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Chapter 2269 Fishing

On December 24, 1976, the day before Christmas, the showroom at Motorola's headquarters in Chicago was packed with people.

At seven o'clock in the morning, before it was fully light, a long queue had already formed outside the exhibition hall.

There are all sorts of people in the team...

Corporate executives in suits, small businessmen with briefcases, and many ordinary citizens who were simply there to watch the spectacle.

The security captain shouted into the walkie-talkie, "Another two hundred people have arrived! The line stretches all the way to the street corner!"

Inside the showroom, Motorola Chairman Galvin and Mr. Zhang, a representative from Lemon Technology, were conducting a final check.

Ten brand-new "Mobile M1" units were displayed on the showroom stand, their silver-gray shells much smaller than the previous prototypes.

"How much does it weigh?" Galvin picked up one and weighed it in his hand.

"It weighs 1.8 pounds, which is 0.2 pounds lighter than our initial target," said Mr. Zhang. "It has a talk time of 35 minutes, a standby time of 8 hours, and a charging time of 8 hours."

"What about the price?"

"The final price was $3999, which was $500 lower than we expected," said Mr. Zhang. "Lemon insisted on keeping the price at this level, saying that the 'psychological threshold' was very important."

Galvin nodded: "Mr. Su is right. 3999 is expensive, but it sounds much more acceptable than 4999."

At eight o'clock in the morning, the senior executives of the two companies held a final coordination meeting backstage.

Motorola's Marketing Director, Mark, spoke first: "Sales will begin simultaneously at twenty stores across the United States, with each store stocking one hundred units. Here in Chicago, our headquarters, we have two hundred units in stock. In total... two thousand two hundred units in stock."

"What about the pre-orders?" Mr. Zhang asked.

“We’ve already received over five thousand phone orders,” Mark said, flipping through the data. “They’re mainly from corporate clients—banks, law firms, and executives from large companies. There are individual clients too, but not many! They’re just too expensive.”

Galvin looked at Engineer Zhang: "What about Lemon's distribution channels?"

“All 287 of our authorized dealers are showcasing the machines today,” said Mr. Zhang. “But we are only displaying them, not selling them. We are directing customers to Motorola stores to purchase them. This is stipulated in the agreement.”

"How long can the inventory last?" This was Galvin's biggest concern.

The production director replied, "Currently, our monthly production capacity is 500 units, and we can increase it to 800 units next month. If demand is high, we can operate three shifts to reach 1,500 units. However, the supply of key components is tight, especially batteries and RF modules."

"Let's get through this Christmas season first," Galvin decided. "Notify the factories that there will be no holiday for Christmas, triple pay, and overtime production."

The showroom opened at 9:00 a.m. sharp.

The first person in line was a man in his fifties, wearing an expensive suit, who looked like a businessman.

"I want two," he said directly.

The salesperson seemed a little surprised: "Sir, are you sure? One unit is $3999..."

“I’m sure.” The man pulled out his checkbook. “I’m the vice president of First National Bank of Chicago, and we need to be in constant contact with our clients. This is a corporate procurement.”

He quickly signed the check for eight thousand dollars plus tax.

"Can I get the goods now?"

"Okay, please wait a moment." The salesperson went to retrieve the goods.

The man received two mobile phones and immediately began trying them out.

He walked to a corner of the exhibition hall and dialed the number according to the instructions.

"Hello? Mary? It's me. Guess what I'm using to call you? Not a landline! It's a mobile phone! Right here in the Motorola showroom!"

His voice was loud enough that everyone could hear it.

The crowd in line stirred.

"It really works!"

Is the sound clear?

"It looks much smaller than it was advertised!"

The second customer was a real estate agent.

“I need one,” he said. “I’m always out and about, and my clients often can’t find me. With this, business will definitely be easier.”

The third person was a doctor.

"The hospital allocated me a budget, and the emergency department needs to contact me at any time."

Of the top ten customers, eight are corporate buyers and two are wealthy individual users.

Sales data is transmitted to the back-end in real time.

Galvin looked at the screen: "Eighty-seven units sold in the first hour. At this rate, the two thousand two hundred units in stock might not last until the afternoon."

"Should we impose purchase limits?" someone suggested.

“No.” Galvin shook his head. “If someone wants to buy, we’ll sell. The better if they sell out, creating scarcity. Tomorrow the media will report ‘Mobile phones sold out on the first day.’”

At 10 a.m., reporters in the media area began filing their stories.

An Associated Press reporter called headquarters from the scene: "I'm reporting to you from my mobile phone right now! The signal is clear, and the call quality is good, but the device is a bit heavy, like carrying a brick... but it really works! More than a hundred units have already been sold here!"

