The Unveiling of i-DAP
"At last, a proper MP3 player has been completed," said the chaebol dismantling expert.
"Yes, it's something truly special—far beyond any ordinary player. In fact, calling it just an MP3 player would almost make it angry. We've decided to name it i-DAP," Yoo Jae-won replied.
At his words, Dr. Lisa Su began her detailed presentation. She praised the device, noting that it contained features too advanced to be dismissed with the simple label of an MP3 player. She added that she and the research team had already been referring to it internally as i-DAP. The name combined the "i" from "Intelligent," a term ID Group had been promoting for years, with the initials of Digital Audio Player—pure engineering sensibility at 120 percent.
"Hmm, i-DAP?" Yoo Jae-won echoed, his response lukewarm. The name felt overly complicated and lacked immediate appeal. Pronounced literally, it sounded like "Eye-Dap" or "Eye-Dee-Ay-Pee," leaving an awkward impression. Yet the development team had solid reasons for sticking with it: the device supported not only MP3 but also AAC and even lossless codecs like APE. Therefore, they argued, calling it a DAP rather than an MP3 player was more accurate.
"That's fair," Yoo Jae-won conceded, though one point still bothered him. While developing the Android operating system, ID Group had also created and freely released its own codecs for video and audio. These codecs halved file sizes compared to MP3 at CD quality. Yet users overwhelmingly stuck with the familiar MP3 format. Even when both AAC and MP3 versions of the same album appeared on warez sites, people chose MP3. Research revealed the root cause: because MP3 files were roughly twice as large, users assumed they offered superior sound quality. The widespread adoption of broadband internet further reduced concerns about file sizes, making longer download times acceptable. Additional drawbacks included AAC compression taking three times longer than MP3 when ripping from CDs, and 20 percent faster battery drain on mobile devices. As a result, AAC—superior in quality and compression—lost out in adoption rates. Consequently, the digital audio player remained known as an MP3 player.
"It might feel unfamiliar at first," Lisa Su said. "But just like the iPod, once people say DAP a few times, it'll roll off the tongue."
iPod! The name Lisa Su mentioned stood in complete contrast to DAP. Until you saw the product, the iPod gave no intuitive clue about what it was. Yet it stuck in the ear—once heard, it was unforgettable, and it matched the actual device perfectly. It was a fitting creation from Steve Jobs after his return to Apple.
While Yoo Jae-won dominated the PC market, Apple had been making various attempts under Steve Jobs' leadership. The new iMac Macintosh had launched, and recently the iPod MP3 player had been released. Public reaction to Steve Jobs remained sharply divided. Longtime Apple fans welcomed his return with enthusiasm, while others dismissed the changes as insignificant. This was understandable—the iMac, Jobs' first project, retained Apple's weaknesses with little real innovation. The PC market had already undergone a design revolution starting with TG Computer's Egg series. Though the iMac boasted decent design quality, most viewed it as an imitation of the Egg series. The sleek, restored classic computer aesthetic from the mid-21st century had been applied to the Egg series, making the difference between the iMac and the New Egg series obvious even to those indifferent to design. Recently, the Egg series had incorporated high-end aluminum alloy with acrylic pipes for water cooling and LED lighting, achieving an unmatched harmony of design and performance. Despite this, Apple maintained its identity: a completely closed computing environment from operating system to hardware remained unchanged. The newly released iPod embodied this Apple philosophy. It supported only MP3 among various audio codecs, and transferring files required a specific program on Apple computers. It was incompatible with IBM-compatible PCs and the Android operating system, which dominated the market. As a result, even though the iPod boasted the highest level of completion among MP3 players, its market share remained limited to existing Apple users.
In this landscape, Yoo Jae-won had finally completed his secret weapon: the i-DAP.
"Hmm, I'll need to think more about the product name," he said. He understood the meaning—Intelligent Digital Audio Player—but it didn't have the same punch as iPod. He felt they needed a better name before the official launch.
"Well, we think DAP is excellent," Lisa Su replied, "but since your predictions have never been wrong, we'll follow your lead."
"All right. Let's discuss the name later. For now, show me the demonstration."
"Yes, let's begin right away."
Dr. Lisa Su powered on the i-DAP and started her presentation.
"To turn the i-DAP on or off, you hold the power button for five seconds. We changed it from a one-touch system because of potential malfunctions, so now it requires a five-second hold."
After holding the button for five seconds, the LCD screen on the front displayed the Android operating system's mascot—the Android robot. Rendered in vibrant 16-bit high color, the robot's smooth animation clearly conveyed that the device was booting. The biggest difference from the iPod lay in this display. ID Technology's advantage, with its own ID Display LCD production line, shone here. Yoo Jae-won's foresight had led ID Display to enter the LCD business earlier than almost anyone else. Far from resting on that achievement, the team continued aggressive technology development. ID Group produced enough panels for its internal needs—from large computer monitors to mobile devices—and still had surplus to sell externally. As the LCD market expanded, factories grew, and employment, which started at 5,000, had now tripled. Amid the IMF crisis sweeping Korea with mass layoffs, Daejeon felt like a windless zone, largely thanks to the ID Display factory.
"The power button also controls screen on/off. When powered on, a single touch toggles the display. Holding it with the volume buttons accesses reset or maintenance modes."
This impressed him. The idea of packing multiple functions into one button was simple yet not obvious. Since buttons were prone to failure, reducing their number also lowered malfunction rates—a double benefit. Though the frequently used power button would need reinforced durability, it was still cheaper than adding more buttons. Most satisfying was that the team had developed these ideas independently without Yoo Jae-won pointing out every detail.
