Based on History
Based on history, faster than anyone! Differently from anyone else! That was the core value that had propelled Tom's Hardware Review, the computer and smartphone product review site, into the top three in its field. IDDC 2003 was no exception. In fact, it was the principle most clearly applied at IDDC 2003. Without exception, every IT device reviewer was waiting for IDDC 2003. If a review came out even a little late, it would fail to capture the netizens' attention. Thanks to this, Thomas Pabst, founder of Tom's Hardware Review, had to leave midway through Yoo Jae-won's keynote, the main event of IDDC 2003.
"Aigoo, I'm late." He thought he had come out early enough, but a long line had already formed in front of the sales booths. One of IDDC's traditions was that sales began the moment the keynote ended. It was remarkable. Few companies held on-site sales simultaneously with their product announcements. The practical difficulties made it rare. Usually, companies waited several days or weeks after the announcement before starting sales. Preparing for a launch event was a massive undertaking, and developing any new product was difficult, so companies wanted every extra moment they could get between announcement and release. But ID Group was different. IDDC itself was the launch day. As a result, new products poured out day after day, and early adopters like Thomas found their wallets painfully thin every August. At least Thomas had some relief—his review site was doing well, bringing in steady sponsors and AdSense revenue. Many private individuals, however, were forced into "meal fasting," surviving on nothing but instant ramen.
Once the tradition of simultaneous announcement and release took hold at IDDC, people began skipping the main stage to line up instead. A common sight among them was faces buried in small smartphones, watching the keynote via live stream. The venue had excellent wireless coverage, so the stream ran without a single stutter. Watching the presentation on a tiny phone screen instead of in person felt odd, but for people like Thomas it was a desperate race to get their hands on the hardware even a few minutes sooner.
"At least the N-Pay line is short." The sales area was divided into three sections: cash, card, and N-Pay. The cash and card lines were already long, while the N-Pay queue was only a quarter as long. Having reviewed N-Pay in the past, Thomas naturally joined that line. Sales would not begin until after the keynote ended, so he had a moment to breathe—and with it came memories of N-Pay.
"N-Pay really was convenient." It had made accessing digital content on Nextcom—Marvel, DC, webtoons, web novels—so much easier. Until now, though, it had only been active within ID Group's own services, which had been a disappointment. With his increased workload, Thomas had even stopped reading comics on Nextcom, so opportunities to use N-Pay had vanished.
He powered on his Android smartphone and opened the N-Pay app. His balance showed 120 N-Points. At ten cents per point, that was only twelve dollars. "I need to top up." He tapped the recharge button, selected his credit card, and added nine hundred dollars. The card was already linked, so nine thousand N-Points appeared instantly. He would have liked to buy all three color variants, but as a sole proprietor he could only afford one unit.
A short while later, Yoo Jae-won's keynote concluded and full-scale sales of the Android S3 began. Arriving early and pre-charging N-Pay had been excellent decisions. The moment the presentation ended, sales started and the lines multiplied several times over. Those who had stayed to hear the entire keynote wore satisfied expressions, like people who had just enjoyed a hearty meal. More than half of them headed straight for the sales booths. The queue that had already seemed long when Thomas joined it now swelled dramatically.
—Sales are now open!
—Please maintain order so everyone can purchase quickly.
As the crowd grew, so did the risk of chaos. ID Group quickly deployed more staff to manage the lines, restoring order almost immediately. Sales began in earnest. People who had waited hours cheered as they received their new devices first, and those still in line applauded. Watching with a hawk's eye, Thomas noted that the packaging itself had not changed much from the previous model. The device was jewel-like and dazzling, yet the box adhered to ID Group's traditional minimalist style.
Once sales were fully underway, the speed at which each line moved differed exactly as Thomas had predicted. Cash was slowest—staff had to count bills and make change. Credit cards were faster, though still slowed by the need to connect to payment networks. The fastest line by far was N-Pay.
"Which model would you like?"
"Ruby Red, base model, please."
"That will be 899 dollars."
When his turn came, Thomas chose the base model without a second's hesitation, selecting the vivid red Yoo Jae-won had held during the keynote. Payment was, of course, via N-Pay.
"Here is your order slip. Please review it, then scan the QR code and approve."
The POS screen displayed the model, price, and a QR code. Thomas opened N-Pay, tapped the QR icon, and confirmed. The entire transaction took less than thirty seconds. He accepted the paper bag containing the base-model package and left the venue at once.
Thomas headed straight to the nearby hotel he had booked. The moment he reached his room, he began unboxing.
"Whoa!"
