The Livepod Unveiled
The moment the end-of-the-century Livepod was revealed to the world, Remington was nowhere to be seen. All Yoo Jae-won did was slip his right hand into his back pocket and pull something out. The audience, who had been expecting a cart, felt a refreshing little twist in the proceedings.
“This is the Livepod!”
Yoo Jae-won held the device forward with a truly proud expression. Camera flashes erupted in rapid succession, and the camera linked to the main screen focused on his hand. Behind him, a gigantic image of the Livepod appeared on the display. It was soon followed by computer-generated footage rendered at near-photorealistic quality. Against a black background, the Livepod slowly rotated in mid-air, showcasing every detail in a sleek graphic presentation.
The main stage fell utterly silent. Everyone was mesmerized by the precision of the CG. The back was covered in brilliant chrome silver, while the entire front consisted of a wide LCD screen. There were only three hardware buttons in total: two on the left and one on the right that handled power and screen on/off functions. Thanks to this, the Livepod felt remarkably simple. Yet that very simplicity radiated a level of refinement no other device could match.
In 1998, Japanese cassette players had reached the pinnacle of extreme miniaturization, packing in features like Dolby sound with unrivaled expertise. Sony’s Walkman, in particular, stood at the absolute peak. But even Sony’s latest Walkman looked positively outdated next to the Livepod. Its design left no room for improvement.
What surprised people most was how little difference there was between the CG image and the real device. The only shortfall came from the camera’s resolution, which softened the razor-sharp edges slightly. Even the expensive ENG camera connected to the main stage screen—normally used in broadcast studios—had its limits.
“The Livepod weighs a mere 108 grams,” Yoo Jae-won declared, confidently presenting the device. He led with its weight. Cassette players had grown much lighter through slimming efforts, but motors and other components that simply couldn’t be miniaturized kept them heavier than they appeared. Many manufacturers even listed weights without the battery. In contrast, the Livepod’s battery was integrated, and this was its true measured weight on a precision scale—no tricks whatsoever.
“It can hold over 100 songs.”
As Yoo Jae-won continued, more detailed information appeared on the screen behind him. The exact number of songs varied by codec. For AAC normal quality, the 256MB model was sufficient. For MP3, the 512MB model was recommended. Every specification was clearly displayed.
“Now, how do you transfer music to the Livepod? It’s simple. Just connect it with a USB cable, and a removable disk named ‘Livepod’ will appear in the Android File Manager.”
Yoo Jae-won had flinched slightly at the word “removable.” Since the presentation was in English, he had said “portable disk,” but the Korean term had naturally popped into his head. It was a nostalgic phrase. Still, the show had to go on. His teacher would surely want him to continue.
Refocused, Yoo Jae-won demonstrated the process himself. He dragged and dropped a track he had purchased with one-click on Next Music straight into the Livepod’s removable disk. The entire operation took mere seconds.
“Shall we give it a proper listen?”
After the file transfer, Yoo Jae-won released the hold switch and operated the device live. From there, he explained the Livepod’s various features one by one. Because he was demonstrating with a fully functional unit, his confidence overflowed.
At the same time, a thought crossed his mind.
Steve Jobs was the one person Yoo Jae-won never hesitated to name as a formidable rival capable of threatening ID Group. Thanks to ID Group’s overwhelming presence, Apple was under even greater pressure than before. Yet reports of Steve Jobs’ continued innovation kept coming in steadily. He was surely cooking up something to strike at ID Group’s back. Yoo Jae-won was curious whether it would be a truly powerful blow or merely a storm in a teacup.
“What truly maximizes the Livepod’s performance is its touch interface.”
The Livepod had no buttons on the front or back. All functions were controlled by directly touching the LCD screen.
“The touch interface will become the standard for all portable devices ID Group releases, including the Tiffany Phone Touch launching soon. So anyone who gets used to the Livepod will be able to pick up our future portable devices without any difficulty.”
Yoo Jae-won demonstrated everything from slide-to-unlock to the home button, list search, previous/next track, random playback, and settings. The people in the main stage responded with gasps of admiration and enthusiastic cheers for every single demonstration.
