Wal-mart Invests in B2C megastore Yihaodian

Wal-mart is investing in Yihaodian, a Shanghai-based B2C megastore, the move came after its US$300 million acquisition of social media startup Kosmix and its joint investment in 360buy, highlighting the giant U.S. retailer’s big appetite for both China and online shopping.

Launched in July 2008, Yihaodian served customers with more than 100,000 of goods ranging from foods and drinks to maternity-children supplies to electric appliance. The company operates logistics and warehouses in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, while offering overnight delivery services in these three cities. Yihaodian’s sales revenue reached more than RMB 800 million (US$120 million), with an average monthly increase of over 28% in sales.

Both Yihaodian and Wal-mart didn’t disclose details on the stake buying, but according to Techweb, China PingAn, one of the biggest insurance company in China, acquired 80% of the online retailer’s shares last year. So it stood to good chance that Wal-mart could have purchased its share from China PingAn.

Related posts:

1. Yihaodian – online supermarket
2. Mecox Lane sue by investors
3. Online Goes Offline And Mobile, How Can Internet Generate Real Money

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Latest Startup Jobs – 16 May

If you are reading SGEntrepreneurs, you are probably already partial to startups, perhaps having founded one yourself or are working in one.

If not, why not consider joining a dynamic startup to see for yourself what it is like working with just two other people in your entire company?

If you are looking for a job as a developer, programmer, or you want something in business development, sales, or perhaps
you are a designer and looking for creative jobs, check out these newly listed open positions at these diverse startups.

Senior Software Engineer at GotoCamera

Drupal Developer/Project Manager at All Deals Asia

Software Engineer – Quality at Chumby Industries

Account Executive at Voucher WOW

iPhone Developer at Pocket Deals

Backend Engineer at Insync

Content Manager at Brandsfever

Web Programmer PC/Mobile/API/Backend/Flash at RADIOActive Lab

Graphic and Web Designer – HTML/CSS at River Valley Networks (A Microsoft BizSpark startup!)

Visit the portal for more job vacancies.

Dedicated at startups, a job listing at Triple Point Jobs can cost as low as $25 and together with our partner sites, we have combined monthly pageviews of 0.25 million that reach individuals who love code, beautiful design, innovative businesses and creative thinking. For a job seeker who wants to work in startups, this is a perfect tool to find that position that you’ve been looking for. It costs nothing to browse and apply for a position.

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Samsung Galaxy Ace : Hands on review

Samsung announced a new range of android 2.2 powered handsets in January this year, and all those phones have now hit the stores. Today we did a hands on review of the Galaxy Ace phone, and were pleasantly surprised. Lets do a quick look at the tech specs and later a short description of the user experience.

• 800MHz processor ARM 11 processor
• 158 MB internal memory ( 2 GB card included expandable upto 32GB
• 3.5 “ TFT capacitive multi-touch screen
• 5MP rear facing camera ( no front facing camera)
• Comes pre-loaded with 2.2.1 Froyo, no word on 2.3 Gingerbread.
• Plays most video formats including  streaming formats and integrated music player.
• Accelerometer, A-GPS for gaming and navigation.
• WiFi b/g/n, GPRS, EDGE, 3G
• 1350mAH Li-Ion battery ( Talk time upto 11h on 2G / 6h 30 min on 3G)
• Approx. Price Rs15,500/

Review:Samsung Galaxy Ace
One of the first things you will notice about this phone is the comfortable form factor. The phone fits easily into your hands, and feels great to hold. The build quality is good and it feels sturdy. The super clear glass on the front also makes the screen look clean and overall looks viz the phone is quite nice although it pales in comparison to the superAMOLED screen available in the Galaxy S.
The phone is powered by 2.2 Froyo and that shows in the performance. The phone ( it was not loaded with applications at the time) responds well and is fast. The 800 MHz processor combined with Froyo delivers an awesome performance. I was actually quite surprised that the phone worked without any glitches for the 30 mins that i used it.
The Internet browsing experience is what stood out  for me. The phone handled websites running flash well, even with multiple tabs open, pretty impressive.
Video playback on the phone was nice and smooth without any lag. The speakers on the phone are average quality.
The one thing that disappointed me, considering this device cost close to Rs16K, is the lack of a front facing camera. Video calling on this phone would have definitely made it a complete package.
Almost everyone complains about the battery on their smartphones. The battery on this one was what surprised me. Even after 30 mins of heavy usage ( Media, Internet, Games etc) the phone did not drain a huge amount of battery.
The camera too was good during daytime with stills as well as video recording. Even though the phone has a 5MP camera, there is no HD video recording.

