What should a portable CD player look like?

Shirakawa Kaede decided to tell them the answer himself, so he grabbed a few small pieces of wood from the studio, measured them, and stacked them together.

"Well, that's about it." He pushed the small box of wood chips piled up forward.

"This?" Yasuda wondered if he had read it wrong.

Not only him, but even Heitaro Nakajima felt a little unbelievable.

This small wooden box with wood chips piled up is about 13 centimeters long and wide, which is not much different from the CD box of later generations.

The thickness is roughly equivalent to the height of four CD cases stacked on top of each other, so you can hold it with one hand.

It's too small, it's too unrealistic!

Why? Just look at the CD prototype in front of them.

Shirakawa Electric's first CD prototype was probably about the same size as the VCD player of later generations, or even a little thicker than that.

Now it is difficult to shrink such a desktop computer into a small box of 13 cm.

"I know it's difficult," Shirakawa Kaede picked up the small wooden box and showed it to everyone, "but please think about it from your shoes, when you are shopping for goods."

Would you choose a CD player that you can hold in your hand and take out of the house to enjoy music with your friends anytime, anywhere?

Or is it like that" Shirakawa Kaede pointed to the "stupid big one" on the desktop, "Expensive and bulky desktop CD player?" ”

How to choose, the answer is self-evident.

But the idea is one thing, and how to implement it is another.

To be able to make a prototype on the table is already a difficult task for everyone at Shirakawa Electric.

Further shrinking by leaps and bounds.

"President, we will do our best to make it happen. But shrinking into such a pocket-sized portable CD player, "Yasuda looked embarrassed in terms of time.

This is still too difficult for them, and even if it can be done, it is not guaranteed in terms of time.

"I understand, but we still have to do it." Shirakawa Kaede is not an unreasonable person, but business competition is so difficult.

As far as he knows, in addition to Sony, Philips in Europe, their prototypes are also basically completed.

Philips and Sony are racing against the clock to launch the world's first CD player before each other.

In addition to them, in Neon Local, JVC, Panasonic, and Tianlong are also in hot pursuit.

Shirakawa Electric's progress is not much ahead, and the situation is surrounded by enemies.

Is it a fantasy to suddenly want to overturn the previous design and completely change the blood?

Perhaps, but Shirakawa Kaede had to.

"In the next year, at least 5-6 brands will launch their own CD players.

We at Shirakawa Electric may be one of them, so how to stand out among so many brands is the first thing we have to consider.

It's not that the prototype in front of us isn't good enough, it's that we need something more appealing.

Of course, this prototype is not to abandon it.

Let's change the priority of the strategy, first portable CD player, backstage CD player!

Portable CD players are understood as low-end models in CD players, and desktop CD players are mid-to-high-end models.

What Shirakawa Electric is currently good at is the bottom-up development model, and we must make full use of our advantages.

Only in this way may our CD players have a chance to stand out from the fierce competition. ”

Shirakawa Kaede explained like this, and Yasuda and the others instantly understood a lot.

It's not that Shirakawa Kaede is arrogant and competes with desktop CD players, and Shirakawa Electric is definitely inferior to Sony and Philips.

Even the local Panasonic, he may not be able to beat.

For this, Nakajima Heitaro actually agrees.

As the inventors of CD technology, Sony and Philips naturally have a first-mover and technical advantage, which everyone knows.

Since you can't compete on the same track as them, why not switch to another one?

Shirakawa Kaede is by no means a dead brain, he is good at using any of his strengths flexibly.

And as I just said, portable CD players must have a wider audience and acceptance than desktop CD players.

This kind of novelty that can be held in your hand and brought to the street will definitely be the favorite of trendy youth.

There is no doubt that portable CD players have the potential to become a popular commodity.

Such a golden track, no one has paid attention to it now, and no one has competed, of course, Shirakawa Electric has to drink the soup.

Kaede Shirakawa understands for the first time!

"Good!" Yasuda gritted his teeth fiercely, and he decided to use all the time he spent to fight the portable CD player.

"Yasuda-san don't have to be nervous, I also found a helper for you." Shirakawa Kaede was almost amused when he saw Yasuda's vicious appearance.

"Eh," the latter looked at him with some confusion.

Shirakawa Kaede raised his chin and gestured to Heitaro Nakajima and the young man beside him.

"Heitaro-san Nakajima, a pioneer of CD technology, must have all heard of it.

In the future, Nakajima-san will fully support the development of portable CD players. ”

"It turned out to be Nakajima-san!" Yasuda was overjoyed, and he immediately stepped forward and enthusiastically shook Nakajima Heitaro's right hand and shook it vigorously.

The latter was made to laugh and cry by his excessive enthusiasm, but his heart was beautiful.

Look, it's still our Shirakawa people who treat people warmly, and those guys at Sony don't understand the respect for experts at all.

Under the stars holding the moon, Nakajima Heitaro's little vanity has been greatly satisfied.

As someone who works in audio research, most people here have heard of the daimyo of Heitaro Nakajima.

With him joining, everyone has a greater grasp of portable CD players.

