The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 134



Only Krnovel

Episode 134 Big crash (3)

January 9th.

The CES event was held grandly in Las Vegas.

Electronics companies from around the world have introduced a variety of products.

As of today, all attention was on Apple and Steve.

It was because of a rumor that had been floating around for several months already.

‘Apple has created a completely different type of cell phone.’

Even though Steve was obsessed with security, he couldn’t completely prevent iPhone prototype photos from being leaked.

Rather, it has become noise marketing.

Whether experts, media outlets, or early adopters, everyone was waiting for Apple’s new mobile phone.

Finally, Apple’s new mobile phone, which had been rumored a lot, was about to be unveiled today.

“Maybe because it’s the United States, the scale is definitely big. “I can’t believe so many people are attending the mobile phone presentation.”

“People are probably more interested in this phone because it was made by Apple and Steve.”

My grandfather and I waited for the presentation in the best place.

The presentation began with flashing pin lights illuminating Steve.

Step by step, Steve moved to the center of the stage.

Everyone who attended the event watched the event without even making a sound, as if they had made a promise.

“Nice to meet you. “This is Steve, CEO of Apple.”

[Wow!]

Shouts and applause instantly engulfed the stage.

It was proof that expectations were that high, and if they could not meet their expectations, the cheers would quickly turn into boos.

This is a place where you feel nervous no matter who is standing there.

However, Steve started the PPT with a leisurely gesture.

“Today I would like to introduce three innovative products.”

Dang! When Steve pressed the button, three icons appeared on the large screen.

iPod, phone and internet.

“Everyone knows about the iPod, right? “Does anyone have one?”

At Steve’s words, both of us took out our iPods from our pockets.

The iPod has already established itself as the next-generation music player, and anyone who is interested in electronic devices enough to attend CES naturally owns it.

“It was an unwelcome device when it first came out. However, now anyone can easily download music and listen to music through iPod. And I developed the iPod even further.”

The enthusiasm of the audience cooled down somewhat.

This was because it felt like the product to be announced this time was not a mobile phone but the next iPod.

“And the next product is the Internet. Nowadays, the Internet is mostly enjoyed through a PC. So, in order to add music to your iPod, you have to go through the cumbersome process of connecting it to your PC. However, the innovative product we created allows you to use the Internet without being connected to a PC.”

It was the same reaction this time too.

Steve continued his presentation despite observing the lukewarm response.

“Next is innovative mobile phones. And these three innovative products were created in one device. “I will introduce you to the iPhone, which has music, internet, and phone calls.”

The iPhone has finally appeared.

Steve intentionally made people think he was introducing a successor to the iPod, but then suddenly introduced the iPhone.

“The iPhone can use all the functions of an iPod, all the functions of a mobile phone, and even the Internet. And it even has a camera function, so just an iPhone can replace several electronic devices.”

[Wow!]

The cheers erupt again.

The audience was enthusiastic about the attractive design of the iPhone.

It didn’t end there.

Steve personally operated the iPhone and introduced its various functions.

Touch screen, internet browsing, multitasking, etc.

It was a good enough performance to satisfy the public, but it was a bit disappointing for me.

If history had gone by, the iPhone would have been released six years later.

Because it appeared 6 years earlier, there were many problems.

The touch screen’s response speed was slow, the capacity for storing sound was small, and the picture quality was also unsatisfactory.

Of course, it was just a feeling I felt because I was already familiar with smartphones.

The public reacted enthusiastically as it was their first time seeing a smartphone.

And it was also my grandfather’s first time seeing a smartphone.

“Hehe, I don’t know when the world changed like this. “It’s like a laptop shrunk down to the size of a cell phone.”

“We, Taewo, supply the semiconductors used in such innovative products.”

“Sales will increase overwhelmingly. Hehe, I don’t know whether to be happy or sad.”

My grandfather couldn’t take his eyes off his iPhone.

Among the people I have met, there are only a few people with a higher level of insight than my grandfather.

If my grandfather reacted this way, there was no doubt that the iPhone would be a success.

However, the announcement is not even half done yet.

Steve prepared a lot of performances to highlight the strengths of the iPhone, and I provided a lot of support behind the scenes, so I knew very well what he had prepared.

“Well, the mood is a little down. “There’s nothing better than music to brighten the mood.”

Steve accessed Apple Music through his iPhone.

Until now, it was a music site that could only be accessed through a computer.

It was a performance that showed that from now on, it is possible to connect to music sites through mobile phones.

“Continuing from last year, Destiny’s Child is firmly at the top of the charts this year.”

Steve downloaded the music through his iPhone.

Soon after, I started playing the downloaded music through my iPhone.

As Destiny Child’s soul-filled voice rang out in the presentation hall, the audience cheered again.

“The music doesn’t heat up the atmosphere as much as I want. “If the music isn’t enough, I have no choice but to play the movie.”

