After discussing the exterior, Chen Pingjiang shifted the focus of his introduction to the camera function.
"Unlike the mainstream phones currently on the market, the Orange S1 placed special emphasis on the user's photography experience from the very beginning of its design. With a 0.3-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera, it can meet various needs. Unless you're a professional enthusiast, you can practically say goodbye to digital cameras, allowing you to travel with just one phone."
Following Chen Pingjiang's words, two more comparison charts appeared.
When compared to HTC, the competitor didn't even have a front camera, and when compared to Samsung, its rear camera only had 5 megapixels.
Changing the topic, Chen Pingjiang shook the Orange S1 phone in his hand:
"However, limited by hardware conditions, current phone camera functions still cannot be compared to digital cameras. Therefore, our R&D personnel focused their efforts on the software system. It is precisely because of the emergence of Orange UI that our camera now has a beauty function."
"Everyone, look, when we shoot portraits, there are multiple styles to choose from: Fresh, Texture, Film, Holiday, Sunlight, and more."
With every sentence Chen Pingjiang spoke, a photo in that style was projected onto the large screen, eliciting a wave of cheers, mostly from women.
"In addition to styles, we have also added filter functions, namely Grapefruit, Pirate, Movie, Evening Breeze, and more."
"For lighting effects, we simulate professional software, offering Natural Light, Studio Light, Stereo Light, and Rainbow Light."
"With the above functions, handsome men and beautiful women can take photos in any style they desire, no longer needing separate setups or special lighting to achieve a blockbuster feel."
"However, these are not the most amazing features. The function I am most proud of is the PS function! Yes, we are the first in the industry to embed PS functionality into the camera. Users can immediately PS their photos after taking them and then save them to the album, eliminating the hassle of uploading them to a computer and using Meitu Xiuxiu for PS."
"The skin smoothing function can make your skin look more radiant, and skin tone adjustment can make you appear fairer. In addition, there are functions like big eyes, slim nose, and face slimming, allowing even non-professional PS users to prettify themselves. We also have a one-click photo editing function, making it foolproof to use."
Whoosh!
The venue instantly erupted.
Live stream comments flooded the screen!
"Oh no, I can't take it, this phone perfectly hits my sweet spot, I must buy it."
"Sisters, let's go!"
"I'm crying tears of joy, he's truly amazing, worthy of being the nation's husband, so considerate of us sisters."
"Honestly, I didn't like taking photos before, always thought I looked ugly, like a country girl. But seeing the Orange S1, my interest in photography has been rekindled."
"Damn it, I'm praying my wife doesn't see this live stream, or my salary this month will probably be donated to it."
"+1, I'm 100% sure if my wife sees this, she'll definitely demand to buy it."
"Damn, if all girls use this phone to take pictures, will a bunch of online relationships die out when they meet in person?"
"You think it doesn't happen now?"
"But at least current PS functions are still quite poor, incomparable to the Orange S1, and its photo editing is too simple."
No matter the era, a phone's camera function has always been a major selling point.
From the outset of its design, Lin Bin's team put a great deal of effort into this area, mobilizing over two hundred technical personnel for continuous research, development, and debugging.
In Chen Pingjiang's original words:
"We currently can't compare to Apple in system tuning and algorithms, so we'll just directly use a cheat code."
An old saying goes:
"The love of beauty is common to all."
Even today, this statement remains true, and the "beauty selfie" function that became essential for all subsequent smartphones is the best proof of this.
However, in the early days of smartphones, although devices including the iPhone and Samsung focused on phone photography, their beauty technology was almost non-existent.
No one even imagined it could be done this way.
It wasn't until POPPO launched the world's first beauty smartphone, the U701, in 2012 that people realized this kind of feature was possible.
Chen Pingjiang drew inspiration from this phone and worked hard to develop a beauty engine.
Once upon a time, this beauty phone saw explosive sales, with female consumers single-handedly supporting half of its market, even becoming the strongest Android camera phone of the year.
As a result, subsequent phone manufacturers frantically focused on selfies and beauty features, developing "zoom dual cameras, four-axis anti-shake," "poster-level selfies," and so on.
Chen Pingjiang accepted the cheers from the audience like a king.
"The world's first beauty camera, you deserve to own it!"
If the previous exterior design was acceptable, the appearance of the beauty camera was nothing short of an industry earthquake.
Executives from rival companies watching the live stream furrowed their brows into a "chuan" character.
"How can we compete with this? It has directly locked in female consumers."
The Samsung China regional manager wore a worried expression.
Both phones were launched almost at the same time, and the Galaxy S was overshadowed.
Lei Bus, who was single-mindedly focused on making phones, also felt a chill in his heart:
"I originally thought making phones now was an opportunity, but with such a powerful competitor suddenly emerging in the industry, is there still a chance?"
The beauty camera function hit female users' soft spot.
Women's money is generally easier to earn, and Lei Bus was almost certain that this phone would be wildly popular among female users.
If you add the phone's excellent configuration and appearance, male users won't be able to escape either.
Appealing to both men and women!
Lin Bin and Zhou Guangping exchanged glances, both seeing the smile in each other's eyes.
This was the Orange S1's true killer feature!
When Chen Pingjiang first proposed the concept of a beauty camera, they were very shocked.
It was truly a genius idea to integrate photo editing and beauty functions into the camera.
In comparison, things like autofocus and face recognition were child's play.
Chen Pingjiang's voice continued:
"To provide everyone with a better user experience, we also adopted the largest battery currently on the market, 1930 mAh. After our testing, it can achieve an ultra-long standby time of 120 hours, completely solving battery anxiety."
