Chapter 381: Traffic from the Apple Launch Event

Chapter 381 -377: Traffic from the Apple Launch Event

June 18th, 12:00 AM Imperial Capital time. In San Francisco, it was 9:00 AM on June 17th.

At the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, held in the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, Steve Jobs officially unveiled Apple’s fourth-generation mobile phone: the iPhone 4.

This launch event redefined the smartphone. For the first time, software and hardware were integrated to such a high degree, single-handedly ushering the global mobile phone industry into the smart era.

The iPhone 4’s debut not only shattered consumers’ preconceived notions of what a smartphone could be, but it also dealt a crushing blow to other phone manufacturers of the time.

For the first time, people saw so many possibilities in a phone—

A stainless steel and glass body, a brilliant antenna design, an ultra-high-resolution display, the high-performance A4 chip, a 5-megapixel high-definition camera, a gyroscope that provided an intense, tactile gaming experience, up to 32GB of storage, video calling support, multitasking, home screen folders, and more…

In later years, these features might be considered standard, but in an era dominated by brick-like feature phones, it was a bolt from the blue.

With so many innovative and radical ideas unveiled all at once, one can only imagine the frenzy at the launch event.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, night had fallen over China. On D Station, the live stream of the Apple launch event had drawn in nearly 500,000 viewers in a short time, and the number was still rising sharply.

Keep in mind, it was midnight. If this had been during the day, the viewership would have likely been double.

The live chat was flooded with comments praising Apple. There was no doubt that after tonight, many people would become Apple fans.

Even though in later years the Android user experience would be on par with iOS, in this era, the iPhone 4 was the undisputed king of the world.

It was no exaggeration to say that in his previous life, before 2013, anyone with an iPhone was the envy of everyone around them. Even just having the “Online via iPhone” status on QQ was a way to flex.

Jiang Xia watched the numbers in the backend climb, marveling at the brilliance of Zhou Lu’s strategy.

Leveraging Apple’s popularity to boost their own traffic had allowed D Station’s development to leap forward.

He believed that for a long time to come, the video of this launch event would remain the most-viewed on the site. The tech section could also use this opportunity to officially get off the ground, attracting a large number of tech content creators.

The comment section was filled with discussions about the iPhone 4. Compared to its insane features, all other phones currently on the market were trash, and netizens were tearing them to shreds.

Many people were already eagerly wondering when they could buy one in the country. A glance at the price tag showed that even the cheapest 16GB model would cost 4,999 yuan.

But this was, after all, a jewel of industrial design that had revolutionized the very concept of a mobile phone. Holding it was like holding a delicate work of art. So, while the price was a bit steep, surprisingly, no one was calling it unreasonable.

A thought suddenly occurred to Jiang Xia. ‘I hope no kid in this world is stupid enough to sell a kidney for a phone.’

Consumer electronics became obsolete incredibly fast. Trading one’s long-term health for a phone that would be outdated in two or three years was simply not worth it.

The real storm would hit the country after sunrise, as more people woke up, learned about the previous day’s spectacular launch, and joined the discussion about the iPhone 4.

D Station instantly became a haven for tech enthusiasts. Related topics shot to the top of the trending lists on major platforms and stayed there. This, in turn, led to another surge in new users for D Station. They had truly raked in a fortune from the publicity surrounding the launch.

As for sales, Apple Inc. had also authorized D Station to open a pre-order channel. However, this was only for the US version, which hadn’t yet been localized for domestic users.

Even so, pre-orders on D Station reached over one hundred thousand units, amounting to a sales volume in the hundreds of millions.

And D Station, as the sole pre-order channel, was set to receive several million in commission without having to produce a single thing. They were making an absolute killing.

This explosive popularity left other phone manufacturers reeling. The tens of millions of views and hundreds of thousands of comments also made Apple Inc.’s executives see the huge potential of the Chinese market, prompting them to accelerate the development of the official domestic version.

While the D Station live stream of the Apple launch was going viral online, Jiang Xia and Li Weiya were already at Imperial City International Airport to pick someone up.

“Welcome back, Lulu!” Li Weiya stepped forward and gave Zhou Lu an enthusiastic hug.

“Thanks, Weiya.”

“It’s still nighttime over there, right? Aren’t you tired after flying for more than ten hours?”

“I’m okay. I slept on the plane.”

Zhou Lu brushed her hair back, a smile spreading across her face. She looked up at Jiang Xia, who was standing beside them, and said with a light chuckle, “Boss, mission accomplished.”

“Great work.” Jiang Xia was also all smiles.

“How did the broadcast go?”

Li Weiya blinked at her. “It was an unprecedented success. D Station’s traffic is several times higher than before.”

Hearing this, Zhou Lu relaxed. As the Chief Operating Officer, this was an accomplishment she could be proud of.

Having experienced the iPhone firsthand, she knew just how exceptional this era-defining smartphone was.

Once they were in Jiang Xia’s car, Zhou Lu took several brand-new, packaged iPhones from her luggage and handed them over with a smile. “All gifts from Apple.”

“Apple sure knows how to do business.”

Jiang Xia smiled and tore off the packaging. Looking at the familiar phone, he was filled with emotion.

The wheels of history had finally arrived at the dawn of the mobile smart era. Any outdated technology that couldn’t keep up would be mercilessly eliminated and crushed.

Phone manufacturers came and went. Even a dynasty as powerful as Nokia fell from its position as the undisputed leader to complete obscurity in just a few short years.

And he, with his ability to accurately predict every new trend and prepare before the storm hit… ‘It’s impossible to keep a low profile in this life.’

Jiang Xia turned on the phone and played around with it. Zhou Lu’s eyes lit up with surprise when she saw him expertly navigate the settings to change the language to Chinese. After all, she had fumbled with it for quite a while before getting the hang of it.

“President Jiang, have you used an iPhone before?” she asked curiously.

“Haha, you could say that.”

Jiang Xia gave a knowing smile. ‘From the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 13, I’ve used quite a few versions.’ Now, he could finally get rid of the BBK flip phone he’d been using for so long.

“Does this phone need to be jailbroken to be used in China?”

After all, the iPhone 4 wasn’t officially sold to domestic users yet, so whether it would even work properly was a valid question.

Zhou Lu shook her head. “No need. These aren’t carrier-locked contract phones. You can just pop in your own SIM card and use them. The only thing is, the SIM card is the wrong size, so you’ll need to get it cut at a carrier’s store.”

Jiang Xia nodded slightly, indicating he was familiar with the process of cutting a SIM card.