15: Red Star Generation 1 (1998)

In the video, phones from several manufacturers were placed on a table, all powered off due to lack of battery. As the power was turned on, all the phones began charging simultaneously. The video fast-forwarded, and the red star 1 was the first to complete its charge, freezing the clock at 61 minutes. The other phones generally finished charging more than two hours later.

"As you can see in the video, our red star 1 has a larger battery and faster charging speeds. In comparison, the battery capacities of these other phones generally don't exceed 2000mAh. The largest, the da mi 1st generation, is only 1900mAh, while our red star 1 is 2200mAh!"

"A 2200mAh battery, and we managed to fully charge it in 61 minutes! This is thanks to Red Star's powerful technical reserves; we've equipped this phone with an 18-watt charging specification!"

"While other manufacturers are still using 5W charging at 5V1A, what does our 18W charging mean?"

[Remember this site's domain name; read Taiwan novels on Suishikan anytime]

"We are miles ahead!"

A collective gasp of cold air rose from the audience.

18-watt charging?

Fully charged in 61 minutes?

Terrifyingly powerful!

"Of course, this time we've equipped the red star 1 with dual front and rear cameras. The rear camera uses Red Star's independently developed 7-piece stacked lens module. It boasts 8 megapixels and a larger light intake, allowing you to take beautiful photos even in dark environments."

"For the front lens, we've used OV's 390 lens, which is a 1.3-megapixel camera."

"Besides that, I'd like to introduce the latest Starlight OS interface featured on our red star 1."

"This interface is the result of the hard work of all our Red Star Engineers. We've moved away from the old styles of the past and adopted a brand-new interface."

"First, we've discarded the drawer-style secondary menu, placing all applications directly on the home screen."

"Second, all our icons and animations have been redrawn and developed to be more aesthetic and fluid."

"Third, our Engineer team has performed extensive optimizations on the android underlying files. This ensures our phones remain smooth during long-term use and solves the common android issues of crashing and overheating."

As Chen Chen finished introducing the UI, Lei Jun, who was watching the launch event on-site, experienced a change in expression.

This?

What's the difference between this and my MIUI?

I can't say it's identical, but it's remarkably similar!

Chen Chen, you brat, you've really got something.

And you were thinking about coming to Xiaomi to learn?

Learn? Learn my foot!

If I let you come, you'd steal everything from Xiaomi until we didn't even have our underwear left.

It wasn't just Lei Jun who noticed the similarity between Starlight OS and MIUI; many audience members who were already using MIUI noticed it too.

Chen Chen continued his introduction without batting an eye. It wasn't plagiarism anyway; it was just taking inspiration.

Inspiration, you understand?

"Next is perhaps the part everyone is most concerned about: the price. Before I announce it, I'd like to ask everyone two questions, alright?"

"Alright!"

Hearing the scattered responses, Lu Weibing thought to himself, 'Hiring some paid "audience members" was actually useful after all.'

'Otherwise, this kid would be facing a dead silence right now.'

"Is our red star 1 beautiful?"

"Beautiful!"

The voices were significantly louder this time. After all, the design of this phone was quite commendable, plus it came in various colors and allowed for user-replaceable shells.

"As long as everyone feels the red star 1's appearance is acceptable, then our designers' hard work wasn't in vain."

"Regarding the price—because we used independently designed and developed chips and lens modules, along with such fast charging speeds, and provided everyone with a 1G+8G memory combination—the price might exceed your psychological expectations."

Watching Chen Chen's voice become increasingly hesitant, the audience's hearts began to sink.

It couldn't really be over 3000, could it?

"The Red Star executives originally wanted to price this phone at 2999, but after our overnight discussions, I finally convinced them. So, our price is—"

The audience held their breath, waiting for Chen Chen to reveal the answer.

A few digits slowly appeared on the large screen: ??98.

The audience looked at the price that hadn't been fully revealed yet, but their hearts had already settled.

Even if it's 2998, it's a great value!

Moreover, since Chen Chen was being mysterious, there was a high probability it wasn't 1999.

But as Lei Jun looked at those "??98," his heart jumped into his throat.

This kid... he wouldn't actually go with 1998, would he?

It was one thing to imitate Xiaomi's marketing and another for the UI to copy Xiaomi's MIUI, but regarding this price, Lei Jun was truly worried Chen Chen would do something reckless.

"Our final price is 1998!"

Whoosh!

As Chen Chen's voice fell, the audience erupted into unprecedented cheers and applause.

Lei Jun, however, was so shocked that he stood straight up from his chair.

"How does he dare!"

"Our procurement cost for the mi 1 is almost 2000. Even if Red Star gets it a bit cheaper than us, selling it for 1998 means he's not making any money. And unlike Xiaomi, they don't have internet projects to subsidize it. What's the point?"

The people nearby looked at Lei Jun, so he had to suppress the questions in his heart and sit back down.

"Is the price of 1998 sincere enough?"

"Yes! President Chen, you're the coolest!"

"Does everyone want one?"

"Yes!"

"Alright then, security, watch the doors. Later, everyone has to buy one of our red star 1 phones before they're allowed out!"

"Hahaha..."

A burst of laughter rang out from the crowd.

"Just joking with everyone. I believe those in the know have already guessed that we aren't making any money at all on this Red Star phone. Selling it for 1998 is purely because we want to make friends with all of you."

"Just to make friends, we're not earning a dime!"

"Next, the reservation channel for our red star 1 will open on our Red Star official website. You can also search for and download the Red Star Mall app to make a reservation."

"The first batch of 200,000 units will go on sale next Friday at 10:00 AM sharp. We hope everyone can come and support us."

"This launch event is now over. Please leave the venue in an orderly fashion."

"Thank you, everyone!"

Lei Jun felt a bit dazed as he left his seat.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I supposed to do?

Our Xiaomi worked hard for a month just to produce 10,000 units, and you, Red Star, just open your mouth and have 200,000 units of stock ready.

Dammit, you even copied our Xiaomi's sale time.

To hell with Friday at 10:00 AM!

Watching Chen Chen walk quickly off the stage, Lei Jun had no desire to speak with him and stood up to head outside.

On the contrary, Yu Chengbei, the new head of Huawei's mobile terminal division, approached enthusiastically.

"President Chen is truly young and promising! The red star 1 at 1998 has really opened my eyes!"

"President Yu, you flatter me. Huawei is the big brother of our domestic mobile phones; I should be the one learning from you."

The older and younger men shook hands warmly and then exchanged business cards.

"President Chen, we at Huawei also have a launch event at the end of the year. I hope you can come and support us then."

"Certainly, certainly."

"I'll let you get back to work, President Chen. I won't disturb you any longer."

Watching Yu Chengbei leave, Chen Chen knew that he was also a difficult person to deal with.

They were all old foxes in the digital and software industries.