Monday, 12 August 2001.
ZAGE Event Building, Tokyo.
The ZAGE Event Building had been transformed into something closer to a festival than a normal technology showcase. Giant AKAI banners hung from the upper walls, black-and-silver lights moved slowly across the ceiling, and massive screens displayed rotating words like Communication, Entertainment, Mobility, and Future. Unlike many electronics showcases that only invited journalists, executives, industry people, and special guests, ZAGE had once again opened part of the event to the public. That had become one of ZAGE's strange traditions. If ZAGE announced something big, ordinary fans, students, workers, families, and curious people were allowed to witness it too, as long as they managed to get tickets.
Because of that, the building was packed.
Rows of seats were filled with journalists from technology magazines, gaming publications, business newspapers, entertainment media, and even foreign outlets. Behind them, excited fans whispered among themselves, holding small AKAI pamphlets and ZAGE merchandise. Some came because they loved AKAI phones. Some came because they wanted to know what Zaboru would do next
On the stage, the main screen remained dark, showing only the silver AKAI logo in the middle. The crowd noise grew louder as the event time approached. Then, finally, the lights dimmed.
A clean electronic sound echoed through the hall.
The AKAI logo on the screen slowly turned red.
Then Hyoga Akai walked onto the stage.
As AKAI's CEO, Hyoga was technically the man responsible for the event. He wore a clean suit and smiled brightly as the audience welcomed him with applause. He bowed politely, waited for the noise to settle, then lifted the microphone with a cheerful expression.
"Well, hello everyone! Thank you so much for coming to the AKAI Showcase today. And before anyone gets disappointed, don't worry, I will not stay here too long."
The audience laughed.
Hyoga grinned wider. "I know, I know. You all came here to see the real host. I am only here to say thank you, smile like a proper CEO, and then call the man who somehow always ends up presenting our products better than us. So please welcome… Zaboru Renkonan!"
The hall exploded with applause.
The giant screen behind Hyoga flashed red and silver, and energetic music began playing. A few seconds later, Zaboru stepped onto the stage.
The crowd reacted immediately.
Zaboru wore his hair tied into a ponytail, a black blazer over a T-shirt, black pants, and Air Jordan 1s. The outfit was casual, sharp, and very Zaboru. But what caught people's attention instantly was the text on his shirt.
I PLAY FEELINGS.
For one second, the crowd seemed to collectively process it.
Then laughter and cheers erupted.
Several journalists immediately began writing. Some audience members pointed at the shirt and laughed. People who had watched the ZAGE advertisement two days earlier understood the joke perfectly. It was another direct jab at Apple's iPlay, and Zaboru had walked onto the stage wearing it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Zaboru glanced down at his own shirt, then looked at the audience with an innocent expression. "What? It's a very emotional shirt."
The audience laughed harder.
Hyoga, still standing nearby, shook his head while smiling. Zaboru turned toward him and sighed. "Hyoga-san, you should stay here. You are AKAI's CEO."
Hyoga gave him a thumbs-up and replied, "Don't worry, boss. I'm going to help you presentize."
Zaboru froze. "Presentize?"
"Yes. It means helping with presentation."
"That is not a word."
"It is now."
Before Zaboru could respond, Hyoga quickly ran behind the laptop station on the side of the stage and gave another exaggerated thumbs-up. Zaboru stared at him for a moment, then slowly looked back at the audience. "This is why AKAI is successful. Our CEO invents English under pressure."
The audience laughed and clapped again.
Zaboru smiled, raised the microphone, and stood at the center of the stage. "Hello everyone. Thank you for coming today. And you know what?" He paused, letting the crowd anticipate it. Then he pointed at them with a grin. "You are very cool."
The audience immediately cheered.
That phrase had already become one of Zaboru's signature lines. Every time he said it at an event, fans reacted like they had been waiting for it. Some even shouted it back at him. Zaboru chuckled as the applause continued for several seconds, then lifted one hand to calm them down.
