Chen Pingjiang had long anticipated this; if he dared to diss you, he wasn't afraid of being throttled.
The phone screen uses Sharp, and the memory uses Hynix.
"The 16G version is priced at 3899 yuan."
Rival companies started grumbling:
"This guy is a complete lunatic; he won't make any money selling it like this."
The wholesale prices are transparent; anyone can roughly estimate the value with a quick calculation.
The cost of other domestic phones might be just over 1000 yuan, but the Orange S1 has excellent specifications.
It's important to know that subsequent Android flagship models like the Samsung S9 mostly cost around 3000 yuan.
Among these, the screen and camera components are the most expensive parts.
Taking the iPhone 11 Pro Max as an example, its material cost is 490 US dollars, equivalent to approximately 3381 yuan.
This includes the costs of the main components listed above, as well as other detailed costs such as baseband processor, camera module, non-volatile memory, non-electronic components, power management module, PF components, and substrate.
This doesn't even account for indirect costs like R&D, assembly, operating expenses, personnel salaries, testing, and packaging, and most crucially, a huge portion – taxes!
Of course, manufacturing costs are not static; the larger the production volume, the lower the cost.
If it weren't for the tax-free period, Chen Pingjiang wouldn't dare to play it this way.
"After the press conference, everyone can immediately pre-order on major e-commerce platforms, Renren.com Mall, and Renrengou's premium selection channel. We will officially launch and ship in two weeks, which is March 19th. We will use SF Express for delivery to ensure everyone receives their phones safely and promptly."
"In addition, we previously produced ten thousand founder's edition Orange S1 phones. These phones have a limited edition 'ultra' metal lettering on the back, along with a limited exclusive serial number plate.
They come with a founder's edition exclusive gift box, including a founder's edition certificate, an exclusive serial number, and a limited exclusive signed greeting card from me.
These ten thousand founder's editions will only be sold on Renren.com Mall and Renrengou's premium selection channel, on a first-come, first-served basis. Pre-orders will begin from number 10001."
As soon as Chen Pingjiang finished speaking, both online and offline went wild.
"Holy crap, so generous? I definitely have to grab one later."
"Awesome, awesome! Marketing can be done like this? Not only is the founder's edition cool, but we can also get our hands on a physical product immediately, no need to wait half a month."
"Who knows when it goes on sale? My wallet is already itching."
"Brothers, let's go! He who hesitates is lost."
"Don't worry, I'll resell them to you once I get one."
Rival companies watching the live broadcast were dumbfounded by Chen Pingjiang's series of audacious moves and only reacted after a long while.
"This guy has too many tricks up his sleeve. He deliberately created a founder's edition. Consumers will definitely want the 'most expensive' product for the same money, so everyone will rush to buy, ultimately pushing the pre-order numbers sky-high."
"Now I know why he can sell them so cheaply. All his channels are his own; it's mostly direct sales, cutting out the middlemen."
"Is this the future of sales? Fully direct operation, saying goodbye to middlemen? If we don't do this, it will be hard to be competitive on price."
Chen Pingjiang's tactics didn't stop there.
He clearly had a million units in stock, but he held them back, launching a wave of 'hunger marketing' first.
If these million phones were released now, they might sell out in a few days, and subsequent components haven't even been ordered yet.
Once they are produced, there will inevitably be a period of stock shortage in between.
Once the pre-order numbers are out, he can use those figures to restock immediately.
"Haha, everyone, don't rush. Put your phones down for a moment. To ensure fairness, we will uniformly open pre-orders tonight at 6 PM. Our press conference isn't over yet,"
Chen Pingjiang said, waving his hand.
"Everyone must have heard the term 'mobile internet'. Indeed, we are currently at the forefront of the mobile internet era. I personally believe the three elements of the 3G era are smartphones, 3G and even 4G networks, and most importantly, applications."
"Yes, only sufficiently convenient applications can make us feel the changes of the 3G era. And among applications, what is most important? I believe it's social interaction, it's communication!"
Xiao Ma Ge, who was watching the live broadcast, turned green upon hearing this.
Damn, I thought this was just a phone launch, how did it suddenly turn into social communication?
"Next, let's enter WeChat time!"
"WeChat, simply put, can be understood as QQ. The majority of their functions are similar. Some might ask here, since QQ already exists, why would I need to use WeChat?"