“And that’s not all. You can also store and play videos. This is made possible by the powerful mobile application processor built into the Livepod, which handles even heavy video codecs with ease.”
Although it was one of the larger mobile displays, watching a full movie on a screen under three inches was unrealistic. Besides, there were no legal routes yet to obtain movies or dramas for download. Timeflix offered VOD streaming, but not downloads. Still, as the person ultimately responsible, Yoo Jae-won felt obligated to disclose the Livepod’s full capabilities. He made it clear: if users found video content and wanted to watch it on the go, the Livepod was ready.
“Of course, we didn’t neglect sound quality—the very essence of an audio device.”
Near the end, Yoo Jae-won addressed audio performance. Sound quality was inherently subjective, but the Livepod’s special design for audio fidelity set it apart from tapes and other MP3 players.
“The mobile application processor’s powerful and flexible performance means it will adapt perfectly to whatever format next-generation HD audio ultimately adopts.”
In other words, future codecs not currently supported could be added through patches. However, the maximum quality supported by the built-in hardware audio codec was 16-bit 48kHz, so true 24-bit or 96kHz sources couldn’t be played natively. Instead, the processor would handle resampling to match the device’s capabilities.
Furthermore, the biggest factor affecting player sound quality was the earphones. Yoo Jae-won had chosen high-end in-ear monitors as the bundled accessory, giving the Livepod a clear point of differentiation.
“The Livepod will be available for purchase across North America and at ID Flagship Stores in Korea starting in two days. Here are the prices.”
At the final stretch, Yoo Jae-won revealed the pricing. On the main stage screen appeared the figures: the maximum-capacity 512MB version at $999, the 256MB version at $499, and the smallest 128MB version at $333.
Surprisingly, cheers erupted. In truth, Yoo Jae-won had agonized over the retail prices. The manufacturing cost alone for the 256MB model was $466. Deciding how much margin to add had been difficult. A large margin would be nice, but losing price competitiveness would be disastrous. In the end, he had settled on $499—exactly one dollar below five hundred. The margin was a mere $33.
Even so, it was significantly more expensive than other MP3 players. Simple players without LCD displays were already on the market at $200–300. If he had abandoned price competitiveness and gone purely for margin, he could have set it at $599. But for the sake of mass appeal, Yoo Jae-won boldly chose $499.
“One regret is that we don’t have a huge amount of stock prepared. But even if you’re a little late, don’t be disappointed. If you place a reservation through the internet or at an ID Flagship Store, we’ll manufacture and deliver it to you as quickly as possible.”
Yoo Jae-won never forgot to promote until the very end. The Livepod was already in production at the Daeho Electronics factory they had acquired. The more units produced, the faster that factory would return to normal operations.
“Ah, I almost forgot about this.”
Just as the presentation on the Livepod and Next Music was nearly over, Yoo Jae-won spoke as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“One final feature! It also supports games. In addition to the built-in titles, anyone confident in programming can create their own games for the open platform, register them on the Livepod Store, and distribute them.”
For a smartphone to truly function as a smartphone, it needed a rich ecosystem of applications. Yoo Jae-won was launching a basic app store called the Livepod App Store to build early brand recognition and prepare a third-party developer environment in advance. Since the Livepod lacked wireless communication, users would connect it to a computer via USB, access the app store through a web browser, download apps, and install them. Revenue would come from sharing advertising income on the app store homepage based on download ratios. Given the small amounts involved, it would likely attract mostly amateur or small-scale developers for now.
After demonstrating everything from jewel puzzle games to fast-scrolling runner titles running smoothly on the device, Yoo Jae-won’s second-day presentation came to a close.
The aftermath, of course, was enormous. While Next Music—already well-known in Korea—had launched earlier, the spotlight fell squarely on the Livepod. Anyone could predict the immense synergy that would come from combining an LCD display, touch interface, and open app store.
There is no eternal festival. The long-running IDDC 98 finally reached its last day. The final day was truly for developers. It showcased various ID Group products and those still in development that could safely be revealed. The event was split into software and hardware tracks, with a massive increase in hands-on experience booths.