ABC's live broadcast van was outside, and the host, microphone in hand, announced: "Viewers, a historic moment! The world's first commercially available mobile phone is now on sale! This is the 'Mobile M1' in my hand; you can see its size..."

CNN's financial reporters offer a more professional perspective: "The price of $3999 is equivalent to that of a cheap car. But business users seem willing to pay for it, believing that the ability to communicate anytime, anywhere can bring greater business value..."

A Wall Street Journal reporter asked a customer, "Sir, why are you willing to spend so much money on a mobile phone?"

The lawyer interviewed replied, "My time is very valuable. If I'm lost because they can't reach a client, the loss could be tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. 3999? It's a good deal."

By noon, all 200 units in stock at the Chicago store had been sold out.

A sign hung at the entrance: "Sold out for today, please come early tomorrow."

Those who didn't manage to buy any refused to leave.

"I waited in line for three hours!"

"Can I make a reservation? I'll pay a deposit!"

"Is there any stock left for tomorrow?"

The sales manager came out to explain: "You can register for pre-orders now, and we expect to ship within two weeks. We already have over three hundred people registered..."

At 2 p.m., people from both companies were looking at sales data in the back-end conference room.

"On the first day of sales across the US, all 2,200 units in stock were sold out," Marketing Director Mark reported. "Pre-orders increased by 3,700 units. The total number of orders has reached... 5,900 units."

Applause erupted in the conference room.

“At $3999, the sales revenue is…” The CFO quickly pressed the calculator, “...23.6 million dollars. And this is only the first day.”

Galvin looked at Engineer Zhang: "Engineer Zhang, when will your boss arrive?"

"The boss's plane lands at three o'clock, he'll come straight here." Zhang checked his watch, "He should be here soon."

Just then, Suning arrived.

He had just flown in from Los Angeles, and was quite tired from the journey.

“I’ve looked at the data, it’s very good,” Suning said as soon as he entered the room. “But there are a few issues that need to be addressed immediately.”

"Go ahead," Galvin said, gesturing for everyone to be quiet.

“First, after-sales service.” Suning produced a document. “Mobile phones are precision devices. What if they break? Users won’t know how to repair them. We need to set up repair centers in major cities to provide loaner phone services.”

“It’s already in the planning stages,” said Motorola’s after-sales director, “but it will take time.”

"It must be in place by February next year at the latest," Suning said. "Secondly, network coverage. Currently, there are only base stations in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. If users leave these cities, their mobile phones are just bricks."

The network director explained, "Base station construction costs are very high, several million dollars per city. We plan to cover the top ten cities next year."

“Speed up,” Suning said. “Third, accessories. Car chargers, spare batteries, leather cases… these accessories have high profit margins and can improve the user experience. Start production immediately.”

“It’s already underway.” “Fourth,” Suning looked at everyone, “the development of the second-generation product must begin now. The M1 is still too heavy, and the battery is still insufficient. Our goal is to produce a product weighing less than one pound and with a talk time of more than one hour within three years.”

Technical Director Martin smiled wryly: "President Su, this is very difficult..."

"That's why we need to start now," Suning said. "M1 is just the stepping stone; the real market hasn't opened up yet. The real explosion will happen when the price drops below $1,000."

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Suning was discussing the technical roadmap for the second-generation product with Galvin when his secretary rushed in.

"Chairman, it's a call from the White House office."

The conference room fell silent.

Galvin answered the phone: "This is Robert Galvin... Yes, Mr. President! Thank you for your attention... Of course, we can arrange... Tomorrow? Okay, it will definitely be delivered!"

After hanging up the phone, Galvin's expression was complicated.

“It’s President Ford,” he said. “The White House wants to order twenty mobile phones for senior staff and the Secret Service. They need them tomorrow.”

A low gasp rippled through the conference room.

“This is the best advertisement,” Suning said immediately. “Free. No, not free, it’s ‘providing trial equipment for the Presidential Office’.”

“Right!” Galvin realized. “The media will definitely report it. The White House uses our products; that’s a golden brand.”

“I suggest sending ten more units to congressional leaders,” Suning said. “Thirty units would cost less than 120,000, but the advertising value would be at least 12 million.”

"That's it."

……

At 7 p.m., executives from both companies held a celebratory banquet at Chicago’s tallest restaurant.

Galvin raised his glass: "Today is a milestone. Six years of research and development, eighteen months of collaboration, have finally brought the mobile phone from the laboratory to the market. Cheers to everyone!"

Cheers, everyone.