Overall a great phone that just missed out of getting called to the big league of android phones.

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TechNode Presents Collide, Powering the China Cloud Conference, May 25th

TechNode is proud to present the first of its Collide Conference Series on the topic of ‘Powering the China Cloud’ on Wednesday May 25th in Beijing.

Bringing together leading visionaries, entrepreneurs, and executives from China’s most exciting hi-tech companies, this event will discuss the next wave of cloud innovation in devices, applications, and services and its impact on China and beyond in a lively and interactive format.

Comprised of three tracks covering the latest developments in Cloud Computing, the Mobile Cloud, and Smart TV, Powering the China Cloud features a compelling program of keynote speeches and interactive panel discussions that will provide rich insights into the latest developments in three of the highest potential market segments of the China Cloud.

The impressive speaker list includes some of China’s top tech professionals, for example:

• Timothy Chen, Special Assistant to the President, Head of Global Sales and Marketing at Via Inc.
• Zheng Lie, COO at Via Inc.
• Chewei Lin, GM at Asustek motherboard and VGA Group
• Steve Mushero, CEO of China Net Cloud
• Allan Tian, CEO of PayPal China
• Paul Hsu, COO of HTC China
• David Liu, CEO of Jiepang

The high level agenda is as follows:

1:00 – 1:10    Opening

1:10 – 1:30    Keynote – Elliott Ng, Director and Head of Product Management, Google China

1:30 – 1:50    Keynote – Xiongminghua, CTO, Tencent

2:00 – 3:00   Cloud Computing Track

3:00 – 4:00   Mobile Cloud Track

4:00 – 4:15   Break

4:15 – 4:30   Sponsor Presentation

4:30 -  5:15   Smart TV Track

5:15 – 6:30   Start-Up Jam

7:00                VIP Dinner & Party (Invitation Only)

Here are the details:

When: Wednesday May 25^th 1-9pm

Where: Tangguo, next to Tonghegong Lama Temple, Beijing

How much: 200 RMB (buy here) and Limited Free Tickets are available for TechNode partners

Online Registration: http://technode.51qiangzuo.com/

 

 

Related posts:

1. Cloud Nine for China’s Cloud Computing?
2. Tencent's Cloud Operating System Might be Coming
3. TechNode Mixer Event; Meet With the Best from China Internet

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Smart Tub For iPad2 Released

When iPad2 was announced, we reported how Japanese felt strange on its new smart cover. This “bath tab lid” obsession still seems to be stuck on some people here.

App to change your iPad2 to be bath tab

Where there is a lid, there should be a tub. Smart Tub, which matches for Smart Cover, was released on May 6th by itok [J] for free.

This app changes your iPad2 to be a place where American-style rubber ducks swim in a Japanese-style deep tub.

This app hold the most downloaded free app position for 5 days on Japanese iTunes app store ranking.

You can now bring your miniature Japanese bath everywhere.

Homemade Smart Cover

“if Smart Cover is so similar with Japanese bath tub lid”, a Japanese blogger k.kinukawa [J] thought that he could make his original Smart Cover by using bath tub lid. Here is how he made it.

k.kinukawa wrote that his lid now can not cover whole bath tub as he cut it out.

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Alipay Shifted to Jack Ma’s Private Company To Speed Up Getting Government License

According to a SEC filing, Alipay, the payment business of Alibaba Group was restructured so that it is now controlled by a separate company, owned mostly by Alibaba Group Chief Executive Officer Jack Ma.  Yahoo said the shift was necessary to expedite getting a license for Alipay.