"The other" Shirakawa Kaede walked up to the young man next to Heitaro Nakajima and patted him on the shoulder.

Hirosan Ogawa, who studied in Europe, specializes in digital technology.

One of the developers of the CD-DA format and one of the standard-setters, we will fully support the development of portable CDs in the coming period. ”

"Please take care of me," Hiroshi Ogawa was a little shy and owed.

was specially introduced by Shirakawa Kaede, and was watched by everyone, which made him feel flattered.

"Ogawa-san's name has also been heard by contemptible people.

Now I can finally assure the president that next year, Shirakawa Electric's portable CD player will be available. ”

With the help of two powerful technical masters, Yasuda finally felt that Shirakawa Kaede's plan to change the track was no longer a luxury.

The names of these two people are thunderous in the circle, but I didn't expect the president to be able to get them to Shirakawa Electric, it's really amazing.

"The next thing we have to do is to slim down the big guy in front of us, and how to make it smaller is up to you.

As for the desktop CD player, after the portable CD player is completed, we will think about how to make it more perfect. ”

First use portable CD players to occupy the market, and then slowly map for high-end models, the road must always be taken step by step.

In fact, what Heitaro Nakajima and Hiroshi Ogawa are really good at is CD technology development, that is, format development.

The SIC is where the CD Storage Format Research Center is where they should be.

However, in order to realize the commercialization of the CD player as soon as possible, Shirakawa Kaede could only temporarily transfer the two of them to support Shirakawa Electric here.

"By the way, Nakajima-san, according to your estimates, when are Sony and Philips expected to launch their own CD players?"

These two companies will undoubtedly be fierce rivals of Shirakawa Electric, and knowing when their products will be launched is also important business intelligence for Shirakawa Electric.

"It's expected to be in the second half of next year, not too soon. After all, it is a brand new product, and it takes a lot of time to verify and debug. ”

In the second half of next year, after listening to Heitaro Nakajima's answer, Shirakawa Kaede also quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

If you calculate it in this way, Shirakawa Electric should be able to catch up, and even if you can't catch up, it won't be too late.

"Nakajima-san just said that Sony's desktop CD player is likely to cost more than 150,000 yen?"

"That's right" Heitaro Nakajima nodded, this information can be roughly deduced by himself.

"It's too expensive," Shirakawa Kaede still insisted on his thoughts, "The price of our portable CD player must be controlled within 50,000 yen." ”

"Huh?" Reduced from 150,000 to 50,000, this difficulty stunned Yasuda.

"Above this price, portable CD players are unlikely to become popular." Shirakawa Kaede's thinking is very clear, "I position it on a par with the high-end model of the Walkman. ”

Shirakawa Electric's current high-end model of the Walkman is about 40,000 yen, and the price of the portable CD player should be in the same range.

Although the price may shrink a lot compared to desktops, it will still kill the Walkman in terms of sound quality, even if it is a high-end model.

However, although the sound quality portable CD player is better, it will certainly not be as refined as the latter in terms of workmanship.

The price of 50,000 yen is reasonable, and such a price is more acceptable to the public.

Think about it, Sony, Panasonic their prices are as high as more than 150,000, and my Shirakawa Electric is only 50,000 for the same thing!

Just ask if you are tempted, not only that, but Shirakawa Electric's products can also be taken out to install X~

That's right, Shirakawa Kaede is ready to be a price butcher again.

"In terms of cost, the portable CD player is replaced with an 8-bit chip from the SIC, and a 16-bit chip is used on a desktop.

As for the laser head, it is also developed by ourselves, and these two core components are determined.

The rest of the materials are up to you, but the price must be kept within 50,000 yen.

Even if the first generation of portable CD players reduced profits, it was necessary to promote it.

The cost of the production process will continue to decrease with the increase of shipments.

So don't worry about temporary gains and losses, take a long-term view. ”

The two cores of the CD player, Shirakawa Electric can be self-satisfied.

This occupies an absolute advantage in cost control.

The 8-bit chip for SIC is under development and will definitely catch up next year. According to the current production cost, it is up to one or two thousand yen.

Even if you change to an 8-digit reinforced version SIC8089 it will only cost five or six thousand, and if you count the two or three thousand yen of the laser head, the sum of the two can basically ensure that it is less than 10,000 yen.

If some other components and metal shells can be controlled within 20,000 to 30,000 yen, then the price of 50,000 yen is not an extravagant expectation.

Originally, Shirakawa Kaede also planned to go directly to the 16-bit chip, after all, the stronger the decoding ability, the better the sound quality.

But the portable CD player has been positioned at the low-end, so it is natural that the chip will be cheaper.

Roughly determine the direction, Yasuda said that they can work in this direction.

"By the way, President, what should we call our CD player?" Hasegawa in the marketing department is more concerned about the promotion of products after they are launched.

Choosing a suitable name for a new product will undoubtedly be a plus.

What is the name of Shirakawa Electric's CD player? A glimmer of light flashed in Shirakawa Kaede's eyes.

(End of chapter)