"Okay, okay. Today is an AKAI Showcase, so let's talk about phones. Do you remember back in 1998 when AKAI released the Z2-FLIP?"
The big screen behind him showed the AKAI Z2-FLIP rotating slowly, with old promotional footage beside it. The crowd reacted warmly. The Z2-FLIP had become one of AKAI's most iconic phones, famous for its flip design, color screen, camera, MP3 playback, and stylish appearance.
Zaboru smiled proudly. "Even now, the Z2-FLIP is still a very cool phone. Color display, camera, MP3, flip design, custom ringtones, all that good stuff. Back then, we wanted to show people that phones did not have to be boring little bricks used only for calling and sending painful text messages. We wanted to show that phones could have personality."
The screen changed to show people using the Z2-FLIP in daily life: students listening to music, office workers checking schedules, families taking simple photos, and young people customizing their ringtones.
Zaboru continued, "But technology moves fast. The world moves fast. People change fast. Back then, having a color screen on a phone felt amazing. Now? People want more. They want better screens. Better cameras. Better sound. Better internet. Easier typing. Easier communication. They want a phone that does not feel like it is fighting against their thumbs."
The audience laughed.
Zaboru lifted his own phone and pretended to type on an old number pad. "You ever try writing a long message with number buttons? Press 7 four times, press 4 two times, accidentally press the wrong button, delete, cry, rethink your life choices…".
Zaboru pointed at the screen. "This is not communication. This is suffering."
Hyoga shouted from behind the laptop, "Emotional damage!"
Zaboru shook his head with a smile, then turned back to the audience. "So we asked a simple question. What if a phone did not make typing painful? What if a phone had a screen large enough to actually enjoy reading? What if a phone could be useful for business, school, entertainment, messaging, music, pictures, internet, and games? What if your phone became not just something you carry, but something you actually want to use?"
The giant screen behind him went dark.
Then bright silver words appeared.
A NEW ERA PHONE.
The crowd became quieter.
Zaboru's expression became sharper, more serious.
"Today, AKAI will show you a new type of phone. A phone built for communication. A phone built for media. A phone built for the internet. A phone built for ZAGE services. And yes…" His grin returned. "A phone built for games too."
The audience started clapping again, anticipation rising.
Zaboru reached into his blazer pocket. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the AKAI Black Berry Z01."
He took out the phone.
The moment the device appeared in his hand, the screen behind him displayed a massive 3D render of it in full glory. The AKAI Black Berry Z01 had a black-and-silver color palette, a wide rectangular body, a large color screen, and a full QWERTY keyboard beneath it. It looked nothing like the normal phones on the market. It looked like a miniature computer, a business tool, and a gaming device somehow compressed into one pocket machine.
The crowd gasped.
Then applause followed.
Journalists leaned forward. Camera flashes went off. The 3D render rotated slowly on the screen, showing the keyboard, screen, side buttons, camera module, speaker grille, data port, headphone jack, and expansion slot.
Zaboru held the phone up proudly. "Beautiful, right?"
The audience clapped louder.
Zaboru smiled and continued, "Now, you are probably wondering what the AKAI Black Berry Z01 can do. The answer is simple: plenty. Everything our previous AKAI phones could do, this device can do. Calendar, calculator, contacts, custom ringtones, alarm, notes, camera, speaker, messaging, and more. But that is only the foundation. This phone is not just an upgrade. It is a different direction."
Behind him, the screen changed to a clean feature list.
Color Display. Full QWERTY Keyboard. Camera. Video Recording. Music Player. Wi-Fi. Bluetooth. Browser. Email. ZAGE ID. Black Berry Messenger. Little Steam.
The crowd became louder with every feature that appeared.
Zaboru pointed toward the camera icon first. "Let's begin with the camera. The Z01 has one of the best cameras ever placed inside a mobile phone. Is it better than a proper digital camera? No. Please do not throw away your expensive cameras and blame me later. But for a phone? This is very, very good."
