Since the announcement of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) newest phone, there has been speculation as to when, exactly, it will see the light of day in China. Previously, we reported that we expected to see the device on the market fairly soon since China Unicom has said they’re ready to sell it and reports indicated the device had already cleared the required MIIT regulatory hurdles.
Unfortunately for 4s fans, it turns out the original report suggesting the iPhone 4s had already been approved by MIIT was inaccurate, a case of mistaken identity. According to a Sina Tech report today, the phone MIIT has cleared is actually the 8GB model of the iPhone 4, not the iPhone 4s. The confusion stemmed over model numbers; apparently, MIIT approved an Apple phone with previously-unseen model number A1431 for use on Chinese networks, and people assumed it must be the new iPhone 4s. Today, a netizen realized that A1431 is actually the model number for (new to China) 8 GB iPhone 4. Damn.
Of course, this doesn’t mean the 4s hasn’t been approved by MIIT, or that it isn’t about to hit the market. It just means we’re back to where we started: we just don’t know.
The Chinese version, cn.alexa.com has been shut down. You can tell this because when you type it in, you get redirected to the main English version of alexa.com.
Founded in 1996 in America, the site ranking site collects more than 1 terabyte of information each day.
In 1999 it was acquired by Amazon.com and set up their Chinese language version in 2010. However, it is now no longer available.
The two day event Blackberry Developer Conference (BBDevCon) Asia took place at Suntec City Ceonvention Centre sees more than 1000 sign ups, reflecting a strong interest from the community towards the BlackBerry Platform. BBDevCon was supposed to be held in Thailand but due to the flooding, it was relocated to Singapore. However, for the community in Thailand, BlackBerry promises that the next BBDevCon in 2012 will be held in Thailand.
At the BBDevCon, BlackBerry spokesperson Gregory Wade kicked off the event by mentioning that BlackBerry is dedicated to the Asia market, and that developer’s innovations are increasingly coming from Asia. “Asia represent Opportunities, Asia represents Growth”. With the reassurance of commitment towards the Asia Pacific market by BlackBerry, this spells good news for the developers community as well as the consumers here. What’s exciting about the keynote was that there were a few announcements made during the BBDevCon:
1. BlackBerry 10 – Next Generation BlackBerry Platform Powering Smartphones and Tablets.
The next generation BlackBerry platform will be called BlackBerry 10. For the Blackberry 10, an ecosystem consisting of three fundamental components will be set up: the BlackBerry Operating System itself, complemented by BlackBerry 10 services which includes the cloud services and the payment services, and most importantly, the BlackBerry Development Toolkit. For the BlackBerry Development Toolkit, BlackBerry makes it easy for developers to start developing and to download the toolkit without the need to register and that there are no fees needed, “and heck you don’t even need to prove that you are human!” - Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of Developer Relations and Ecosystems Development
Of course, the next announcement from Blackberry which would excite developers who are interested in developing on the Blackberry OS is that there are now comprehensive supports available for the abovementioned developers. To do that, BlackBerry is rolling out a developer program called the BlackBerry Jam which connects developers with the Blackberry Partner Ecosystem. Under the BlackBerry Jam Initiative, there are the BlackBerry Jam Zone, BlackBerry Jam Market, BlackBerry Jam Community as well as the BlackBerry Jam Sessions. Each initiative helps make it easier for BlackBerry developers to get the support and knowledge they need to build on the OS. Perhaps the more exciting initiative would be the BlackBerry Jam Community which allows developers to connect to the active developer communities and forums to get advices as well as tutorials from experts and other developers. The source codes of the BlackBerry OS is also made open source and is available on the BlackBerry GitHub page. Under the BlackBerry Jam Sessions, regular BlackBerry Apps Hackathons will be held to facilitate idea exchanges and meetups with other BlackBerry developers. During the BBDevCon, Alec Saunders too welcomes anyone to send him emails (at his email alec.saunders@rim.com) if you have any enquiries with regards to the BlackBerry Developer Program.
Cascades is the user interface (“UI”) framework that TAT (The Astonishing Tribe), the company that RIM acquired, has been using for many years to create numerous advanced UIs and applications. With the acquisition, the Cascades UI will be integrated and is now part of the BlackBerry Native SDK. The whole idea of this integration into the SDK is that there are developers who are not designers, and this pre-packaged and pre-designed Cascades UI can be deployed into the applications directly by the developers.
Video:
Of course, what this all also means for end users like you and me is that, there will be increasingly more apps made by developers in Asia, localized for the Asia market. With BlackBerry coming into the tablet and smartphone market fighting alongside with other existing players such as the iOS and Android, does BlackBerry has what it takes to capture the Asia market? We will just have to wait and see.
Notes worth mentioning:
1) There are 70 Million active BlackBerry subscribers today, with addition of 20 million over the past year.
2) Most users use apps, with Indonesian users downloading twice the amount of apps the average mobile user downloads.
