Independent interview with ASUS's Johnny-sie, asking about the beauty of ZenFone 2 and the secret of ASUS rapid growth and what is the ultimate dream

ASUS SIM free smartphone "ZenFone 2New product release announced in Japan sales of "Experience 2 morrowOn the day after ASUS's Johnny-Sie interviewed, how much ZenFone 2 is made with, and what is the "company idea" that holds the key to ASUS breakthrough, what is new Compute I've heard plenty about what ASUS's ultimate goal is, what value it should treasure in the arrival of the era.

GIGAZINE (hereinafter, G):
It is quick, but about the ZenFone 2 and smartphone market announced yesterday. ASUS is emerging as the No. 1 share of Japan's SIM lock free smartphone and has become a key player of the smartphone market. What do you think about the Japanese smartphone market and what kind of "weight" is placed on the Japanese market in relation to the world market?

Johnny Sie, Chairman of the Board:
The Japanese market is always a special market for me personally. Because I have a great respect for Japanese users myself because I have a big respect. Users in Japan are seeking very high quality, which is why I respect myself.


Sea Chairman:
Also, I think that a new opportunity is born by the timing of SIM unlocking of smartphone that starts in Japan from May 2015, and the arrival of a new "mobile era". Compared with other global markets, ASUS has respected the Japanese market since the presentation of ZenFone 2, and we are hoping for it as a big opportunity. And with the advent of the SIM free era, I hope that the Japanese smartphone market will "explode". I think that it is certainly a good thing for Japanese smartphone users.

There is "mega trend (large flow of the world)" which is already open on a global basis. I think that SIM unlocking in Japan matches that trend.

G:
About the sale of ZenFone 2 What are the prospects for the future?

Sea Chairman:
As I mentioned at the recital of ZenFone 2, ASUS aims to deliver "a notch luxury" that anyone can easily enjoy.


Sea Chairman:
As for the sales situation of mobile terminals in the global market of ASUS, the number of shipments which had been 10,000 units per month until then was ZenFone 1 (Note: released in 2014ZenFone 4/ZenFone 5/ ZenFone 6 etcFirst generation ZenFone series), It has grown to 1.5 million units per month since then. In total terms, ZenFone 1 will be shipments of 8 million units.

However, ZenFone 2 wants to make it a more global model. Target of shipment quantity is set to 25 million units.


G:
ASUS has surely acquired market share at very high speed in motherboards, notebook PCs and so on. I am thinking that ASUS, which has been winning in the world markets, will win even in the smartphone market, but so-calledRed OceanWhat is the "secret" that has been able to keep winning?

Sea Chairman:
When ASUS started, my dream was to "make a small but beautiful company". As an engineer at that time I was crazy about driving technology. As such, ASUS 's corporate culture is "technology driven", the foundation of technology is getting stronger.

Looking at the big trends, the telecommunications, consumer electronics industry, audio, video, etc. are all digitized. That means that everything is "computing". In other words, computing technology is key. In that sense ASUS has a very strong foundation in these fields.


Sea Chairman:
ASUS has so far placed great emphasis on quality. For example, Toyota'sLean manufacturing methodAnd in Western cultureSix · SigmaWe incorporate such methods into the company. that isEeePCIt also gave me the opportunity to start. We have worked on "Design Thinking", that is, "think about designs" throughout the company. This is to make manufacturing that emphasizes the user experience, especially among engineers from the user's point of view, from a human point of view among employees. In other words, it is also an approach to try to make the right brain and the left brain useful. We think that Innovation will be complete by Design Thinking.

Even if you see ZenFone 2, you can see that you attach great importance to beauty. We call it "designability", but I believe that we must meet both customer needs, that is emotion and rationality.


For that reason, one calls business effectiveness, "Business Buyability", but I value the thorough management of cost and schedule. However, what is more important than anything and becomes challenging is "Is it technically feasible?" As for this part, ASUS believes that he has built a solid technical foundation.

G:
Please tell me more about "beauty" that you emphasized in ZenFone 2. Is this the beauty of the appearance design?

Sea Chairman:
As you can see, the screen occupancy rate is very high. The back panel side is designed with concentric circular hair line, both front and back are very important design. Also, beauty is not just appearance.