The screen showed sample photos taken with the Z01: a city street, a bowl of ramen, a group of friends, a night shot under streetlights, and a close-up of a cat looking deeply offended.
Zaboru pointed at the cat photo. "This cat was not paid. It simply has strong acting talent."
The audience laughed.
Then the screen shifted to short video footage recorded from the Z01. It showed a child running in a park, a street musician playing guitar, and a quick shot of Zaboru waving at the camera.
Zaboru smiled. "Yes. You can record video with this phone."
The audience gasped loudly.
Several journalists immediately began typing.
Zaboru continued, "Short clips, of course. Do not expect to film a three-hour movie on your phone. If you try, the phone will probably judge you. But for daily memories, short messages, funny moments, pets doing suspicious things, or your friend falling while pretending he can dance? Perfect."
The crowd laughed again.
Zaboru moved to the next feature. "And if you can record video, then of course you should also be able to watch video. The Black Berry Z01 supports video playback, and it also has a mobile YouTube application."
The screen behind him mirrored the phone display as Zaboru opened the YouTube app. A simplified mobile interface appeared, showing categories, search, featured videos, and subscribed channels. Zaboru selected a short ZAGE promotional clip. The video loaded, buffered for a moment, then played smoothly enough for the audience to react with amazement.
Zaboru grinned. "See? YouTube in your pocket. Dangerous, right? Now you can waste time anywhere."
Hyoga called from the laptop station, "Productivity destroyed!"
Zaboru nodded. "Exactly. Innovation."
The audience laughed and clapped.
Zaboru then opened the settings menu and selected the wireless connection page. "Next, Wi-Fi. Many of you already know about Sendou Fiber FTTH and our growing Wi-Fi support. The Black Berry Z01 can connect to Wi-Fi networks. At home, at supported offices, at certain ZAGE Stores, ZAGE cafés, and future public Wi-Fi spots, you can use faster internet without relying only on mobile data."
The screen showed the phone detecting available Wi-Fi networks. Zaboru selected ZEB Demo Wi-Fi, entered a password using the full keyboard, and connected successfully.
The crowd applauded again.
Zaboru tapped the keyboard. "This is why the keyboard matters. Internet, email, messaging, forum posting, searching, notes—everything feels better when your thumbs are not trapped in number-button prison."
He opened the browser next and loaded a simplified webpage. The screen showed the ZAGE website appearing on the phone. It was not as fast or complete as desktop browsing, but for 2001, seeing a full website open on a mobile phone was shocking.
Then Zaboru opened the ZAGE Forum application.
The crowd reacted immediately.
ZAGE Forum had become one of the most active online communities in this world, especially for games, anime, music, sports, and technology. Seeing it as a dedicated phone app made the audience understand something important: this phone was not only hardware. It was connected to the ZAGE ecosystem.
Zaboru opened a demo post and began typing with both thumbs.
The camera zoomed in on his hands.
The typing was fast.
Very fast.
The crowd murmured in surprise.
Zaboru looked up with a grin. "Imagine trying to write a forum post with a number pad. By the time you finish one paragraph, your opinion is already outdated."
The audience laughed.
He then opened the email app. "You can also read and write email here. Business users, students, writers, journalists, people who pretend to be busy at cafés—this is for you."
A few people laughed knowingly.
Zaboru placed the phone back on the podium for a moment, then reached for a Z-Pod. "Now let's talk about music. The Black Berry Z01 can sync with your Z-Pod library. You plug in your Z-Pod, transfer supported songs, and play them here. So if you forgot your headphones, your phone can still save you from bored."
He connected the Z-Pod to the phone using a cable. The screen showed song synchronization. After a few seconds, a music list appeared. Zaboru selected Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.
The bassline started playing through the phone speaker.
