Time is tight. The developer beta version of Spark OS is due at the end of the year, and we must develop the Star Language mobile version before then. Not a demo, but a usable version."

An engineer raised his hand. "Carly, the Spark OS SDK is still unstable; we've encountered quite a few problems during development."

Carly said, "We compile a list of issues and report them directly to Wang Jianguo's team. We synchronize information between the two sides weekly, ensuring that no issues are left unresolved beyond the week."

Another engineer asked, "What about the UI design? We definitely can't just port the PC interface directly to the mobile phone."

Carly said, "Redesign. Touch-first, less information density, larger touch area. Get a few mobile users to do usability testing, don't just blindly design it yourself."

The meeting lasted two hours. After it ended, Carly returned to her office, turned on her computer, and began writing the product requirements document for the Star Language mobile version. Halfway through, her phone rang; it was Ling Yun.

"Carly, there's something I need to tell you. Microsoft's 'Project Great Wall' isn't just targeting OEMs. They're targeting application developers too."

Carly's hand stopped. "What do you mean?"

"Microsoft is putting pressure on app developers. If developers prioritize developing apps for Windows Mobile or make them exclusive to Windows Mobile, Microsoft will provide them with promotional resources, technical support, and even direct financial subsidies. Conversely, if developers prioritize developing for Spark OS, Microsoft will raise the review threshold for the Windows platform and may even remove the app from the App Store."

Carly paused for a few seconds, then said, "This is nipping us in the bud."

"Yes. So the significance of Xingyu Mobile is not just the product itself. It's a signal—telling all app developers that Xinghuo's ecosystem is alive, has users, and is worth investing in. Xingyu is Xinghuo OS's first killer app. If you do it well, developers will follow."

Carly took a deep breath. "I understand."

After hanging up the phone, she stared at the product requirements document on the screen for a long time. Then she deleted a section and rewrote it. This time, she no longer saw Xingyu as just a chat tool. She saw it as a platform—the first cornerstone of the Xinghuo Mobile ecosystem.

Suzhou, April 25, 2003.

When Ling Yun got out of the car, the building in front of him reminded him of Xinvino—a gray-white exterior, blue windows, and a sign that read "Suzhou Dawei Optoelectronics." A tall, thin man in his forties stood at the door, wearing a dark blue work uniform. He saw Ling Yun, walked quickly over, and extended his hand.

"Mr. Ling, I am Chen Linsen from Su Dawei. Welcome."

Chen Linsen led Ling Yun inside. The workshop wasn't large, but it was very clean. Workers wearing cleanroom suits were operating several pieces of equipment.

Chen Linsen pointed to one of the machines and said, "This is a micro-nano imprinting equipment that we developed ourselves, used to make the transparent conductive layer for touch sensors. The traditional process uses ITO, but ITO has several problems—high resistance, resulting in significant delay when making large sizes; the material is brittle and lacks flexibility; indium is a rare metal, so the cost cannot be reduced."

"We use a metal mesh with nanoimprinting, which has a resistance an order of magnitude lower than ITO, about the same light transmittance, and half the cost."

Ling Yun stood in front of the equipment, watching for a while. The robotic arm fed a transparent film into the printing press, the upper and lower molds closed, pressure was applied, heat was applied, and the mold opened. A fine grid pattern appeared on the film, almost invisible to the naked eye. "Could this be done on a mobile phone screen?"

Chen Linsen said, "Theoretically, it's possible. But mobile phone screens have much higher precision requirements. What we're currently making are mainly touch screens for tablets and laptops. For mobile phone screens, the line width needs to be reduced by half again. We're working on that and expect to have samples next year."

Ling Yun said, "Xinghuo will invest 30 million yuan to build a pilot production line for mobile phone touch screen sensors. The goal is to produce a usable sample by the end of next year."

Chen Linsen said, "Okay."

Just as Ling Yun was about to leave, Chen Linsen suddenly called out to him. "Mr. Ling, there's something I need to tell you."

Ling Yun turned around.

"A Taiwanese touch screen manufacturer approached us, wanting to acquire our metal mesh patent."

Ling Yun looked at him. "Which one?"

"TPK Holding. They make touchscreens for Apple's iPod. They said that metal mesh is the future, and TPK Holding wants to buy our patent and then build their own production line."

Lingyun asked, "What did you reply?"

Chen Linsen said, "I told them I wouldn't sell the patent. Then they asked if I could license it, and I said I had already signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with Xinghuo."

Ling Yun was silent for a few seconds. "What was their reaction?"

"Their vice president didn't look too good. As he left, he said something like, 'You'll regret tying yourself to Xinghuo.'"

Ling Yun smiled. "Whether you regret it or not isn't up to you or him. It's up to the product."

Chen Linsen nodded. "President Ling, I trust Xinghuo. Not because of the money, but because you understand the technology. When you came to visit last time, none of the questions you asked sounded like a layman's. I feel at ease working with someone who knows the industry."

Ling Yun patted him on the shoulder. "Be grounded, but don't slack off on your technique. Chen Hong's focus on the metal mesh means this is the right path. But they're chasing us. We need to run faster."

As Ling Yun left Suzhou Dawei, he got into his car, took out his phone, and sent Li Mo a text message: "The metal mesh touch screen in Suzhou will have samples next year. Chenhong is keeping an eye on it; we need to speed things up."

A few seconds later, Li Mo replied: "Received. Fingerworks is also optimizing the transparent conductive layer. The two sides have different technical approaches, which can complement each other."

TPK Holding, the Taiwanese manufacturer that would later become a core supplier of touchscreens for Apple's iPhones, is now eyeing metal mesh and Suzhou Vigor.

This means that the path that Spark has taken in touch screen technology has already caught the attention of giants in the supply chain.