Although Chris was very disappointed, his professionalism still forced him to maintain a smile, not letting the profanity at the tip of his tongue slip out. However, he was certain that after Hugo left, he would definitely complain to his colleagues: "He's made so much money recently, yet he's still stingy about spending a little bit to get himself a pager!""Forget the pager, I want to see a mobile phone." Hugo's next words instantly brought Chris from hell back to heaven, "Uh, or what do you call it, a portable phone? A handheld phone? Anyway, I want to see a brick." Hugo's questioning gaze moved back and forth between Joseph and Chris, trying to make his statement clearer."Of course, of course," Chris said repeatedly, "Please follow me in this direction." Chris extended his right hand in an inviting gesture. The other sales assistants in the store who didn't have customers immediately looked at Chris enviously, regretting that they hadn't greeted him first. What a miscalculation!"I just went to see 'A Few Good Men' last week. My wife Marianne and I both loved it, it was truly brilliant." Chris's smile returned to his face. Compared to pagers, they might not sell a single portable phone in two or three months. Now, being able to sell one portable phone was not only a very substantial commission but also played a crucial role in their promotion within the company. Chris suddenly felt that this year's Christmas might hold a beautiful memory."Really? That's great." Hugo returned his smile, and although there were still faint dark circles under his eyes, Hugo's smile always carried a sunny warmth that made people feel lighthearted.Joseph looked at Hugo like this and could only let out a long sigh of relief, his furrowed brows completely relaxing. Since he had decided to buy a brick, then buy it! Hugo had worked really hard over the past year, and it was time to treat himself.Walking to the glass counter, the scene that unfolded before Hugo this time was spectacular. A row of mobile phones, from largest to smallest, were neatly arranged. The phone on the far left looked as big as a forearm, and the smallest one on the far right was about the size of a palm."This TAC model (Micro.TAC.Ultra-Lite) was just developed this year," Chris said, pointing to the phone on the far right, "This is also currently the smallest and lightest portable phone in the world."Joseph looked at the phone Chris was pointing at, quite surprised. In his impression, current portable phones had always been the bulky ones on the left. In comparison, the four phones on the far right were already quite compact. No wonder Hugo had planned to buy such a phone from the beginning, because it was more convenient to carry. He just didn't know about the communication quality, because the large bricks before had always had unsatisfactory call quality, which was an important reason why people preferred landlines.Hugo, however, was not at all surprised by the TAC on the right, as he had seen many more compact and lighter phones. Instead, Hugo was more interested in the bricks on the left. "Hey, can you hand me that one to look at?"Chris didn't know what Hugo was planning, but he still took out the big brick on the left and handed it to Hugo. As soon as Hugo took it, he found it was much heavier than he expected. "How heavy is this?""Two pounds," Chris introduced, and Hugo's eyes immediately widened. Two pounds, that's almost a kilogram. That's much heavier than a brick. No wonder people used to say that old portable phones could be used as heavy weapons. Imagine carrying a nearly one-kilogram behemoth on your body; this isn't convenience, it's a workout."This is a 1G phone, it uses one hour and charges for ten hours. The original price was two thousand nine hundred ninety-five dollars, but we're having a promotion now, so it's only one thousand seven hundred ninety-five dollars." Chris quickly introduced, watching Hugo playfully handle the phone as if weighing a weapon, like he was looking at an interesting toy, which gave Chris a strange sense of amusement."Wow, one hour," Hugo exclaimed. In 2014, they had countless complaints about smartphone usage time, but imagine that when portable phones first came out, charging for ten hours only gave you one hour of use. So smartphones have come a long way. "Did you say the TAC was a 2G phone?" Satisfying his curiosity, Hugo then turned his attention to the more practical and reliable new phone."Yes, this phone has a new battery, shorter charging time, and longer usage time." Chris immediately began to introduce it enthusiastically. Joseph interrupted him to ask, "How long can it be used?" Chris hesitated, "There's no exact time yet, but three hours should be no problem. Besides, this phone's ringtone has been updated, and the screen has also been upgraded...""Can it send text messages?" Hugo interrupted Chris. 