"My answer is: because it's simpler and more convenient! QQ has developed over many years, and its functions are already very rich. Its initial positioning was to serve young people, but it's difficult to cater to the middle-aged and elderly. WeChat is different. Our goal set during the early stages of R&D was to directly target SMS and phone call functions."
A WeChat page popped up on the large screen behind Chen Pingjiang.
"Does everyone think the chat interface looks very similar to QQ? But I want to say that the biggest difference between the two is that WeChat supports real-time voice walkie-talkie and allows voice input up to 60 seconds."
"After the other party receives your voice message, they can tap the chat box, and your words will be played. Just like this."
After Chen Pingjiang tapped the green chat box, he moved the microphone to the phone's speaker, and instantly, his words were clearly played back.
"This feature is great, quite practical. It feels like even my illiterate grandparents could use it if I just teach them?"
"Not only can they use it, but even ordinary people would like this feature. It's such a hassle to type a string of words every time you want to say something on QQ."
"This is especially suitable for those of us who often drive to and from work!"
"Most importantly, the interface is very clean and crisp, not as complicated as QQ."
"..."
Xiao Ma Ge's head was buzzing.
Chen Pingjiang's move directly struck QQ's weak spot, making him feel a tremendous crisis.
This was no joke.
Although Tencent was doing quite well in channels like gaming, social communication was its fundamental base.
Without this base, it would be like losing a leg.
After some thought, he immediately called his secretary:
"Notify all executives in the company to come to my office within 5 minutes!"
When the company executives jogged to Xiao Ma Ge's office, they saw Xiao Ma Ge's face turn ashen as he stared at the monitor in front of him.
"Mr. Ma?"
someone whispered.
Xiao Ma Ge waved his hand, turning up the speaker volume.
A group of executives huddled together, watching the press conference.
Chen Pingjiang's voice continued from the speakers:
"Actually, if I were to say, the biggest difference between WeChat and QQ is that QQ is social software developed for the PC end, while WeChat is communication software developed for the smartphone end. Their starting points are different, the target users are different, and their purposes are also different. QQ emphasizes making friends, while our WeChat is for daily communication and interaction."
Hearing this, coupled with a series of positive comments in the live stream's comment section,
Tencent's executives, like Xiao Ma Ge, all turned green.
How audacious!
Chen Pingjiang actually went straight for Tencent's core territory, intending to open another battlefield.
"This guy is truly persistent. SNS, games, group buying – he wants a piece of everything. Every time he confronts us, and now he's even getting into instant messaging."
"How many users does QQ have? Can he really cross our moat?"
"That's not necessarily true, we shouldn't underestimate him."
Chen Pingjiang continued:
"The second prominent feature of WeChat, we call it Moments."
"Users can see various updates posted by their WeChat friends in Moments. To put it simply, it's a replicated Weibo, not a replicated Renren.com or QQ Zone."
"On QQ, if we want to see a friend's mood updates or posted pictures, how do we do it? We have to open QQ Zone, go to their homepage, and then find them to see it. But in Moments, I just need to keep scrolling on my phone. These are all my relatives, friends, and work partners, it's very simple and convenient."
Even though Xiao Ma Ge had been immersed in the business world for many years and felt his composure was good, hearing Chen Pingjiang mention QQ in almost every sentence still somewhat broke his composure.
This kid is something else!
"Furthermore, we've added two features for connecting with strangers to WeChat, making it less boring. These two features are 'People Nearby' and 'Shake'. See, I just need to shake my phone back and forth like this, and I can match with strangers. Isn't that interesting? 'People Nearby' locates your phone's position and recommends other WeChat users within three kilometers of you."
While ordinary people were still puzzled, clever ones had already seen through Chen Pingjiang's intentions.
"Hehe, interesting!"
"What's so interesting?"
"You're still young, it's normal not to understand. You'll get it when you're older."
"If girls within three kilometers open 'People Nearby', you can have a pleasant chat. Isn't that interesting?"
"Even certain specific professions can use this to attract customers."
"Damn, you mean prostitution, right?"
"Don't move, protect our friendly forces. Mr. Chen truly understands the pain points of our vast user base."
The "People Nearby" feature was quite powerful.
It's no exaggeration to say that Momo, which came later, survived thanks to this feature.
When WeChat was first launched, this feature was favored by many.