This time it was OTT’s turn.

He connected to the OTT via iPhone and played the classic Rocky.

Ba-baam-bam, pa-baam-bam!

The image of Sylvester Stallone running through the market was broadcast on a large screen, accompanied by music that heightened the mood.

Steve held up his iPhone.

The audience was shown the same movie playing on a large screen and an iPhone.

Clap clap!

The audience applauds and breaks their fingers.

I couldn’t help but smile very happily at that sight.

Apple Music and OTT services were all companies that made me money.

Because Steve was advertising on my behalf.

If you calculate the publicity effect from this announcement in terms of money, wouldn’t it be at least $1 billion?

It was Steve who demonstrated for a long time.

Lastly, I expressed my gratitude to several companies.

“Thank you to the companies that helped make the iPhone possible. I would especially like to thank Taewoo Electronics, Taewoong Telecommunications, and AT&T.”

It was Steve who clearly promoted the name of Taewoo Group.

And AT&T, an American telecommunications company, was also mentioned.

Before the regression, the service was provided in GSM mode, so it could not be released in Korea, which uses CDMA.

However, this time, Korea was included in the initial launch countries.

Thanks to Taewoo Communications’ collaboration from the production stage, we created an iPhone that could be used on the Korean communications network.

The iPhone was scheduled to be released in two versions, GSM and CDMA.

***

After a while.

I was able to have a conversation with Steve in a quiet place after he finished his presentation.

“Thank you for your hard work. “It was a perfect PPT.”

“Whoa, my hands were shaking so I couldn’t even touch the screen properly.”

Steve raised his hand.

Fingers shaking violently.

Steve didn’t look nervous at all, but he was stubbornly hiding his nervousness.

“It was an overwhelming response. “The response is 10 times more enthusiastic than when we introduced InnoPhone.”

“Actually, the iPhone I used today is not a perfect product. It could have been forced to close because all errors had not been caught yet. So I hid spare iPhones everywhere.”

As expected, Steve was meticulous.

Several iPhones were hidden in advance in case something went wrong with the iPhone.

Fortunately, I didn’t have any problems so I didn’t use a spare phone.

“Isn’t it great that you can play music and movies on your iPhone?”

“That too was a bit of a trick. I downloaded the sound and movie files in advance. And the battery usage and antenna reception sensitivity were set to always appear at 100% through coding.”

I was speechless.

Steve was a man who would stop at nothing to make an imperfect iPhone look perfect.

There are still 6 months left until the official release, so if optimization is successful within that time, there is no chance of a problem.

“If you are short on personnel, we will provide support from Taewoo Electronics.”

“Is that okay? Send employees from Taewoo Electronics IT department. “We need them to optimize Apple Music and OTT services.”

Taewoo IT.

Although it was still an IT department belonging to Taewoo Electronics.

Several of the projects they created were a huge success, generating sales at the level of an average affiliate.

That’s why the IT department was called Taewoo IT, like a kind of affiliate.

Steve also collaborated with Taewo IT while producing the iPhone, so he was well aware of the outstanding capabilities of Taewo IT employees.

“We will send 50 people within this month. “Until the iPhone is released, you can ask me to work as an Apple employee.”

“Thank you. However, I heard that semiconductor yields are very poor. Would you mind? Shouldn’t other companies also sign contracts now? If things continue like this, Taewoo Electronics will suffer huge losses.”

“This is something we started at a loss. “We will ensure that there are no disruptions in the supply of semiconductors.”

“First of all, I understand. However, we hope to increase the yield by more than 70% before launch.”

When yields fell, it was difficult for Apple as well.

We had to increase the yield to at least 70%, but Apple could also trust us to produce semiconductors.

“Yields have already increased significantly. “We will get it up to 70% within 6 months.”

“I trust you. “I will focus on optimizing the iPhone in the meantime.”

It was Steve, his fingers still shaking.

He seemed desperate for a break, but all he could think about was work.

***

Ten days have passed since the iPhone was released.

David and Team Leader Han reported to me in the car as we were moving about how much attention Apple was receiving around the world.

“Apple’s stock price has begun to rebound sharply. “This is the first time an IT company has rebounded this much since the dot-com bubble.”

“There are even talks of going beyond innovation and creating the future. “We will only know once it is officially released, but it is said that there are already at least 3 million people waiting to purchase it.”

It was a very good story for Apple.

However, Taewo Group was not benefiting from it.

“The stock price of Taewoo Group has remained the same.”

“Although information became known that a semiconductor supply contract had been signed with Apple, this was offset by the spread of rumors that there was a problem with yield.”

Since it was a problem that would be resolved sooner or later, I didn’t think too seriously about it.

Now, something more important than that problem was waiting.

“boss! “We have arrived at the inauguration ceremony location.”

Today was the day Bush was inaugurated as president.

I had to attend the inauguration ceremony by being formally invited by the White House.