Nutshell Electronic Huangdong: The first secret shell router "Use unknown interface"

A few days ago, a "shell router packaging spy photos leaked" message in the Internet set off a small waves, two or three months after the release has been no more information about the shell router finally to the "still hold pipa half cover" posture revealed the "suspected" version of the box uncover, inside exactly what kind of mysterious objects? Smart dressed in the shell of the electronics can not give the smoke gradually up the smart router market to bring surprises? Is it a gimmick to use the legendary "Unknown interface" on the shell route? With these questions, the reporter has been linked to the Shell Electronics Vice President Huangdong, and he is also the founder of the shell router. CCW: The real machine of the shell router. Huangdong: Now we are still doing the internal test, ask our users to help us do the test. This part of the user's composition is more decentralized, there are school students, as well as ordinary staff, such as the telecommunications industry, the computer room, as well as bank staff, a lot, quite miscellaneous. It is expected that the test will be completed by early April, and the exact timing of the formal release depends on the progress of the entire test. CCW: What does the legendary "interface with unknown purpose" do? Huangdong: We will announce the purpose of this interface at a press conference before the official sale. It's not worth it now. CCW: Are these people in the beta now involved in the test of "Unknown interface"? Huangdong: It's not going to be involved, it's totally two pieces. Because the interface itself test we have already finished, the key is the interface we will have some equipment, these devices from development to testing, the entire production cycle is relatively later than the router itself. The completion of these device tests may be done after the conference, and possibly before the conference, which depends. CCW: "The Use of Unknown interface" is connected to the device is also the shell of their own products? Huangdong: For the time being, we will make an example of ourselves, in fact, there are two partners in the follow-up. We just give them the specification of this interface and some relevant data. The idea for the device on this "unknown interface" is that it can be provided by a partner, and that the platform is completely open, but we also do our own equipment. CCW: What kind of products do these two partners do? Huangdong: Most of them belong to doing this "more fun stuff", there is a home and smart products closer, and one is related to PC peripherals. CCW: Now many homes are also doing smart routers, you feel that the shell route is now involved, in addition to the known can be seen on the shell router, "LCD screen", it has any other advantages? Huangdong: First of all, I think the screen itself is really a very unique thing, on the screen in addition to simple operation, we do some of the above application, so that users to really use it, it will be easier to operate. Next, these applications, we will gradually open up, so that interested people can be used to do it; the second, as you know, we and our investment side (Shanda) together inDo something in common, Shanda has a very good game user resources, so we will be with them, for games and game users of the service to do some more in-depth things; the third is the mysterious interface you mentioned, we always think that routers can do more things, but the so-called do different things above, There may be different people have different ideas, feel can do this, you can do that, so we specialize in such an interface, we want to put the router's internal hardware and services open, so that more people can use. CCW: Shell Route These applications above, based on what platform development? Huangdong: Routers inside the application we made two interfaces, an interface is that we have a complete set of web interfaces, this may be more than our router is actually released later to provide. This web-based development will be more and more easy. Because the web will have a menu, go into the next step by step, the developer does not need to think about what I have to try to match some of the models and other things. Our model is actually very much like the micro-letter. The second is to deepen and lower the development of some. Similar to doing Android development, just because routers do not have an Android device so high CPU configuration. CCW: Will the application market of the shell be established? Huangdong: We will have an application market, we hope to use this way to reduce the threshold for developers to allow users to really use. CCW: What do you think is really a smart router, now into the "smart router" era? Huangdong: There is no real smart router product in the market right now, including the Shell's own router. I think it's just a small step in the direction of the smart router, or it's just a 2.5-generation router that is now a middle-generation product. First of all, I think that all intelligent products must have a good input and output, as well as the need to increase the scalability of different functions, that is, application and content services can form an ecological circle. Now the router is more just a data communication device, so he is just a functional device, not able to accomplish something called intelligent. Of course, the router also has CPU, memory and storage, it seems to be able to do intelligent things, but he does not have the input and output interface, the second his computing power is relatively weak. So, I think the first step to the smart router is to let the router have the ability to input and output, that is, the ability to interact, and then gradually let it become a user to use more features, and has a unique service and application of the ecological circle, this is more important. CCW: What are the technical bottlenecks in the smart Router? Huangdong: First of all, his first bottleneck is the idea of inertia. Like the mobile phone, people think that mobile phone is a communication tool, do something else always feel a bit strange look. However, the development of the whole era and industry, so that every person holding a mobile phone fantasy can be enoughIt goes online, so it appears today's smartphone. So, so is the router, it has a greater inertia, we think it is a place in the corner, can help the internet things good; the second is that the router this product in fact in the past decade has not changed, the traditional several chip suppliers have been very stable, They did not produce any major technological innovation, nor consciousness to do any reform, although each one wants to have some changes in the market pattern, but they do not know how to change is the real basis for success, so upstream and downstream, as well as manufacturers are relatively stable. We really want him to change, how they jump out of the traditional thinking, willing to work with us to change the router, it really takes some effort. Last year I started to do shell routing, my product design to find every manufacturer to talk, they said: "You give the router a screen, you crazy?!" "Nobody wants to help us do it. Of course, now our products released, there are many manufacturers come to us, willing to help us to do some foundry, now no one scold me is crazy. But it is conceivable that last year we found so many partners, they do not recognize our ideas, that time is indeed very painful. I think the promotion can only be the router era, or need a large process, from upstream to downstream are inertial. The third is that the router itself is actually representing a family, or the Internet deep into every entity room inside the important things, this thing intelligent, it still relies on a unique application market, or to do the ecology of the app ecosystem and services. Just like in 2009, 2010, when everyone thought about whether to use mobile phone to write word? Can you use your mobile phone to send e-mail? But today, in addition to the mobile phone can use Alipay, some of it is not on the PC, such as taxi software. Mobile phones are already showing more and more apps and services that can only be applied to mobile phones. I think the next app and service needs to be fully developed on the router, which takes a while. CCW: App only on a particular device, now does the router appear? Huangdong: Not yet. Now, like the early mobile phone, is the PC and mobile phone above the app imagined as a router can also be used, the real his appearance still need some time, need more and deeper to the user, the product, the industry's thinking. CCW: Now does the shell route consider the design in this direction? Huangdong: We are now doing two of these products, the purpose is to let everyone to find the feeling, including ourselves. We think it is very interesting, after taking out, let the user to feel is not a fun thing. These two products are related to the "Unknown interface" and the screen.