Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 85 The Flaws of Orange 1

After leaving Shenzhen University, Chen Mo did not rush to take a motorcycle taxi back to his small workshop. Instead, he took a rare break from his busy schedule and chose to walk back.

In the nearly one month since his rebirth, Chen Mo has been working non-stop, revising mobile phone designs, finding patent agents, developing batteries, applying for 3C certification, filing for production and launching Orange 1.
Since his rebirth a month ago, Chen Mo has been filled with a sense of urgency, without a moment's rest. His nerves have been stretched too tight. Now that Orange 1 has finally achieved some results, he needs to relax in his own way.

This journey, which took about two and a half hours, became one of the few moments of relaxation he had experienced recently.

Chen Mo's hobby is somewhat niche; he prefers this "fear-death version" of extreme urban hiking, and every small supermarket along the way can become his energy replenishment station at any time.

After walking for two hours, he turned into a small supermarket. Just as he picked out a bottle of mineral water from the freezer, he heard two little girls talking.

Xiaoyu, wearing a pink angel hat, was holding her friend Xiaowei's hand and shaking it incessantly.

"Xiao Wei, you imitated it so well! The boss really thought you were Sister Liu from the Shenzhen scene. He called me 'Little Aunt' on the spot and even gave me a refund for the fake Orange phone!"

As she spoke, she casually grabbed a ballpoint pen to use as a microphone and pretended to be serious, saying, "Now, please welcome our best host, Xiao Wei, to give her acceptance speech!"

Xiao Wei was amused and laughed, reaching out to cover her mouth.

"Stop it! Xiaoyu, don't be sad. Actually, the Orange phone isn't perfect either."

Chen Mo, who was twisting the bottle cap, suddenly stopped, and his ears involuntarily perked up.

This girl says her orange phone isn't perfect; he'd like to hear exactly what's wrong with it.

If there are shortcomings, correct them; if not, strive to improve. After all, it seems that both of these young girls are fans of oranges.

Although Chen Mo dislikes using this term to describe his products and prefers to win users' favor through quality, that's just the way it is.

With its smooth system experience and its very special "super fast charging" feature, the Orange 1 has already gained a group of young fans.

The technological cult is beginning to show its power.

The two girls noticed someone nearby and politely lowered their voices. When he leaned over to eavesdrop, he accidentally knocked over a drink on the counter.

"Cough cough~"

Under the girls' surprised gazes, Chen Mo coughed awkwardly twice.

"Hello! I'm a market researcher from Orange Technology. You just mentioned that there's a problem with our Orange phones? Could you tell us about it?"

Looking at the snacks in the shopping baskets of the two little girls, Chen Mo added, "I can help you empty your shopping baskets."

Ten minutes later, the three sat around a small table at the supermarket entrance, with the two little girls each carrying a large bag and a small bag of snacks.

Chen Mo finally figured out the whole story.

This lively little girl, Xiaoyu, wearing an angel hat, went to the Huabei Qiangdangkou Market to buy an orange-brand mobile phone, but was cheated by the shopkeeper with a counterfeit phone.

Then, Xiao Wei, who was quieter, was her classmate. She gave her advice and helped her return the phone and get her money back.

When Chen Mo asked Xiao Wei about the shortcomings of Orange 1, her face instantly turned red.

After all, it would be nerve-wracking and embarrassing for anyone to criticize someone's product in person and then be caught doing so.

Only after Chen Mo repeatedly encouraged her did she speak softly.

"If I'm playing Angry Birds and the battery suddenly goes out, all my progress will be gone when I turn it back on."

"It's because the system didn't reserve enough power, which caused the data loss!" Chen Mo slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing.

After all, this older brother had bought a lot of snacks for the two of them, so Xiao Wei quickly added more.

"It's not a big problem. Many of my classmates bought Orange 1, and everyone likes it."

Xiaoyu, who was standing nearby, suddenly interjected: "But your phones are really hard to buy! I went to the market three times, and in the end I still bought a fake one."

"And could you add a battery indicator? Last time I finally got to level 30 and then my battery died. I almost cried!"

Battery level reminder!

Chen Mo pondered for a few seconds.