In that era, methods for making friends were very scarce.
At best, it was through QQ groups; otherwise, it was impossible to search for people nearby.
The emergence of WeChat redefined offline socializing.
Of course, after apps like Momo appeared, "People Nearby" gradually declined.
It became a battleground for scammers, bar touts, honey traps, and ad sales.
Occasionally, a normal person would open it only to find a 40-year-old woman.
Another group of people who were upset by WeChat's launch was the Fetion project team at China Mobile.
Fetion launched in 2007.
In that era, mobile QQ was not user-friendly, and everyone relied on SMS for communication.
Even 800 monthly texts weren't enough, which led to the creation of Fetion.
Its biggest problem was its difficulty of use; the user experience was quite poor.
Currently, Fetion was at its peak, with up to 500 million registered users and nearly 100 million active users during its peak, primarily focusing on instant messaging.
To some extent, Fetion's highly innovative design also influenced later communication software.
However, as a product of its time, China Mobile consistently misjudged Fetion's development path, limiting it to inter-industry competition with China Unicom and China Telecom.
It restricted Fetion's use to only China Mobile users, preventing interoperability with China Telecom and China Unicom users.
Such measures, lacking internet thinking, hindered Fetion's growth ceiling, and its registered users were consistently unable to break through the bottleneck.
Fetion saw WeChat's appearance as a formidable enemy, but Chen Pingjiang didn't care about Fetion.
China Mobile itself could kill off Fetion; there was no need for Chen Pingjiang to intervene.
In his previous life, once WeChat was released, Fetion's market share gradually shrunk, forcing it to transform from an instant messaging tool to an enterprise service platform.
However, with the emergence of enterprise service platforms like DingTalk and Feishu, Fetion, relying only on "300 free minutes" and "100 free video call minutes per month" as its selling points, had weak competitiveness and was powerless against its rivals.
Within China Mobile, Fetion was also being squeezed by other businesses.
Fetion's biggest selling point was free SMS messaging between all mobile numbers, while "New Year's greeting texts" during the Spring Festival were a major source of profit for China Mobile, bringing in nearly three billion yuan in revenue annually.
This created a direct conflict with Fetion, leading to a gradual decrease in Fetion's internal priority at China Mobile.
"WeChat is now available on 91 Assistant, Wandoujia, the APP store, and the app store within Orange phones. Everyone can download and use it!"
After the WeChat segment was explained, the press conference drew to a close.
However, the audience both at the venue and watching the live stream felt the lingering excitement.
"A royal flush right out of the gate! Rival phone makers, Tencent, and China Mobile must all be crying in the bathroom."
"It's not that we're uncompetitive, it's that Chen Pingjiang is too powerful. Both his hardware and software products are epoch-making."
"I originally planned to go out for dinner with my wife tonight, but now I don't dare. I'll stay in front of my computer to grab the founder's edition of the Orange S1, then download WeChat and start using it. What a joy!"
"Buying founder's edition online, 1.5 times the price. Cash on hand, product on hand. Friends who manage to grab one later can add my QQ: XXXX."
After the press conference, the internet was flooded with all sorts of news and publicity.
Related terms such as "Orange Super 1 phone," "the most cost-effective smartphone in history," and "another dominant social software arrives" directly landed in the top trending searches on major websites.
People who missed the press conference were drawn in by the overwhelming news.
Baidu search rankings for related topics surged straight to the top.
At the end of the press conference, Chen Pingjiang bowed in thanks.
The audience at the venue stood up one after another, applauding excitedly and continuously.
After leaving the convention center, Chen Pingjiang drove to the buffet hotel.
"Mr. Chen, this is incredible! Both the Orange S1 phone and WeChat are sure to be huge hits."
"Mr. Chen, I'm a news reporter from Dongjiang TV. I'd like to interview you..."
"Mr. Chen, look this way..."
At the hotel entrance, Chen Pingjiang was surrounded by a crowd, and microphones temporarily obscured his face.
Chen Pingjiang dealt with the reporters with considerable patience.
As he entered the banquet hall, all eyes turned to him, watching him with smiles.
Leaders from various levels in Dongjiang kindly approached him to chat, and investment firms also came to make their presence known.
Even those who had no prior connection with Chen Pingjiang were trying to find friends to introduce them.
For a time, he was unrivaled.
(End of Chapter)