163: Chapter 163 The Complete Castration of the African Version

"Please go ahead," Cook said.

"Change the GG for the iphone 4. Stop emphasizing the revolutionary aspect; just talk about the Retina display and iOS. Be low-key; don't let the media compare us with Transsion."

Cook nodded.

"Understood."

Steve Jobs waved his hand: "You all go out. I want to rest alone for a while."

"Your health…" Bob Mansfield asked.

"Don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing."

Cough, cough. Another mouthful of bloody phlegm.

Cook, Bob Mansfield, and Philip Schiller exchanged a hesitant look once more, but ultimately chose to respect his wishes.

When everyone had left, Steve Jobs picked up that transsion s2 again.

He looked at the unfamiliar logo on the back and the perfect design, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this was a product that belonged to Apple.

However, the screen was much larger than an Apple phone, and the charger labeled 22.5W and other configurations didn't belong to an Apple phone.

Facing such a formidable enemy, how should the iphone 4s be designed? That was the question.

He remembered when he launched the Apple phone in 2007; everyone said he was crazy.

He had proven himself right.

Now, a Chinese person had proven in the same way that he could do better and achieve technological breakthroughs faster.

He used to be the one teaching the world how to make phones; now, he had become the student in turn.

For the first time, he felt that Apple was not invincible.

Steve Jobs picked up the pen next to him, preparing to write a plan, but with a fit of coughing, the pen fell to the floor…

Meanwhile, Transsion also announced its initial sales figures.

Ten days after the transsion s2 hit the market, sales exceeded 1 million units. This figure broke the record for domestic high-end phones.

CCTV News even temporarily added a promotional segment for Transsion, calling it a new breakthrough for domestic Smartphones and taking the opportunity to announce the latest results from the National Semiconductor Fund.

The most important dual-stage system for the Lithography Machine had officially been broken through, and the domestic 65nm Lithography Machine is expected to enter mass production in 2011.

This once again ignited the enthusiasm of the tech circle…

Some media outlets scrambled to report that national technology had made a major breakthrough, and the transsion s2 became even more popular.

As for the notorious procrastinator Xiaobai Unboxing, after 10 days, he finally released his review video.

However, this time he didn't throw the Transsion accessories into the trash can. Instead, he praised the phone across the board; disparaging it… this was the best choice of the era, and he couldn't just hate for the sake of hating.

However, he still offered some suggestions: for instance, bringing back the removable battery.

"Brother Bai, why is the classic segment gone?"

"Xiaobai Unboxing: Throwing the charger in the trash can…"

"The fruit ninja rendering on this phone seems even stronger than the Mate1."

"You don't even look at how strong the Taishan 900's performance is; it's understandable if the game is optimized a bit."

"This new game, Temple Run, is pretty fun, but why is it being distributed by Penguin… Are they not using the previous agency anymore?"

"Doesn't make a difference, it's all the same value-added service. Have to say, it fits Penguin's operating habits."

Xiaobai Unboxing: "This phone's performance is definitely the strongest chip of the year, and other peripheral configurations can't compare either. This year's iphone 4 is in trouble again…"

On April 29th, in Lagos, the Transsion headquarters for Africa, Mr. Adebayo held the launch event for the African version of the s2.

The audience was filled with store managers from all over Africa, media, and communications ministers from several countries.

It was still a bilingual opening, and after briefly introducing the achievements of the transsion s1 and thanking the fellow countrymen for their support, Mr. Adebayo finally introduced the new phone.

"Today, we are bringing you three Smartphones in total. These three phones are the transsion s2 Standard Edition, the transsion s2 Pro, and the transsion s2 Pro max."

Relevant data appeared on the big screen as the PPT switched.