For a period afterward, Chen Pingjiang, as usual, quickly covered the processor, supported frequency bands, and some less critical functions, then grandly introduced Orange UI.
This was also the biggest differentiator from other Android phones.
"In Orange UI, we've reduced the size of app icons, changed various background colors, and offer multiple themes to choose from."
"Pursuing ultimate simplicity, ultimate aesthetics, ultimate user-friendliness, and ultimate personalization."
"Pulling down from the top right corner of an Android phone screen directly switches to the quick settings page. On this page, we can choose to turn on/off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, adjust ringtone volume, screen brightness, and also added eye protection, flashlight, breathing light, and more.
From now on, we can say goodbye to complicated operating habits and no longer face the predicament of having to operate for a long time just to turn off Bluetooth."
"Phone function components can be customized, and there are different theme templates, with everything from date to weather available."
Orange UI was virtually completed under Chen Pingjiang's close supervision, perfectly aligning with the future mainstream aesthetic of mobile phones.
"This UI is much better than previous phones. Without even looking, it's clear it was designed by Renren.com's engineers; the style is consistent."
"You can always trust Mr. Chen's aesthetic."
"In contrast, my current HTC interface is so ugly it makes me want to cry, like a product from the last century, and it's not convenient to use either."
"I'm a bit worried about the price of this phone now. Super large screen + metal frame + long battery life + innovative beauty camera function + super beautiful UI, I feel like selling it for anything less than 5000-6000 yuan would be an insult to the phone."
"Ah, no, I'm just a poor student, I can't afford it."
"If it's just 5000-6000, I'd buy three at once and get one for my parents too."
"This UI alone is worth that price, comparable to iOS, even slightly ahead."
"Upstairs, are you that conservative? It's clearly far ahead!"
"Please don't announce any more features, if there's any more black technology, I really won't be able to afford it even by selling a kidney."
...
If not for cost constraints, Chen Pingjiang really intended to add a Hi-Fi chip to the phone.
It's quite simple, just adding the CS8422 and DAC decoder chip CS4398 would suffice.
But he couldn't just exhaust all his reserves at once.
Chen Pingjiang planned to save it as a main selling point for the next generation of Orange phones.
It's not to say that stuffing all functions into one phone makes it a good product.
"We have largely resolved the issue of Android systems becoming sluggish after prolonged use, focusing on a smooth and fluid experience."
"The phone comes in two versions, 8GB and 16GB, and includes earphones and a charger."
Chen Pingjiang's speech was coming to an end, so everyone watching the press conference knew the main event was approaching.
The price was about to be announced.
Amidst everyone's eager gazes, Chen Pingjiang leisurely took a bottle of mineral water and drank from it, deliberately building suspense.
"Don't you all want to know how much such a phone, combining both inner and outer qualities and packed with so much black technology, will sell for?"
"Yes!"
"Then take a guess?"
Instantly, a commotion erupted in the audience.
"6999!"
"5999!"
"4999!"
Chen Pingjiang burst out laughing:
"None of your guesses are correct."
"Holy crap, Mr. Chen, don't be so ruthless. Not even 6999? Could it be 7999?"
"It's over, it's over, I feel like I can't afford it."
"HTC and Samsung are both 4999, the Orange S1 will definitely be more expensive than them."
At this moment, two S1 phone models were displayed on the large screen.
Orange S1, 8GB = (?) yuan
Orange S1, 16GB = (?) yuan
"The price for the 8GB version is..."
Mid-sentence, Chen Pingjiang paused again, looked around, and only after seeing a group of expressions eager to devour him, suddenly shouted:
"3299 yuan!"
The live DJ, sensing the moment, unleashed a burst of dynamic music, lights flashed wildly, and the atmosphere in the venue reached its climax.
"Holy crap, I didn't mishear that, did I?"
A viewer excitedly stood up, laughing wildly and applauding.
"Mr. Chen, I love you to death."
A female fan tried to rush forward but was quickly restrained by alert security personnel.
"My goodness, are they making a loss? Phones with worse specs and fewer features than the S1 sell for 4999, yet the Orange S1 is only 3299?"
"Take my money, leave the phone, and you can go."
"This price is incredibly fair."
...
Rival companies couldn't sit still.
"Damn it, are they crazy? This phone could easily sell for 5000+ yuan, why sell it so cheaply? Not making money on phones, running on love?"
"Market disruptor! The world has gone mad!"
"Quick, hold a meeting, announce a price drop. If we don't, we won't sell any."
"What a price butcher, disgusts others while making no profit himself. What's the point? A Tu-160?"
The price of 3299 was Chen Pingjiang's final decision after adding 100 yuan; the original price was 3199.
Chen Pingjiang was silent until he moved, and his goal was to crush competitors and make the iPhone 4, scheduled for release in the summer, suffer.
The 3299 price forced HTC HD2 and Samsung Galaxy S to lower their prices.
HTC felt alright, as they had released earlier anyway, and had already lowered their price once when Samsung Galaxy S held its press conference.
In contrast, Samsung was truly struggling.
Less than two days after their press conference, their 4999 yuan pricing was immediately ruined.
The actual phone wouldn't be released until next month.
They had no choice but to temporarily lower the price, otherwise, it absolutely wouldn't sell.
This pricing also infuriated the person in charge at Samsung Electronics, who wanted to choke Chen Pingjiang's supply of components, but helplessly discovered that Orange phones simply weren't sourcing from them.
(End of Chapter)