Last year, Chinese government started to formally regulate its online payment industry.  Last December, the Chinese central bank, People’s Bank of China, announced the details for third party payment licences.  And following the announcement, the first batches of online payment companies started to apply for the licences.  They included Alibaba’s Alipay, Tencent’s Tenpay and government back China Unionpay, etc.

To get a license from the People’s Bank of China to operate its payment business, Alipay was restructured as a Chinese domestic company to speed up the process.  And the company is mostly owned by Alibaba Group Chief Executive Officer Jack Ma.

The news cause Yahoo to dropped 7.3% yesterday, as Yahoo owned about 40% of Alibaba Group.  The shift of Alipay to Jack Ma’s private company sound like a dilution of value for Yahoo’s investors.

However, many Chinese internet companies are structured as domestic companies to get the necessary licenses. But, their profits are transfered to off-shore vehicles for listing in overseas market.  If you look carefully into company structure of Sina, Sohu, etc, you would find there is a local company doing all the work and controlled by its founder or CEO.  But its profit is transferred to an offshore vehicle, which is listed in the U.S.

In my view, if Jack Ma’s private company will be transferring all its profit back to Alibaba Group, and therefore to Yahoo, there is nothing for investors to worry about.  But, if this is not the case, I think investors should consider firing the management of Yahoo, as they allow a valuable asset to shift out of the company right before their eyes.

And accroding to Shao Yibo, former founder of EachNet(acquired by Ebay for US$ 150 million in 2003 ), such move could
be a compromise among Yahoo, Softbank and Alibaba for getting Alipay a license. All three parts involved would make
further arrangements to make sure no one’s cake gets ravend.

SoftBank, the second biggest stakeholder of Alibaba, said that the three parts are still negotiating.

A Credit Suisse report remarks that, the Alipay restructure is a particular event, which will not reflect badly on Tencent or Tenpay, a Tencent online payment solution similar to Alipay. Credit Suisse believes that it’s the most conservative way to transform Alipay to a completely domestic company.

Related posts:

1. Alibaba's Plan for Yahoo's Share
2. Chinese Central Bank Announce Details for Third Party Payment Licence
3. Rumor, Jack Ma Wants to Buy Ctrip

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Did You Know About Amazon’s Hidden Empire [Interesting Facts]

Although, all the latest buzz on the web is mostly around Google, Facebook, Groupon and the new age apps that have gained quick popularity but one of the oldest players of the web, Amazon is a giant that not many would have noticed. Amazon’s businesses are spread across retailing, devices, content, analytics, hosting and many more. Here’s an interesting slide deck on Amazon’s Hidden Empire.

Amazon.com: the Hidden Empire

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Cloud Girl – Microsoft Windows Azure Manga Promotion

Microsoft Japan is teasing its online comic series “Cloud Girl”, which promotes Windows Azure cloud service.

The first episode of this “Cloud Girl” with subtitle “Mado to Kumo to Aoi-sora”(windows, clouds and azure sky) is said to be released late this May 2011, on a prologue.

The heroine, Claudia Madobe (@Claudia_Azure “madobe” means window-side in Japanese) was born on November 20, 1985, the date when Windows 1.0 was released, having a Japanese father and French-American mother.

Claudia, who is visiting Japan and her cousin Nanami Madobe(@windows7_nanami), will solve several problems at a computer parts shop in Akihabara, where Nanami works for.

A sub-character Nanami Madobe has been serving as a Windows 7 promotion character since 2009, but she was not an “official” Microsoft character before.

Microsoft Taiwan’s Silverlight promotion with a girl character Hikaru Aizawa made Japanese jaw dropped last autumn, as it was so Japanese-ish than Japanese.

This time Microsoft Japan (recently renamed from Microsoft K.K.) presses the manga-girl promotion for Japanese enterprise decision makers in orthodox Japanese way.

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Code Boxing With Kinect And Tython, Muscle Programming Language

A Japanese blogger id:gongoZ [J] released “Muscle Programming Language/Framework: Tython” on May 14.

