It’s a difficult situation for Master Zhou. Is there any hope for Qihoo 360?

On May 6, there were a lot of press conferences in Beijing. Xiaomi, 360, and Nubia all invited the media to gather in Beijing. Xiaomi held a tasting session, Nubia held a press conference, and 360 just launched a new mobile phone brand, not the legendary Wukong, but Qiku, a fusion of Qihoo and Coolpad.

At 360's press conference, we saw real estate tycoons, heard Zhou Hongyi's stand-up comedy that was no worse than Luo Yonghao's, and he teased Lei Jun. However, we did not get much information about the products. In the increasingly competitive smartphone market, does the latecomer Qihoo have a chance?

1. What will the Qihoo phone look like?

At the press conference, Zhou Hongyi didn't say much about the product, but he still revealed some information.

First of all, Zhou Hongyi talked about the concept of 5,000 yuan products, the cost price. What does this mean? In fact, we can find the answer by exploring Coolpad's product line.

The so-called 5,000 yuan product has always existed in Coolpad's product line, and it is Coolpad's Grand View series. This series has always been known for its large screen, high configuration, excellent workmanship and high price.

I have tested Coolpad's flagship products in the past two years. The latest model of the Daguan series is the Platinum, which is top-notch in terms of configuration and workmanship. Platinum uses dual-camera multi-frame synthesis technology to improve the photography level, and also uses stainless steel laser engraving technology to make the frame. The screen quality and UI fluency are impeccable, but the price is a bit expensive.

Zhou Hongyi said that the 5,000 yuan product is at cost price. It is estimated that Coolpad will take the flagship of the Grand View series and sell it at a cost price. This will be the high-end series among the three mobile phones Zhou Hongyi mentioned. However, this phone will not be too cheap even if it is sold at cost price.

Zhou Hongyi later said in response to a question that young people can afford it, so there will obviously be low-priced products among the three models. According to the current supply chain situation, at least one of them will be priced below 1,000 yuan, and there will even be a machine positioned as Redmi 2A, which is a high-volume product at this price.

The reason why 360 makes mobile phones is to increase sales volume. Only making high-end products will limit sales, so low-end phones must also be made.

Therefore, Qihoo will have three models of mobile phones: high, medium and low. The high-end model will have top-notch configuration and workmanship and a surprising price, while the mid- and low-end models will not be much different from its competitors, exchanging price for volume and helping 360 occupy the entrance to the smartphone market.

2. The highlight is crowdfunding

Although Coolpad has strong hardware capabilities and Zhou Hongyi is an expert in user experience, it is still difficult to stand out solely by products in 2015 when smartphones are highly homogenized.

Other manufacturers have also racked their brains to come up with various gimmicks in recent years. Hammer's breakage insurance was quickly learned by other manufacturers. Huawei relied on its advantage as an operator to provide free WIFI traffic. LeTV promoted its own LeTV membership, which theoretically also provided free mobile phones. 360 no longer has many options available.

You have to admire Master Zhou's wit. When all the opportunities for additional competitive means had been exhausted, Master Zhou came up with the idea of ​​crowdfunding equity.

The stock market is doing well this year. We have seen the myth of Baofeng Technology's continuous daily limit increase. The valuation growth of technology companies from start-up to financing is also amazing. Xiaomi's valuation has increased more than 200 times since its establishment. If Master Zhou allows users to buy shares, in the future, as the capital bubble appreciates, users will not only buy cheap phones, but may even make a fortune.

If Lei Jun allowed users to buy shares worth 100 RMB when buying a Xiaomi 1, then today, users would have Xiaomi shares worth more than 20,000 RMB, which could be sold to buy n iPhone 6 Plus phones. The method Zhou Hongyi proposed is tempting enough.

As long as the user has Qiku's equity, he and Qiku will become a community of interests. The more mobile phones he helps Qiku sell, the more valuable his equity will be. He will definitely spare no effort to recommend Qiku's mobile phones to relatives and friends. Zhou Hongyi's move is very smart and only suitable for start-ups. Major competitors cannot imitate it. (Xiaomi has grown up, and even if it follows up with equity, there is not much room for appreciation.) Zhou Hongyi is really amazing.

3. The future of Qihoo depends on the specific system design

In terms of products, Qiku has Coolpad's technology and Zhou Hongyi's understanding of user experience, which can make it the best in the industry. But the real key is the institutional design of equity.

How much should I pay for a mobile phone? How to design the repurchase of equity? Can equity be traded? ... Once this set of things is designed, it will become the core competitiveness of Chuangku.

For users, mobile phones are almost worn out after 2 or 3 years, and the hardware needs to be updated and replaced. However, Chinese brand mobile phones on the market are homogeneous, with similar prices and quality.

In this case, if you buy a Qiku phone, you will get equity and you may make a lot of money in the future. Why not? Therefore, the key to Qiku's success lies in the design of the future equity sharing system. If this is well designed, it will not be difficult for Qiku to catch up.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.