Thomas was not a die-hard fan of either ID or Apple, yet when he broke the seal and opened the box, he could not suppress his admiration. The device had looked impressive on stage, but holding it was an entirely different experience. Ruby Red! Too much red could have looked cheap, but this was unmistakably luxurious, as though a real ruby had been melted and shaped into the casing.
"The packaging is simple, though." In contrast, the box was austere. A matte ivory paper case with nothing but the model name "Android S3" printed on it. The phone itself, however, represented the highest level of finish ID Group had ever achieved. The color was artistic, and there was not a single visible seam or gap between components.
"The real content is inside, of course." After photographing the unboxing, Thomas moved on to transferring his data. The process was simple—especially between two Android devices, a single USB cable moved everything quickly and cleanly. The transfer finished in roughly five minutes without a single error.
"Last step: SIM swap." Here a minor obstacle appeared. The internal design had changed enough that his existing SIM card no longer fit. The manual explained that he simply needed to trim the surrounding plastic. A punch tool was included, along with illustrated instructions. He converted the standard SIM into a nano-SIM, inserted it, and the preparations were complete.
Heart pounding with anticipation, Thomas pressed the power button. Ding! With the familiar clear chime of an Android device, the S3 booted. Instead of the usual cute Android robot running to finish the boot sequence, something different happened. The robot created a holographic inventory in midair, pulled out a large pair of glasses, put them on, then produced a mirror to check its appearance. Finally it turned toward Thomas, bowed politely, and spoke.
—Would you like to register Thomas's face with AI Eyes?
It was a recorded line, and when it read the name stored on the SIM it carried the distinct cadence of text-to-speech. Yet Thomas, fully immersed, felt no sense of incongruity.
—Nod to accept, shake your head to decline.
—These face gestures can be used even without registering for AI Eyes.
"Whoa! New technology right from the start!"
Thomas's mind was already racing toward review material. It felt like finding a dollar bill on the sidewalk. Countless times while using a smartphone one had to answer yes-or-no prompts. Because Thomas had small hands, holding the phone one-handed and tapping the screen for every prompt had always been annoying. Now he could simply nod or shake his head. That would be incredibly convenient. Registering his face for AI Eyes was, of course, mandatory for a reviewer, so he nodded firmly. The Android robot displayed a square window on screen—an ID Talk smiley-face avatar. Astonishingly, the smiley's face moved in perfect sync with Thomas's own expressions as he positioned himself in front of the front camera. It was an avatar designed for people who disliked having their bare face appear on screen.
"That's nice too!"
For Thomas, who lacked confidence in his appearance, the feature was perfectly suited. How many times had he accidentally switched to the front camera while trying to take a photo and been startled by his own face? With the smiley avatar appearing instead, using the face-key function would feel far more comfortable. The system scanned his face from every angle until the progress bar reached 100 percent. Finally, he set a PIN for recovery in case the face key ever failed, completing the setup for AI Eyes.
"So now I can use the face key?"
Thomas immediately changed the lock method from PIN to face key, then turned the screen off and back on.
"Oh!"
It worked exactly as Yoo Jae-won had demonstrated. The moment he held the Android S3 up to his face, the lock released and the home screen appeared. Curious whether any face would work, he covered part of his face with one hand and tried again. The lock screen remained. A short buzz accompanied an error message stating the face could not be recognized and instructing him to touch the screen to enter a password. When he lowered his hand, the phone unlocked instantly.
"Wow!"
He would need to run many more tests before writing a proper review, but the first impression was flawless. Next, Thomas launched AI Eyes, the flagship feature of the Android S3. His initial reaction was thoroughly satisfying—worth every cent of the 899-dollar price tag. The real focus of this review, however, was AI Eyes.
—This is your first time launching AI Eyes. Consent for personal-data usage is required.
—Please read the full personal-data agreement. If you agree, nod your head.
By consenting, you not only improve AI Eyes' intelligence but also receive N-Points proportional to your contribution.
"Points? That sounds important, but the review comes first!"
Pressed for time, Thomas nodded quickly to give consent and finish the setup. Now the real test began—whether AI Eyes could deliver the same astonishing performance it had shown on that variety show months earlier. His goal was to publish a preview within two hours and a full in-depth review by tomorrow evening. Thomas moved quickly; it was a race against time. He knew better than anyone that rival hardware reviewers in other locations were performing the exact same tasks. His fingers flew across the Android S3.
The next day, while IDDC—the global festival for IT professionals—was in full swing, an icy atmosphere filled the top-floor boardroom of Chevron's headquarters in Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco. Frederick had called an emergency board meeting. There was only one item on the agenda: the appointment of Tiffany Yoo as a registered director.