This Tython, released as an open source project, with Kinect enables you to program by body movements.

In short, you can program by boxing in front of Kinect. See a video demo here,

id:gongoZ could code to put out “Hello, World” only within 4 minutes. The source “code” of this “Hello, World” is,

left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;right straight;right straight;
right straight;left jab;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;
left jab;right straight;right straight;left jab;right straight;right straight;right uppercuts;
left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;left jab;
left jab;right straight;right straight;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;
left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;right straight;left jab;right straight;
right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;
left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;
left jab;left jab;right straight;left jab;right straight;left jab;left jab;
left jab;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;
right straight;right straight;right straight;right straight;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;
left jab;left jab;right straight;left jab;left jab;right straight;right straight;
right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;
left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;
left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;left jab;left jab;right straight;
right straight;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;
right straight;left jab;left jab;right straight;right straight;right uppercuts;left jab;
left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;right straight;right straight;left jab;
right straight;left jab;right uppercuts;left jab;left jab;left jab;left jab;
right straight;right straight;left jab;right straight;right straight;right straight;right uppercuts;
right straight;left hook; left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook;left jab;
left jab;right straight;left hook; left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook;
left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook;left jab;left jab;right straight;
left hook; left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook; left jab;left jab;
right straight;left hook; left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook; left jab;
left jab;right straight;left hook; left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook;
left jab;left jab;right straight;left hook; left jab;left jab;right straight;
left hook; left jab;left jab;

As the method does not support backspace input, he said it took 90 minutes to make this success version.

Here is the diagram to show how Tython detects your movement, converts to programs, compiles then executes.

How he managed to assign different blows to different input is explained copiously with diagrams and code.

With this Tython, programming is to have much more healthy aspects.

See Also:

Kinect Dragonball – Blast Your Kamehameha!

Kinect Driven “Ghost in the Shell” Cyberspace

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PowerPlug Contest Upgrades to iPad2 [Announcing the Theme For May Month]

After completing two super awesome PowerPlug contests, we have decided to bring the concept of themes. That is, startups who fall under the monthly theme can only be considered eligible for the monthly contest.

This week’s theme is “Consumer Internet” – that is, companies that are building consumer services over Internet are eligible for the contest.

What is PowerPlug Contest?

India’s first ever contest where we recognize early stage technology startups on a regular basis (the contest is supported by Sequoia Capital India). As an applicant, you would be up against the best startups in the country – and the people running them. You would have to come out all guns blazing to win this – and we are sure you would. The PowerPlug is a story you want to tell about yourself to the

world and you should make sure the story is compelling to win you the coveted prize.

Tangible Goodies Associated with PowerPlug Contest?

As a startup, you get a lot of credibility/bragging rights + media coverage and an iPad2 (32GB/WiFi) as well (thanks to our partner Sequoia Capital India). And this is apart from all the VC calls and customer interest.

Yeah, we have upgraded the contest to give you a brand new iPad2.

Last Date to Apply : May 22nd, 2011.

How Do I Apply? : Use this link to apply for PowerPlug Contest: [May Month]. The form is also embedded towards end of this post.

Quick Update From PowerPlug Winners

The winner, Onze Technologies was profiled in media/newspaper (ET) and March month winner, VisualWebsiteOptimizer was profiled in ET + ToI as well*.

We strive to bring a lot of visibility to PowerPlug finalists (media channels have already approached most of the finalists) and importantly, open up investment + customer channels for them.

PowerPlug Contest Rules

• The contest is applicable for Indian Entrepreneurs.
• An entrepreneur can apply for this contest only once in a quarter. Your entry is valid for 3 months.
• The startup should be at least 6 months old and revenue making. If not revenue making, the startup should have pivoted the business model/product at least once.
• The contest is open to Indian entrepreneurs across different industries/verticals (except for monthly themes).
• In general, preference will be given to product startups as we believe that IP creation is the biggest value and core differentiator.
• Final decision lies with Pluggd.in Team.
• The contest format will be revisited every quarter (and will be modified based on response from the entrepreneurial community).
• The decision to fund (or not) rests squarely with Sequoia Capital and this contest serves no guarantee what so ever.

