It's not just their family that's watching smart routers.

In Thursday, Chengdu listening Technology founder Li Chenggang in Beijing issued a smart router "Ruyi cloud", the "small cloud" landed on the router. In fact, they are not the only people who are bullish on smart routers. Previously, the pole route, 360, millet, etc., have been or are entering this field, and even several companies have won the venture. Routers have not changed for years, and in addition to wireless Internet access, smart routers can also be viewed as a gateway to home Internet because of their ability to pick up music, smart boxes, and family private clouds. And a scramble for the entrance, it seems, is about to start between entrepreneurs and VCs.

The dull ten-year mutation

For routers, many people are installed in the home is not unfamiliar, it is able to provide wireless Internet access devices, but recently, the router, a well-known product greatly update the potential of iterations, smart routers began to rise.

The so-called intelligent router, it is defined as a personal computer, with a stand-alone operating system, users can install control bandwidth, online acceleration, filter video ads, etc., is far from limited to the function of wireless Internet. For example, it turns a single functional product into a platform on which a PP plugin can be installed to add new features such as game acceleration, download acceleration, and global acceleration, as well as adding new usage scenarios, such as playing music wirelessly on a router.

In fact, routers are a market that has been unchanged for many years, so why do the concepts and products of smart routers suddenly appear?

"In fact, it is very simple, before the router, wireless Internet access, manufacturers are more aware of the abolition of redundant configuration." It's ' CPU ' is too weak, processing power is not high, if put some function on the top can not run. Li Cheng, founder of Chengdu Listening Technology, told reporters in recent years that some companies have tried, like Asus, to launch high-end routers with many new features. Nas, for example, allows a home router to connect to a U disk. He thinks the router is up to date, just as the phone is transitioning from a feature machine to a smartphone. "I think routers are going through a transformation from a functional machine to a smart machine," he said. ”

Dong, director general of the Beijing office of the Gobi investment, the user needs and hardware and software mature, is the driver of intelligent routers.

"The demand decides the market, the user first needs is the product to have a certain function, in the initial market product kind and the supplier are very few, the manufacturer solves the product the functional question can satisfy the user demand." "He told reporters in the south," recalls the early routers, when it is not possible to configure a router without professional it knowledge, but the user is still acceptable. The product function problem solves, is the price question, because the market has more and more products may choose, then the cost is the most important question, the consumer will compare, chooses the same function under the cheapest product. Finally, consumers are less concerned about the cost, will focus on the convenience of products, beauty and the overall user experience. And for the current router industry, has already crossed the cost to decide the consumption choice stage, 100 yuan can buy very good product, then the consumer is more difficult to endure the router initial configuration complex flow, began to pay attention to the comprehensive experience of the router, for instance the configuration is simple, can provide the global acceleration, the game acceleration and so on function.

Qiming Venture partner Gan Jianping also saw that routers have not been able to meet the needs of users. "Before the router is connected to the computer, now mobile phone, IPA D, Apple and so on to connect to the W IFI, because there are so many tools need even w IFI, but the appearance of the router and function at least 10 years have not changed." "He said that the user's demand for it is changing, want to see a lot of features are not, including everyone in the internet of things," "thing", is the home of the refrigerator, air-conditioning and other appliances, need to connect through the W IFI. More and more mobile tools are connected to the W IFI, but the router has not changed over the years, it does not know how to divert, how to control, is a stupid thing.

Of course, software and hardware technology tends to mature is also the key. Tong that if there is no mature technology will not appear in the current hot smart router products. In general, the popularity of smart phones has greatly promoted the development of intelligent equipment market, from the hardware and software two levels for intelligent routers laid the foundation.

For example, in terms of hardware, Qualcomm, M T K and other chip manufacturers have launched a very simple and universal Android mobile phone solutions, while Qualcomm and other chip manufacturers also launched a series of router solutions and public version, on the basis of which the entrepreneurial team can easily design and produce smart routers. Software, the popularity of IO s and Android smartphones, especially the A PP store model, has made users more accustomed to new products and services through the installation of a PP, while also opening a new product form for entrepreneurs, through a PP to provide services.

Tightening home internet access

At present, there are 360, shell electronics and polar routes, listening technology and other companies involved in intelligent routers. In the industry's view, we are competing for this position, because smart routers are regarded as a home internet access, to solve the needs of users, no doubt the family information of the throat.

"If it can do well, it is entirely possible to become a home internet portal." Gan Jianping said, such as Apple, millet box, music box, they did not change the router, just through a small box to make the computer, TV can sync, but if the next step, all these functions on the router inside, is completely can do, to achieve it is not difficult. Routers can be easier to operate, even the entire digital media such as video, music, photos of a terminal-controlled machine.

Tong that smart routers, if simply as a router, are difficult to become a portal, users will not stay on the router and frequent access, but if the integration of other functions, such as music, smart box, home private cloud, it may be a chance to become a new portal.