Standard Edition: MTK6573 chip, back cover material upgraded from plastic to glass, texture significantly improved, 3500mAh battery (removable battery, supports enhanced universal charger), 480p screen.

transsion s2 Pro: MTK6575, metal middle frame with glass back cover, 3700mAh large battery, supports 10W fast charging, the Pro version's screen has a certain upgrade, resolution reached 720P, PPI is only around 250.

transsion s2 Pro max: Equipped with Taishan 900 chip (standard version), adopts metal middle frame with glass back cover, equipped with 3800mAh battery, supports 10W fast charging, possesses Retina-level 720P screen.

Compared to the domestic version of the S2, these three phones were all stripped down. In the African version, only the Pro max used the self-developed chip and High-density battery; others were significantly stripped down compared to the domestic version.

But even so, Mr. Adebayo stood on stage and confidently introduced: "Africa is our home base; every product is the best, and we never cut features."

"This time, our Standard Edition has been upgraded to a glass back cover; compared to the plastic of the previous generation, the texture is significantly improved. The cost has also risen quite a bit, but we have made a very difficult decision."

Speaking to this point, Mr. Adebayo sounded very troubled, planting that sense of anxiety into the hearts of the fans in the audience.

Once the price was mentioned, many in the audience became worried as well; to relieve the tension, they could only release their pressure with continuous, vigorous applause.

Oh God! They had been waiting for this day for a long time, always looking forward to owning their own Smartphone.

But… 349 dollars is a huge sum of money. Just as they had saved enough, they heard from the store clerk that the S1 was going to be upgraded and would have better configurations.

They gritted their teeth and prepared to wait a while longer, so they could play fruit ninja, plants vs. zombies, and other games then…

After seeing the real machines and specific configurations at the launch event, they instantly felt that the time was not wasted.

At this moment, they just hoped the final price wouldn't go up.

"The selling price of the transsion s2 remains: 399 USD, with a limited-time launch discount of 60 USD to reward all our fans. This price is a gift from Mr. Shen to everyone. For every unit we sell, we lose 60 dollars. We are subsidizing a total of 2 million units, so we hope everyone buys as soon as possible."

Applause erupted from the audience, accompanied by excited cheers.

Specific configurations also appeared on the screen: the starting memory for the S2 is 256MB+4GB, which is the 339 version.

The memory for the S2 Pro is 256MB+8GB, and the price is 499 USD.

After all, with so many inventory parts to clear, they could only wrong the African customers a little.

The Pro max, as the one with the most sincerity in the entire series and the only one that could be called a comprehensive upgrade, naturally saw its price significantly upgraded as well. Starting at 699 USD, which is about 4770 Chinese Yuan.

Fortunately, the starting memory is 512MB+8GB.

The scene was filled with thunderous applause. Someone raised their hand and asked: "Mr. Adebayo, are the configurations of these three phones the same?"

Mr. Adebayo shook his head: "To ensure that everyone can buy the Smartphone they like, and to popularize Smartphones, although the appearance of the three is similar, the configurations are quite different. However, please rest assured, the MediaTek MTK6573 used in the Standard Edition has equally strong performance and is equally excellent; it can meet everyone's daily usage needs."

There was another round of applause from the audience. You get what you pay for; they all had expectations for this.

After the launch event ended, Mr. Adebayo was invited by communications ministers from other countries, hoping he could hold the next launch event in their countries.

Backstage at the launch, sales of the African version of the S2 were rising rapidly.

By the time Mr. Adebayo finished dealing with the ministers from various countries, sales had already reached 208,000, and the most expensive Pro max actually accounted for 40% of sales, making it the best-selling of the three products.

This made Mr. Adebayo give a thumbs up towards China once again. Mr. Shen really has foresight!

When he first went to China to discuss the pricing of the S2 series, he was unsure about pricing the Pro max at 699 USD… after all, this price had already exceeded the Chinese version.

But Shen Fei said that those who can afford Smartphones in Africa aren't worried about an extra hundred or two. Whatever price you set, you'll earn that much; anyway, with the Standard Edition and Pro Edition there to support it…

Sure enough… He picked up his phone and sent a message to Shen Fei: "Mr. Shen, the launch in Africa was very successful."