» Follow PowerPlug Contest on Twitter and PowerPlug’s Facebook Page for further updates.

* – If you are a media company, we’d sincerely appreciate if you could just give PowerPlug Contest a mention when you profile the winners/finalists. There is no harm, unless you think so.

Apply To Be A PowerPlug [May 2011]

The application form for PowerPlug Contest. Last date to apply is May 22nd.

• Your Name*
• Company Website*
• Email*
  Your Email Address. Ensure that you check this email id frequently.
• Company Founding Date*
• Product Name*
• Industry Category
  InternetMobileEnterprise SoftwareCleantechHardwareOthers
• Revenues Status?*
  • Pre Revenue?
  • Post Revenue
• Product Description*
  Tell us why do you think this is a great product.
• What (and Whose) Problem Are you Solving?*
  Be precise about the problem statement you are solving Do mention the target segment as well as your business USP.
• Core Technology
  Share what's the core technology used by the company (LAMP/MS Stack?)
• Working Prototype/Video/Demo Link
  Share link to working prorotype or demo of your product.
• The Team*
  Please share details of the founding team/key team members.

]

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A Look At Unique Characteristics Of Group Buying Sites [Why Is It Different?]

What makes Group Buying Business a unique business? Deals or discount coupons have been in existence for quite some time but the concept got phenomenal success when companies like Groupon married social with deals.

The combination of social and deals is relatively new and has many unique qualities.  Here are few of them.
 
1) Sales driven business
Most consumer internet business tends to be product driven. Primary driver for traffic and consumer adoption for most internet business is the product. Marketing and Sales takes a secondary role. But group buying business is not a product driven business. The product itself is very simple that just provides a listing of deals and has few viral elements built into it. The main business driver is sales. Groupon has been successful because of sales ability to source great deals with local businesses and build excellent relationships.

2) Low switching cost
I often use example of Facebook and Google to explain switching cost. Switching cost of Facebook is very high. It is very difficult for someone to create a similar social network and compete with Facebook. Even if someone creates a much better product than Facebook, it will be very hard to make people switch to it because all their friends and contacts would be on Facebook and it would take a long time to make them all switch to new product. A social networking product without having friends using it is useless. Therefore, switching cost of Facebook is very high. On the other hand, switching cost of Google is low. If someone comes up with a better search algorithm than Google then I won’t think twice before switching to new search site. Same is the case with group buying businesses. Switching cost is low because I don’t care which group buying site I use as long as I get a good deal.

3) Low entry barrier
I believe group buying space will be highly competitive with low margins for all players. The reason I say that is because barrier to entry is very low. Technology behind business is simple and easy to reproduce. Business is local in nature, as you have to create sales relationship in each geography that you want to operate in. Even if you create great sales relationship in an area, it cannot be replicated in other areas. You have to work from scratch to create new relationships in different geographies as you expand business. Therefore, barrier to entry is low and it is easy for new players to get in the business by focusing on specific geographies.

4) Good for businesses where customer acquisition cost is high
Group buying sites are very good for businesses where cost of acquiring a customer is very high. It provides an alternate channel to reach out to a large customer base and make them an attractive offer.

5) Good for perishable inventory business
A business has perishable inventory if the produce has to be used within certain timeline. Think about hotels or a spa. If there is an empty room in a hotel or a free slot in spa, it’s a wasted resource. It can’t be used at any other times. Variable cost of serving an additional customer is very low in such situations and the revenue generated by serving the additional customer almost directly contributes into profit margin. Group buying business is excellent for such business because they can manage the yield by putting an attractive offers to fill-up slots during dry periods.

It is yet to be seen how group buying landscape evolves but these unique qualities of the business makes it a very interesting space to observe over next few years. What are your thoughts?

[Guest article written by Rajat Garg/Reproduced from his blog]

Recommended Read: Business Model 101: What’s the deal with the Group Buying sites in India?

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