The i-DAP's hardware controls consisted of just three buttons: the power button and the volume up/down buttons. This raised the question of how the core function—audio playback—would work.
"All remaining functions rely on our secret weapon: the touchscreen."
The LCD screen covering two-thirds of the body was there for the touchscreen. Once booted, the display listed stored song titles. For development purposes, the storage was filled to capacity, with over a hundred tracks. To find a song among so many, users could scroll up and down with a finger or tap shortcut buttons from # to Z on the right edge to jump to the corresponding starting letter. Built on the mobile operating system used in Tiffany phones, the full touchscreen interface created an entirely new device. Though Yoo Jae-won had created the mobile OS, the touchscreen and touch interface modifications came from Lisa Su and the DAP development team, giving him a fresh sense of accomplishment.
The DAP offered more than basic playback. It included audio enhancement features standard to MP3 players, functioned as a portable disk for data files, and even played video clips. These powerful capabilities were powered by the mobile application processor serving as the device's brain.
"It's perfect," Yoo Jae-won said, expressing complete satisfaction. Recent busyness had kept him from closely overseeing DAP development. He had only set the concept—design drafts, mobile application processor integration, touchscreen combination—yet the finished product exceeded expectations. It spoke to ID Technology's world-class technological integration and development team.
"May I try operating it?"
"Of course."
Lisa Su gladly handed over the DAP. Yoo Jae-won's first impression was its substantial weight. Continuing the identity of the New Egg and iWorks, the DAP featured a solid aluminum alloy frame. Combined with a large-capacity battery and LCD, it felt hefty.
"It doesn't exceed 200 grams, does it?"
"Exactly 185 grams. Reducing battery capacity would lighten it easily, but playback time would decrease accordingly."
Nodding at Lisa Su's explanation, Yoo Jae-won tested every function. The touch felt like pressing through a thin membrane. Because it used a pressure-sensitive system, it gave him a somewhat dull sensation, as if covered by rubber. Still, for people encountering a touchscreen for the first time, even a pressure-sensitive version would be sensational. Moreover, the electrostatic touchscreen was being developed at the high-tech research institute, so it could be applied to future DAP revisions.
Soon after, Yoo Jae-won connected the earphones and played a track. Even with its attractive design, abundant features, video and text file support, and even a PDF viewer, the device's essence remained audio playback.
—Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you.
Celine Dion's lyrical voice flowed through the earphones. The song Yoo Jae-won chose was "My Heart Will Go On," the theme from Titanic, currently dominating global box offices. Once merely a pleasant, famous track, it now felt as familiar as a song released by a neighbor. This was understandable—ID Entertainment had invested considerable money in the Titanic film. The sound quality from the earphones also exceeded expectations. Even at maximum volume from 0 to 100, the audio remained undistorted and clear. By adopting high-end OP amps and DAC chips used in premium audio equipment, and because the Android OS itself was designed with music playback in mind, the sound quality was strikingly excellent. Though audio is subjective, the quality was so outstanding that even experts claiming golden ears would struggle to criticize it. If the bundled earphones performed this well, using top-tier artist monitor headphones would elevate it further.
"What's the manufacturing cost?"
Only one issue remained: price.
"For the 256-megabyte version you're holding, it's $466.35. The 128-megabyte version is $355."
Lisa Su handed him a thin report stamped with a confidential red seal. It contained specifications and pricing data for every component used in the i-DAP. From a one-cent screw to the most expensive part—the touchscreen LCD panel—everything was clearly organized by minimum purchase quantity pricing. The LCD panel cost $129, while each 32-megabyte flash memory chip was $23. The 256-megabyte version used eight such chips, totaling $184. Other components like the mobile application processor, lithium-ion battery, and aluminum alloy frame each cost tens of dollars or more.
"It's quite expensive, isn't it?" Lisa Su asked.
Yoo Jae-won shook his head. The retail price of the iPod and other MP3 players was under $400. Since the i-DAP's production cost alone was $466.35, the consumer price would naturally be much higher. Yet he wasn't particularly worried. Time would resolve the price issue. Moreover, ID Group's products followed a premium strategy—not self-proclaimed, but recognized as premium by the market and public. The current, somewhat realistic pricing was possible because the Future Electronics Semiconductor Division had succeeded in mass-producing 256-megabit flash memory and was churning it out aggressively. ID Group had placed large advance orders for flash memory chips, securing them at far lower prices than competitors. While reviewing the confidential report, Yoo Jae-won never set the DAP down. When the music ended, he opened a video file, then a PDF, testing most functions. Reading a book on the palm-sized LCD posed challenges, but video playback worked without issue.
"What about patents?"
"Over 100 patents have already been filed from this small device alone. President Allen is personally overseeing the registrations."
Yoo Jae-won nodded again at Lisa Su's answer. Allen, who had handled all patent matters since ID Group's founding, was someone he could trust completely.
Incidentally, Yoo Jae-won's deep attachment to the DAP stemmed not only from it being a core item for the Next Music service but from an even more fundamental reason. The DAP already demonstrated considerable completeness. Lisa Su and the researchers were confident no further features could be added. Yet that wasn't the answer. Though the DAP boasted technology no one could match, adding just one more element would transform it into an overwhelmingly powerful item: a mobile communication modem. Combining a modem with the DAP would create the brilliantly named smartphone. That future still required more waiting, but the mere thought made Yoo Jae-won's heart race.