Consequently, there were no presentations led by Yoo Jae-won today. Instead, team leaders and lead producers from each division hosted smaller-scale conferences.
It could easily have turned into a chaotic marketplace, but ID Group’s event management was top-tier. The large and small booths throughout the convention center shared a unified theme: “Connect the Future.”
They revealed some early information about the next version of the Android operating system—Android 2000. In truth, Android alone could have justified its own dedicated conference. The accumulated libraries from continuous upgrades and the massive number of upcoming features were staggering. Yoo Jae-won was even considering making IDDC 99 an Android-only event.
In any case, today’s session covered major changes to the security policy in version 2000, significantly enhanced hardware support, and methods to fully utilize a computer’s performance to maximize program efficiency. They also demonstrated the next version of GlideX, the core graphics engine for games running on Android.
Computers and games were eternal companions that could never be omitted.
The next most popular booth belonged to ID High Tech’s drones. Drones were rapidly being adopted in certain industries—chiefly film production. Before drones, aerial shots required helicopters, which came with severe spatial and weather limitations. The cost of operating a helicopter for every shot was astronomical. Only major blockbusters could afford proper aerial cinematography. But with ID High Tech’s drones, the story changed.
The drones were 100% handcrafted and exclusive to ID High Tech, so they were expensive. Still, they were far cheaper than helicopters. Operation was also simple. The drawbacks were the size of mountable cameras and flight time. Nevertheless, except for artistic films that relied heavily on long takes, drones were clearly a viable alternative to helicopters.
The drone unveiled today was even smaller than previous models. In addition to quadcopters, a model with wings longer than its body appeared. While quadcopters specialized in hovering, the winged model was optimized for long-range operations. They did not fly the new models over the convention center, however. They were simply displayed. There were still too many aspects that needed refinement before a full public flight demonstration.
Naturally, a new quadcopter model was also revealed. It was smaller than previous versions, and the fly-by-wire program had become far more sophisticated, making control much easier. The trade-off was reduced payload capacity and shorter flight time due to the smaller size.
There were also electric vehicles. The models Lightning Bolt was diligently developing on Jeju Island were taking on increasingly convincing shapes. The one appearing at IDDC 98 was the most car-like among them. Visitors could even take test rides inside the convention center. Its rounded design proved especially popular with children.
Finally, there was the ID Entertainment booth. Without question, it was the most popular spot on the third day. The moment the teaser video for the next-generation MMORPG being developed jointly by Blizzard and Origin Systems played, the collective gasps from the crowd reverberated throughout the entire convention center.
In the end, IDDC 98 was a resounding success. Despite being ID Group’s first independent event, it drew far more visitors than expected and received an overwhelmingly positive response. The services and products announced at IDDC 98 also drew massive global attention. This was soon reflected in ID Group’s stock price.
The shares of Time Warner Nextcom and Android rose steadily, seemingly untouched by the bubble-burst aftermath hammering the Nasdaq. They stood tall and proud.
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work.”
After IDDC 98 concluded successfully, Yoo Jae-won took exactly one day off before returning to the ID Technology headquarters. He needed to review the results of the expensive event and wrap up all remaining matters.
Reporting results to the group’s sole leader was normally a nerve-wracking affair, but today was an exception.
“Thanks to everyone’s dedicated support, we achieved the best possible response. I will make sure not a single dollar of these results is overlooked when distributing rewards, so please look forward to it.”
At Yoo Jae-won’s praise, everyone in the conference room warmed with satisfaction. After all, IDDC 98 was universally acknowledged as the most successful IT-related event of 1998.
However, when the topic shifted to “Now, let’s discuss Timeflix access statistics, Livepod sales figures, and reservation numbers,” the atmosphere gradually grew tense once more.
There were still four months left in 1998. Yoo Jae-won tightened the relaxed mood that had begun to loosen after IDDC 98’s success, pulling it taut again.
At the same time, there was another place where tension had reached its peak—just like the ID Technology conference room. And it wasn’t far away. It was the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, to the left of San Jose.