The audience reacted with surprise. For a phone speaker, the sound was loud, clear, and impressive. It was not room-shaking, but it was far better than what people expected from a mobile device.
Zaboru nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, right?"
The crowd clapped.
Then Zaboru's expression became more focused. "Now, we arrive at one of the most important features of the Black Berry Z01. Communication."
The screen behind him changed.
BLACK BERRY MESSENGER.
Zaboru lifted the phone again. "We call it BBM. Black Berry Messenger. To use BBM, you need a ZAGE ID. Your ZAGE ID connects your device to ZAGE services, your profile, your contacts, and your messaging. Now, you might ask, what does BBM do? Simple. It does what SMS does, but more."
He opened BBM on the phone. The interface showed a contact list with profile names, small icons, status messages, and availability indicators. One contact was labeled Hyoga-san.
Zaboru smiled. "Hyoga-san, are you ready?"
From behind the laptop, Hyoga lifted his own Black Berry Z01. "Ready!"
Zaboru typed a message: Are you working or pretending?
The message appeared on the big screen, then sent.
A second later, Hyoga's phone made a small notification sound. The crowd laughed as the screen displayed Hyoga's reply.
Both.
Zaboru stared at the message. "At least he is honest."
The audience laughed again.
Zaboru then selected an image attachment. "But BBM is not only text."
He chose the offended cat picture from earlier and sent it.
Hyoga opened the message on his phone, and the same cat appeared on the big screen through his mirrored device.
The audience gasped and clapped.
Zaboru grinned. "That's right. You can send images."
He selected another attachment. "You can also send short videos." He sent a tiny clip of cat meowing. The audience really impressed..
Zaboru continued, "And you can send supported music files too. There will be size limits, of course. Please do not try to send your entire music collection to someone at midnight. That is not friendship. That is terrorism."
The crowd burst into laughter.
The screen then showed BBM group chat.
Zaboru said, "BBM also supports small group chats. Friends, classmates, coworkers, project teams, gaming parties, family groups—although I must warn parents, if your children create a group chat called Homework Discussion, it may not actually involve homework."
Several parents in the audience laughed.
Zaboru looked directly at the camera. "Children, do not betray me by proving this immediately."
More laughter.
He then showed status messages. "You can set your own status. Available, Busy, Studying, Working, Playing Games, Do Not Disturb, and custom status."
Hyoga's status appeared on the screen.
Helping Boss Presentize.
Zaboru slowly turned toward Hyoga. "You really made that your status?"
Hyoga proudly gave a thumbs-up.
Zaboru sighed. "This is why BBM needs parental supervision for CEOs."
The audience laughed again.
Then Zaboru became slightly more serious. "But jokes aside, BBM is important. Because communication should feel immediate. You should know when your message arrives. You should be able to share a photo, a short video, a song, a thought, a joke, a plan. A phone should not only connect numbers. It should connect people."
The hall grew quieter.
Zaboru held the phone up.
"The Black Berry Z01 is not only a phone for calling. It is a phone for conversation."
The audience applauded, this time with a more genuine and impressed feeling.
Zaboru waited for the applause to calm down, then his grin slowly returned.
"But of course… this is ZAGE and AKAI."
The audience immediately became excited again.
Zaboru turned toward the screen.
"So you already know what I'm going to talk about next."
A new icon appeared behind him.
Video Games!
The crowd erupted.
Zaboru laughed. "Yes. Video games. Because if we build a phone with a good screen, strong controls, internet connection, storage, ZAGE ID, and a full keyboard… obviously, someone in our company will ask, 'Can it run games?' And because our engineers are not normal, the answer became…"
He paused dramatically.
The screen flashed.
YES.
The crowd cheered.
Zaboru smiled wider. "Let me show you what kind of video games will be available for the AKAI Black Berry Z01."
The audience leaned forward in anticipation.
Zaboru's eyes shined with playful pride.
"Welcome," he said, "to good gaming in your Pocket."
To be continued.
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