Suning also raised a glass: "Every mobile phone sold today changes the way an individual works and the communication efficiency of a company. We are not just selling products; we are driving social progress. To the future!"

Cheers again.

Zhang Gong quietly told Suning, "Boss, news from Los Angeles is that the sales of Lemon 5, Lemon 6 and Lemon 7 have hit a new high this month, with the total exceeding 150,000 units."

“That’s normal.” Suning said calmly, “The news about mobile phones has boosted the popularity of the entire technology product sector.”

Then, Zhang told Suning some news that wasn't too important: "In addition, some countries want to take over the computer models we've stopped producing."

"No sale! Now is not the right time." However, Suning's attitude was quite firm.

"Okay! It's just such a shame."

"Zhang, you need to be more patient! Otherwise, you'll never catch a real big fish."

"..."

Martin, the tech enthusiast, had a bit too much to drink today. He pulled Su Ning aside and said, "Mr. Gan, to be honest, when you came to us for cooperation a year and a half ago, I wasn't optimistic. Now... I'm convinced. Your miniaturization technology is truly impressive."

“We learn from each other,” Suning said. “We’ve also learned a lot about Motorola’s communication technology.”

"What are your ideas for the next generation of products?" Martin asked about the technology.

“I’m thinking…” Su Ning sketched on a napkin, “Could we make the numeric keypad like physical buttons? This rotary dial is too cumbersome. Also, could we have a simple screen to display phone numbers and signal strength?”

Martin's eyes lit up: "A keypad keyboard...that's something worth researching. As for the screen, LCD technology isn't mature yet, but maybe next year..."

The two tech enthusiasts started chatting.

……

The next day was Christmas.

The front pages of almost all major newspapers across the United States are filled with news about mobile phones.

The New York Times: "The Communications Revolution Begins—Mobile Phones Sell Out on First Day"

The Wall Street Journal: "Enterprise users embrace mobile communications; Motorola-Lemon partnership achieves initial success."

Chicago Tribune: "The Coolest Christmas Gift—If You Can Afford It"

Television news is more intuitive.

In the NBC report, a reporter was seen conducting interviews on the street with a mobile phone: "I'm on Michigan Avenue right now, and I can call back to the studio anytime. This kind of freedom was unimaginable before..."

CBS did a special report analyzing the future of mobile communications: "Experts predict that mobile phones may be as ubiquitous as watches in ten years. But that's contingent on prices coming down and network coverage becoming wider..."

Even bigger news broke in the afternoon.

A White House spokesperson confirmed: "The President's Office has been testing mobile phone equipment to improve communication efficiency."

Although the brand wasn't mentioned, everyone knew which company's product it was.

Motorola and Lemon Technology's stock prices surged that day.

Motorola rose 8%, and although Lemon Technology is not listed, its private equity transaction price rose 15%.

Three days after Christmas, Suning returned to Los Angeles.

The office was piled high with media interview requests and collaboration offers.

Lisa reported: "AT&T contacted us yesterday, wanting to discuss cooperation on base station construction. NTT of Japan also sent a fax, inquiring when their products will enter the Japanese market. Three European telecom companies want to discuss becoming agents."

"Let's make contact first, but don't rush into an agreement," Suning said. "What are the stipulations regarding overseas markets in our cooperation agreement with Motorola?"

“The joint venture holds 51% of the decision-making power, but the specific implementation requires the agreement of both parties.” Lisa flipped through the agreement. “Motorola tends to find local partners in various countries, while we prefer to build our own channels.”

“This needs to be discussed gradually,” Suning said. “Right now, the focus is on consolidating the US market. The first-generation product was successful, but there were still many problems—it was too heavy, too expensive, and had limited signal coverage. The second-generation product must solve these problems.”

He looked at David Fleming: "David, you personally oversee the preliminary research for the second-generation product. I want to see a prototype by this time next year."

“Understood.” David nodded. “Boss, there’s a problem. If we make the phone too small, the battery life will be even worse. It’s a contradiction.”

“So we need to innovate,” Suning said. “Research new battery technologies, or… smarter power management. So that devices consume almost no power when in standby mode, and only work at full power when making calls.”

"This idea is worth a try."

After the meeting, Suning stood by the office window.

Downstairs, a young man was walking and talking on his mobile phone...

That was a demo unit for display, but the scene looked very realistic.

On Christmas Day 1976, the mobile phone era officially began.

This is just the beginning.

When the price drops to $1,000, $500, $100...

When the signal covers the entire United States, and then the entire world...

When mobile phones are no longer a luxury, but a necessity...

That was the real revolution.

And he and his Lemon Technology are already at the forefront of this revolution.

The next thing to do is keep running forward, and run faster than anyone else.