198: Chapter 198 Still 199

Transsion's first product launch in Southeast Asia was scheduled at the Jakarta Convention Center.

As it was the first one, security was maxed out.

The security guards on-site were not employees of the convention center, but Transsion security personnel, and they were all Black.

Each of them held a baton and a walkie-talkie... carefully scrutinizing the onlookers at the scene.

Wang Kai had arrived at the venue early in the morning; after all, he was the protagonist today.

A long queue had already formed at the entrance. Many consumers in Indonesia wanted to see this launch event, hoping to see if Transsion could bring down mobile phone prices!

Especially at a time when the entire industry was seeing skyrocketing prices.

Wang Hua had already called Shen Fei in advance.

"Mr. Shen, there are more people than expected." Wang Hua surveyed the scene. "We originally expected over 1,800 local consumers, but in reality, there are about 3,000.

There aren't enough seats, so the temporary plan is to live-stream it on the large screen outside."

After giving Shen Fei a brief report, Wang Hua entered work mode.

She glanced at the conference venue; the background board on stage had already been set up.

With white text on a blue background, it read: "Transsion Power2Max Southeast Asia Launch, transsion s2 Smartphone Southeast Asia Launch."

The audience seats were packed with enthusiastic attendees, and there were even people standing in the last few rows.

"Have the people from Gionee arrived?"

"They have," Li Qing said in a low voice. "Li Ming brought seven or eight people, and they are sitting in the third row near the aisle.

There are a few unfamiliar faces in the rows in front and behind them. I don't think they are regular consumers, nor do they look like distributors."

"What about the people from the Administration for Industry and Commerce and the police station?"

"I haven't seen them." Li Qing shook his head. "We reported this launch event in advance, stating that it might cause some impact and hoping they would come to maintain order, but they still haven't sent anyone.

However, I saw a few people at the entrance."

Wang Hua frowned and looked ahead.

"Coming directly to watch feels a bit off. They don't look like ordinary consumers, nor do they look like thugs.

Instead, they look like cops... They're probably here to..."

Wang Hua nodded; she instantly understood what Li Ming meant.

This was an attempt to target them from the perspective of stability...

But the one thing Transsion was not short of was security. Since there were no regular forces, their "irregular forces" would have to step up.

"Tell Ademos to have them maintain security outside and avoid any arguments...

If anyone deliberately looks for trouble, take action immediately. Our lawyers will provide them with a defense for acquittal."

"Understood. He will enjoy this job... He has a familiar set of methods for free medical care; we should be securing compensation for him."

Ademos, another leader of the African security team, was best at violent discipline. He had beaten 80% of those gangs in Africa into submission.

Moreover, he was best at provoking the other party, making them strike first, thereby putting them in the wrong.

Sure enough, as soon as he heard Wang Hua's order, he became excited immediately.

This made some of the plainclothes officers outside feel a sense of unease.

They... they are real people. Although they were wearing plain clothes today, they shouldn't get beaten up, right?

...

At 9 o'clock sharp, Wang Kai walked onto the stage.

In the second half of last year, he was transferred to Africa to learn from Mr. Adebayo for a period. He operated in the field in South Africa for a while and increased the local market share from 25% to 30%.

But he was still a little nervous.

Because this was his first time handling operations alone, and it was in a newly developed market. He was the type of "warrior general," not good at strategy.

He was better suited for work that already had a foundation.

But if you hitch a mule to a millstone, it will start moving on its own. Sure enough, once he got on stage, that familiar feeling returned.

"Hello, friends in Indonesia! The first mobile phone we are bringing to everyone today is the Transsion Power2Max."

Wang Kai's original speech had a slight accent, but once on stage, his aura instantly changed, turning into that manager who had campaigned in Africa.

The mobile phone on the large screen began to rotate.

It wasn't anything foldable or flip; it was just an ordinary Feature phone. But the body was relatively thin, and the most eye-catching part was the huge battery icon on the back.

"Power2Max, this phone has sold 7 million units in Africa. What is its biggest feature?"

Wang Kai pointed to the phone and smiled: "It's its battery, 4000mAh."

The people off-stage were in an uproar.

4000mAh—this number was absolutely a nuclear bomb in the 2011 mobile phone market.

Not to mention Feature phones; the Samsung S2 Smartphone of the same period only had 1650mAh, the Nokia N8 was only 1200, and the BlackBerry 9900 was 1230 mAh.

At this moment, many Southeast Asia fans widened their eyes.

How could Africans deserve such good things...

Transsion really was here to smash the table, so they had to be welcomed. Consequently, the applause grew enthusiastic once again.

"What is the concept of 4000mAh?" Wang Kai walked to the edge of the stage and picked up the phone. "According to user tests in our Africa market, under normal use, it doesn't need to be charged for a month.

It can play MP3 audio for over 30 hours."

He picked up a phone from the table and threw it directly into a water basin.

There was a gasp from the audience.

After soaking in the water for four or five seconds like this, Wang Kai fished the phone out of the water, wiped the screen, and the screen lit up just the same.

"This phone also has a waterproof function."

"Of course, it's not for you to soak it in water every day, but if you answer a call on a rainy day or accidentally drop it into water, you can fish it out and it will still work."

He handed the phone to some audience members. Those audience members immediately took it excitedly and began to test it with excitement, but the more they used it, the wider their eyes grew.

"I heard that a while ago, the warehouse of the largest local mobile phone distributor, Chen Group, had an accidental fire. Fortunately, it was extinguished in time, but it caused some mobile phones in the warehouse to be scrapped.

If those mobile phones had such waterproof capabilities, wouldn't that loss have been avoided?"

Some people in the audience nodded subconsciously, but Li Ming, Chen Zhengguang, and others sitting in the middle seats all gritted their teeth in unison.

One felt the crisis, and the other was... losing face.

"Of course, what is the most important thing for a Feature phone? It's the chip."

The large screen switched to show a rendered image of a chip: "MTK6225 chip."

This was a chip released by the R&D department a few years ago. The price at the time was about 10–15 yuan per piece, and now the average wholesale price is 9 yuan; Transsion's cost would be even lower.

The audience didn't really understand the issue with the chip; they only knew that this chip looked pretty good.

After all, it could make calls, play MP3 audio, and even supported some imaging...

The imaging was also very advanced for its class, adopting dual cameras.

With a 100,000-pixel front camera and a 200,000-pixel rear camera, it also possessed a beauty system specifically developed for the South Asia region, and the sample photos taken looked very good.

"What about the price?"

Someone in the audience shouted, and Li Ming laughed.

"Good question. With such strong specifications, how much does it sell for?" He snapped his fingers, and with a boom, a string of numbers appeared on the large screen.

"199 USD."

The whole venue was in chaos: "199 USD, are you kidding me?"

"Gionee's 249 USD configuration isn't even as high as this?"

"Their phones are no longer just 249; they've risen to 299 now, almost catching up to a Smartphone."

"Samsung's S2 costs over 500 USD."

The consumers off-stage whispered to each other, their faces full of disbelief. After all, they knew that global chip supplies were tight and the entire industry was seeing price hikes...

Transsion really was here to smash the market.