2G phones would be the main force in the mobile phone market in the future, and until the advent of smartphones, 2G phones actually had quite comprehensive functions, including text messages, MMS, wireless positioning, and so on, all available."Uh, I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" Chris clearly didn't understand Hugo's words and said with a smile."Text messages, I mean," Hugo repeated. However, what was a simple basic function for Hugo was a daunting task in the ears of Joseph and Chris. Chris gave an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, not yet."Joseph even directly glanced at Hugo, "Don't ask for too much."Hugo expressed his helplessness. He held the TAC phone in his hand; it was about half the size of a palm. In terms of volume alone, it was already remarkably compact, but it was still a bit heavier than he imagined. "How heavy?""Five point nine ounces, this is currently the lightest model globally," Chris's answer was full of confidence.Five point nine ounces, which is roughly one hundred sixty-seven grams. This weight can be said to be very rare. Not to mention comparing it to those bricks, it's not inferior even to many lightweight phones of the 21st century. Although its current functions are limited to making and receiving calls, there's nothing to complain about anymore."Won't the call quality be poor?" Joseph asked hesitantly, "Marty Cooper said that the distance between the ear and the mouth is very important, but now this design has become smaller, ignoring this distance. Won't the call quality be affected?"Marty Cooper, the inventor of the modern mobile phone. The TAC phone Hugo held had a flip-phone design. Opening the square cover below the screen revealed the keypad, and the microphone was at the top of the square cover. This was a way to maintain the distance between the ear and mouth as much as possible while shrinking the phone's size."Don't worry, all our phones undergo detailed testing before launch. The call quality of this phone has greatly improved compared to before. It is our newest and best model," Chris explained sincerely, striving to make his words more convincing.However, for Hugo, it had no effect. As for call quality, he naturally wouldn't expect current phones to compare to those of the 21st century. In fact, Hugo didn't have too many demands for the phone's functionality. The TAC in his hand was more compact and lighter than he imagined, which was already a huge gain. It seemed that 1992 was much more "advanced" than he had expected."How much is this phone? And what about the communication company?" Hugo asked somewhat uncertainly. He had no idea about the relationship between current mobile phones and communication companies, or whether phones used SIM cards or signed agreements with communication companies like landlines."You just need to buy the phone, and we will provide a communication agreement with Ameritech Scientific. After paying a certain basic fee each month, calls are charged based on talk time. We have a specific price list." Chris briefly explained, "This phone is our new model just released this year, so the price will be relatively higher, costing three thousand four hundred ninety-five dollars."Three thousand four hundred ninety-five dollars for a brick—this price indeed made one gasp. No wonder it was said that mobile phones were currently a necessity for the wealthy, and the penetration rate simply couldn't increase. However, Hugo also knew that mobile phones would develop rapidly in the next few years, and prices would quickly drop, making them affordable for the middle class as much as possible.Although the price was quite high, Hugo still decided to buy it. Earning money was for spending money; a miser would never enjoy the joys of life. What's more, having a mobile phone would indeed make life much more convenient, which money couldn't buy. If it weren't for the fact that the internet hadn't developed at all yet—the first user-friendly interface connected to the internet was developed at the University of Minnesota in 1991, and there was still a long way to go before widespread adoption—otherwise, Hugo would have been eager to buy a computer already."Okay, give me two bricks," Hugo said decisively. Chris's smile immediately bloomed, while Joseph, standing beside him, exclaimed, "Are you crazy?"These two bricks would cost seven thousand dollars, which was a huge expense for Joseph. He simply wasn't mentally prepared enough. "Why are you buying two? This is a waste!""One for me, one for you. Otherwise, if I buy one, who will I contact?" Hugo said matter-of-factly, "Oh, right, I should also buy one for Carl, Alex, and Charlize." The purpose of a mobile phone, besides making life simpler, is to make communication between friends easier. Normally, friends primarily rely on landlines to communicate, and answering machines are actually more frequently encountered. However, mobile phones can skip this step. So, if only Hugo had a mobile phone, and there was no one to contact, then the important meaning of the mobile phone would be lost."Chris, please give me five bricks." Hugo's words made Chris's smile even brighter. He had been worried about not getting any business today, but now he was starting off with five new TAC models. For Chris, life was about to undergo "earth-shattering" changes.