(Sea chairman is trying to remove the back cover of ZenFone 2, but it can hardly be removed)

G:
Shall I also have ZenFone 2 in my hand?I went to Taiwan to buy itIt is.

Sea Chairman:
Oh! Is that so? Thank you, all the way to Taiwan.


Sea Chairman:
As you can see, we have a dual SIM slot, but this part is very conscious of stuffing space. We have secured space by stuffing the battery downward (toward the liquid crystal side). Moreover, the antenna is mounted in the center part of the main body, making it easy to skip the signal.

ZenFone 2 puts "performance monster (performance monster)" as the theme by realizing a new breakthrough. Since it is necessary to pack various components such as Intel's high-performance chip, dual SIM slot, microSD card slot, securing space is a very important technology.


Sea Chairman:
Although it is about appearance, many users like metal design. However, if it is made into a metal member, I think whether there is a problem that it is difficult to receive radio waves. Therefore, by using a special vacuum plating technique called NCVM, we are making it possible to obtain a metal feeling without sacrificing the sensitivity of the antenna signal.

In addition, although the volume key was placed on the back, this is from the viewpoint of ergonomics, which makes it easier to hold the smartphone and easiness of pushing the button key. Furthermore, rather than making everything flat in a flat shape, we realize good holdability by making it rounded.


Sea Chairman:
As far as ZenFone 2 is concerned, it is finished in awareness of beauty, high performance, cost performance. Also, we attach importance to camera functions. ASUS has a research and development center named "Da Vinci Lab", and in the camera division of the laboratory, experts in the optical fieldPh.D.Holders and others are active. Through their research, we were able to develop our own "Pixel Master" technology.


Sea Chairman:
If you explain about Pixel Master, you can take pictures without sacrificing resolution even in dark places and bright places during the day. Depending on the company, you may be able to respond to shooting in dark places by darkening pixels, but doing so will make it impossible to keep the resolution high at bright scenes during the day. But with ZenFone 2 using Pixel Master technology it is now possible to take high quality pictures even in dark places and in bright places. For example, ZenFone 2 can take pictures even in very dark places under 1 lux, I think that this can not be done with iPhone or Galaxy.

It is about beautiful shooting with backlight during the day as much as shooting in the dark. ZenFone 2 has super HDR function. As I showed you at the recital, I compared it with iPhone 6 and Xperia Z3, but I think that the difference in color is clear under backlighting environment.


Sea Chairman:
There is also a feature in rapid charging technology, which enables quick charge at 60% in 39 minutes. As you can see, ZenFone 2 thinks that you can deliver a one-ranking experience (user experience) at reasonable prices.

I believe that these elements are "weapons" by combining them. Perhaps it is the answer "what is the secret?" Earlier. That is to deliver a higher value, a wonderful experience. When developing ZenFone, I always compare with iPhone and Galaxy etc. And while we compare it, we must also issue a price that is reasonable. In order to deliver high performance at a reasonable price I think that various efforts will be required for both design thinking and technology improvement.

G:
I understood that there is a thought of supporting designing technology and Design Thinking. From the user's point of view, I mentioned as "people's point of view" before, but I think that the corporate culture of ASUS often shows that "people are there." I think that many users remember that ASUS gave a print called "GOD BLESS JAPAN (God bless Japan to Japan)" on the motherboard after the Great East Japan Earthquake (Note: the occurrence of the Great East Japan Earthquake After that, the ASUS technician carried out with arbitrary praying for the earliest reconstruction in Japan). Is ASUS 's corporate attitude toward "such as people" like this one company?


Sea Chairman:
I understand that you received the compliment of compliment. Thank you very much. Whatever the business environment is, the key is the user. At the same time, employees are key to the company. Our company has set up at the beginning of company policy "to nurture and inspire employees, enhance motivation, thereby maximizing the potential of each employee and blossoming". The most important asset for ASUS is "person".


Sea Chairman:
And, as mentioned earlier, "core" is the core in Design Thinking. Today there are the Internet, especially the mobile Internet, which is a new wave, so I think that "user-centered" is a mega trend anywhere in the world. It is now possible to reach users easily via the Internet. Actually, this also brings a new concept to Design Thinking.

That means "Always improve, always update". In other words, it means that "user", "design", "product", "experience", "word of mouth", or "marketing" are all one.