Dong analysis said, for simple configuration and other functional requirements, Shenzhen Cottage manufacturers will quickly follow up, pull down the price of products, the market to the Red Sea. Therefore, the future of smart routers is more need to integrate a variety of services to enhance user stickiness. Of course, integration and operation services are required to have a deep experience in the internet operation of the team to operate, not just hardware or software technology integration, the Chinese characteristics of the operation of the king will still be highlighted in this industry. In addition, the user's Internet portal is a military battleground, from the desktop, operating system, to smart phone hardware entrance are Red Sea blood spell. Smart router may become home Internet portal such a possibility will also cause the industry's hardware and software predators, 360, Tencent, Baidu, Ali, Huawei, ZTE, Tplink, Lok-Vision may enter this battlefield at any time, the possible competition is fierce.

Chi Lin, a partner in the investment business, believes that routers can capture the user's just needs, which is the premise of acquiring users or becoming portals.

"I personally feel that the rise of this concept comes from the stereotypes that Chinese entrepreneurs are not getting rid of, which is to do the Universal box (' Godbox ') and the control entrance. To do the universal box means to join the operating system, the control of the entrance means to go along the ' line ' to find upstream, now the router seems to be the most natural choice, especially in the W IFI Urban household penetration rate of more than 90% today. However, the most important thing is to do the application. "He said to reporters in the south, he now heard most of the so-called smart router to do the application is the movie automatic download and game acceleration. Both have mature alternatives, and will not be the cause of the user's (massive) bill. What is this k Illera pp, he felt that we have not found.

In addition, and the network on the so-called Smart set-top box selling 100-200 yuan of cabbage price, if there is no killer application, the so-called smart router may also be short-lived, can not be the basic needs of the family. Chi Lin said, "What is basic demand, telephone and SMS are basic needs." The rapid popularity of micro-letters is that it satisfies a basic demand ——— almost unlimited amount of text messages, so it can be successful.

In addition to functional integration, the manufacturers and entrepreneurs who have been involved in the study agree with the "portal" of smart routers, especially when they can relate to other devices in the home.

"Smart routers must be the gateway to home Internet information," Li Cheng said. "He's listening to the technology of the Ruyi cloud router, for example, this router has a remote-enabled function, if the user has files on the home PC, but out of the urgent need to use this document, then just use the mobile phone remote operation router to open the computer, opened the designated file, will send it to the mailbox, with a mobile phone directly to view or write. In the future, intelligent routers can be connected to electric cookers, washing machines and other household equipment, using mobile phones can be very easy to control their use of the flow, remote control cooking, laundry and so on.

Shell Electronics Vice President Huangdong also agree with this view. He told reporters in the south, such as smart routers can become a game terminal, or even a family photo, video processing equipment, or to connect the video recording back and forth. "Today mobile phone has a variety of mobile applications, routers are the same, can accept a variety of instructions and complete the action." He said that after a very multi-functional product will become an intelligent product, how to connect these devices is a new opportunity, such as the future Smart router is a conductor of all household appliances.

Ecological chain Opportunity

Because of the "smart" aura, smart routers have been a lot of people with smartphones, smart TV, and guess whether it can also form a software, hardware, operating platform and other ecological chain, and attract a large number of entrepreneurs and VCs to join.

From the public information, the smart router is a handful of manufacturers, listening to science and technology is a cloud landing on the router, the point is software, the pole route is from the hardware to do function optimization, and less wind investment into the information.

Li Cheng that technology itself is the threshold. "Traditional bosses, including routers, are not doing it, and may be related to the level of accumulation," he said. But there must be big players in the back, and the second half of this year may be a very fire concept. He said that the threshold is mainly software accumulation, otherwise it is difficult to put the software on the router, because the router is not the same as the mobile phone, its configuration is very small and weak, running software on the software itself requires very high. He revealed that the listening technology has an angel investment, is currently engaged in a round of VCs.

Huangdong said he knew that there are very small teams are also planning or are doing smart routers, at least five or six, and according to his understanding, a lot of VCs are very concerned about this piece, but more than a wait-and-see state, the real cast down.

"The interest of VCs investing heavily in hardware may be on the decline." "Hardware is easier to do with revenue, but marketing and marketing costs are too high and the odds of success are even harder than software," says Chi Lin.

And Dong Light revealed that the current smart router field of entrepreneurial team is a lot of the initial estimate of more than 10, which the traditional manufacturers are relatively few, their focus is mainly on the simple Configuration and a PP plug-in to provide game acceleration and global acceleration, there have been several smart router team to get the venture capital.

However, Tong thinks it is unlikely that smart routers will make up an ecosystem like smartphones.

"Intelligent routing has not yet formed an ecological chain, the future will not necessarily have the opportunity to grow into an ecological chain, after all, the user's expectations of its function is mainly focused on the networking level, no more expectations." Tong said that the routers are more placed in the corner of the room, their quiet and silent operation, users do not have much reason to frequent use of routers and their exclusive a PP. This point on the smart phone is very different, people will be in real time with the phone around, using mobile phones to solve the necessities of life and work entertainment problems. So, even if the router forms an ecological chain, its size and form will be very different from the mobile phone.

At the same time, Tong stressed that for this area, only the router this function is relatively thin, not enough to become a platform and portal, in order to make a difference in the smart router industry, must do a good job of other services integration and operation, not just rely on some features. "In our understanding, the future of smart routers will be mainly through subsequent software services to make money, but in the short term or mainly rely on hardware sales." The time for mass commercialization will come in 1-2 years. ”