For modern smartphones to achieve this function, both software and hardware must work together.

On the software side, the underlying mobile phone system needs to have a built-in power management system, and on the hardware side, a power NTC sensor needs to be placed, but neither of these can be done in the short term.

It's worth noting that Android 4.0, released after 2012, was the first to integrate the Daze battery display function at the system level.

In other words, you can accurately see the remaining battery percentage from the small battery icon in the upper right corner of the notification bar. Apple, which has always been weak in the battery field, maintained its poor performance and only officially introduced the battery display function in iOS 7, 13 years later.

Now that we've covered the software, let's talk about the hardware.

At that time, there were no miniaturized NTC power sensors that could be put into mobile phones.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice!

Does this little girl named Xiaoyu think Orange Technology is too amazing?

Users, you know!
It's normal not to understand the technical aspects, but product demand is always there.

Chen Mo searched through his memories from his previous life for feasible alternatives.

Suddenly, he remembered the "ingenious tricks" of later knock-off mobile phones.

Although these counterfeit phones lack a hardware NTC sensor, they can still estimate battery power by statistically analyzing screen usage time curves.

This approach can save costs and quickly implement the functionality.

"Don't worry! We'll release the system patch soon, and Orange OS 1.0.1 will definitely not lose any more levels!" He made the decision on the spot, then smiled at the two of them: "Your opinions and suggestions are very constructive. Give me an address, and I'll send you a mystery gift on behalf of the company!"

Just as Xiaoyu was about to speak, Xiaowei gently tugged at her sleeve.

"Big brother! We are first-year students at Experimental High School!" Xiao Wei pointed to the teaching building on the street corner: "You can just send it to the school's mailroom."

Chen Mo noticed her cautious demeanor, took a second look, and nodded with a smile.

"no problem!"

The following day, the mailroom staff of the Experimental Middle School Library carried a package into Class 1 of Grade 1.

"Shi Yutong! Lei Weiwei! Your packages!"

"I'll do it! I'll do it!" Wearing a pink angel hat, Xiaoyu pressed down on Xiaowei, who had just gotten up, and happily took a local package from the library mailroom teacher.

"Xiao Wei! You bought something from DM magazine again?"

DM magazine is a shopping magazine published by local media in Shenzhen, and it represents the earliest group-buying model that can be traced back to in China.

The magazine is distributed free of charge to schools, various government agencies, and other organizations on a regular basis. Customers can subscribe by sending a letter to the magazine publisher using the code provided in the magazine.

The magazine will tally the number of these orders and negotiate lower prices with wholesalers to purchase the goods, with payment due upon delivery.

"No! This isn't a DM package!" Xiaowei said to Xiaoyu with a gentle smile, "You didn't even pay for it, and the teacher just gave it to you!"

"Really! Xiaowei, you're so smart! You even knew that!"

When Xiaoyu opened the box, she let out a surprised scream. Inside were two orange Orange 1 phones and two exquisite protective cases printed with unknown cartoon patterns.

"It's the surprise gift from that uncle yesterday, but unfortunately it's not white."

She muttered to herself, but her attention was quickly drawn back to the protective case.

"What is this thing?"

Xiaowei quietly put the protective case on her orange phone, wanting to show Xiaoyu how to use it.

Suddenly, her face turned pale, and she swayed.

"Xiao Wei!" Xiao Yu hurriedly helped her up.

Xiao Wei waved her hand, took a breath, and said, "It's nothing! It's probably just a little low blood sugar."

Once her expression softened, the two of them huddled together again, chattering away as they examined the orange phone.

These two orange-colored "Orange 1" bottles, leftover stock, were an extra surprise Chen Mo gave to the two girls.

After all, one helped me discover the loophole that Orange 1 did not have a reserved battery level, and the other gave me a very constructive suggestion regarding the battery level display requirement.

Chen Mo certainly wouldn't be too stingy. The issue of the system reserving power was a minor system patch that could be quickly resolved by updating to Orange OS 1.0.1.

However, the battery display function will likely have to wait until Orange OS 2.0 recruits more programmers before it can be initially implemented next year.

(End of this chapter)