The way of marketing in old times was a "one way" way of launching advertisements anyway. However, users are more intelligent (intelligent) because there is Internet in modern times. Among those situations, the most effective thing is "to deliver the best experience, the best user experience." And "To be honest". Such a thing leads to a word of mouth. This means that one loop closes or cycles can be done.


G:
At the beginning of the interview, I was told that "I wanted to make a small but beautiful company", but now ASUS is becoming a "big company". Does ASUS mean to make "a big but beautiful company"?

Sea Chairman:
Thank you very much. I myself was originally a human being oriented "technology" anyway. I was proud that ASUS, which was around its founding, was inferior to the American engineers at the time, both in terms of hardware, software and software. However, as time goes on, responsibilities have increased in many ways, so it has become impossible to rely on the potential of our employees after a certain time. I hope and trust that each employee will demonstrate my potential to the fullest at the moment.


Sea Chairman:
Mr. Inamori, a famous entrepreneur in Japan (Kyocera's founderKazuo InamoriAlthough Mr.) said what he was saying, he also had a lot of fun at the beginning, but in order to make the company a more wonderful organization, we must concentrate the strengths, strengths and efforts of all our employees It seems he thought that it would not. Considering changes in the circumstances surrounding such companies, the new goal in ASUS is to value employees. Also, we value importance of acquiring both tangible and intangible returns. Dreams will also evolve.

So now my dream is to build a global brand in the field of high technology. As I mentioned earlier, a new digital era is coming so we need to grasp new opportunities among them. And yet it is far from the goal, but becoming one of the most admired companies in the world.


Sea Chairman:
Apple is definitely one of the most admired firms right now. Even companies that have the idea of ​​wonderful Design Thinking like Apple, I think that we are still making improvements. AndSteve JobsEven in some cases there may have been a case where Design Thinking could not be done correctly. He claimed that the screen should be small, 3.5 inches is the best. However, after that, the display size increased to 4 inches, 4.7 inches over time, I thought that it led to giving Samsung a 3 year grace (time to catch up technically) I will.

Originally mobile phone terminals began with voice, so screen size may not have been so important at the start. However, now, from the point of view of the user, the voice is being replaced with mail, LINE, and so on. Screen size is becoming important as mobile terminals are becoming computing terminals. In other words, I think that Design Thinking can create a big impact.

Everyone is evolving. Even if it is No. 1 right now, I think that it must change and evolve constantly.


G:
I'd like to talk back a bit, but I told you that Japan was a special market personally. Also, Toyota lean production method and Mr. Inamori's story of Kyocera came out. I feel that Sei president has a special feeling for Japan, but why is there a reason?

Sea Chairman:
In the first place, there is a history that Taiwan had a great influence from Japan. My parents also received Japanese education so I can speak Japanese. But more than anything, there are things that I was influenced largely by the concept of importance on quality of Japan, the techniques of craftsmanship and craftsmanship to devise ingenuity, and Japan's way of thinking or "spirit". That is the spirit of "Zen". It is greatly influenced not only by the original Zen spirit of China but also by the spirit of Zen in Japan. That is why I am inspired by such a spirit of Japan.


Sea Chairman:
It is a Zen master in Japan.Suzuki Daimo, Mr. Zen who appeared 100 years laterToshitaka SuzukiMr. The spirit of Zen that these two Suzuki sensei spread, has influenced me. Suspected with Mr. Toshitaka SuzukiHirofumi OkawaJobs was studying under Mr. Morning, is a mystery if it says a mystery.

I think that not only the Japanese culture that has been greatly influenced but also the culture of the world is changing, I am gradually fusing together. In the meantime, improvements and evolution have been added to products. In the situation that the Internet and new mega trends are born, we believe that fusion of such cultures is a good thing. Since every culture has good and bad things, I think that a very good product will be born if we can collaborate "good conversation" of each culture.


Unlike old generation people like us, I think that the young generation people have the foundation to respect such situations and have a good collaboration. Young people are used to sharing. Share responsibility "Open SourceBecause I understand the concept of "generation.

Our older generations have emphasized capitalism. Of course capitalism has a good side, but there are also bad aspects at the same time. Now, I think that it is very good to say that the world is changing to a hybrid relationship, that culture fuses in such a situation.


G:
Thank you so much for your busy schedule today.