3) BlackBerry App World has more paid app downloads than android and is the second most profitable app store after Apple. AppWorld apps generate more revenue than Android market apps.
4) Last year alone, BlackBerry Messenger users grew from 28+ Million to 50+ Million users
5) There are over 50000+ apps on the BlackBerry App World
Two screenshots from Kaixin001's new photo-sharing app, 'TuTeng'.
Oh, great… another photo-sharing app with lots of filters. We haven’t reviewed one of those for, like, 24 hours. Yes, Kaixin001, China’s second-largest Facebook-like social network, now has its own app for snapping and sharing grungy photos of the cappuccino you’re about to drink. Called TuTeng, it’s out now for Android, with an iPhone version already in the works.
Kaixin’s TuTeng arrives very late to the funky party that was first started by Instagram (which is now weighing up a move into China). But unlike most of the other photo-sharing apps that we’ve looked at recently – such as TuDing, and Vida – TuTeng is locked-down to Kaixin, with no third-party login options. But thankfully it does support sharing of images to some other social media, such as Weibo.
In terms of appearance and philosophy, TuTeng is less like Instagram and more like Google’s soon-to-be-shuttered PhotoVine, with a gentle creamy-beige UI graced by leaf-green accents. The photo-filters are impressive and stylish, including some textures not usually seen on local photo apps; and they’re complemented by a very localized set of cartoony characters that you can add onto a photo and resize by pinching-in or out with your fingers.
Less impressive is the selection of photos seen in the ‘popular’ column when you first open the app (pictured above), which seems to suggest that not many users are posting original photos that they’ve snapped. It’s a grouch that I voiced recently with the Baidu-acquired PhotoSola – I don’t want to see random images that people are recycling from off of the web; if I want to see images of models hugging trees or an egg with a funny face drawn on it, then I’ll walk down to my dentist’s reception area and flick through some crappy magazines.
Grab Kaixin’s TuTeng app for Android from the homepage.
[Hat-tip to Sohu Tech news (article in Chinese) for spotting this]
Just beneath the water’s surface lie some of the planet’s best dive sites; home to an incredible variety of marine species. With stable politics, white sandy beaches, a balmy climate and friendly people the country’s overwater charms are also second to none. In other words, choosing the Maldives as a diving destination is a no-brainer. But choosing between land-based or liveaboard diving can leave even the most seasoned scuba diver confused. Here is our guide to what makes liveaboard diving in the Maldives a firm favorite of the international dive community. First things first: because they are mobile, liveaboards offer a level of freedom and ease that is unmatched by other kinds of diving in the Maldives. Imagine arriving at Male International Airport and, instead of facing a long transfer to a far-flung island, being personally welcomed and swiftly taken to your boat, which is already anchoring nearby. Then, imagine spending your days being chauffeured between the best dive sites in the Maldives, enjoying top notch onboard service and cuisine, visiting local islands and watching the exotic scenery pass by as you relax on deck.
Gaopeng, Groupon’s (NASDAQ:GRPN) official China JV with Tencent, has not been working out well. Recently, problems like personnel issues and a shrinking market share have been eclipsed entirely by a fake-watch-selling scandal. It all started a month ago when the company offered Tissot watches for just a quarter of their usual price as a daily deal. Hundreds of customers partook and then discovered that the watches were fakes, shipped with convincing (but also counterfeit) certificates of authenticity.
That was bad enough, but customers pursuing legal action have kept the scandal in the news. China’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce has gotten involved and, in a series of different checks, has invariably found the watches Gaopeng was offering (via one of its vendors) were indeed fake. Most concerning for Gaopeng is that yesterday, Shanghai police reported they were already investigating the case and that they would be looking into Gaopeng’s criminal culpability if the company is indeed found to have been involved in the selling of counterfeit products.
Since the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has already announced the watches sold to consumers that it has inspected were fake, it’s highly unlikely that a police investigation would find Gaopeng to be innocent. But it’s not clear yet exactly what the company’s punishment might be.
Meanwhile, Gaopeng is attempting to place band-aids on the wound by calling customers who bought the watches and offering to up the amount of compensation money they are eligible for, according to at least one watch buyer. Remarkably, though, the compensation they’re offering is still pretty terrible — if customers send back the watches, they’ll refund double the full purchase price.
It’s the second time they’ve upped their compensation offer since the scandal first broke, but at this point it’s hard to imagine the damage isn’t already done. With consumer trust in group buy sites flagging as finacial issues force them to close offices, a full month of news about Gaopeng’s untrustworthy products — and now a possible criminal investigation — things are definitely not going well for Groupon’s poorly-executed excursion in China.
Japan's popular girls idol corps AKB48 announces with Google that all of its members opened Google+ page today December 8. Google Japan cooperates to set up a special page you can browse all, or by AKB48 and its sister-groups.
AKB48 is one of very few successful music sellers under the current Japanese slump of music business, by selling many of the same CD to the same fan in exchange of hand-shaking-rights, etc.
Here are some startup news snippets from Japan, not only from its capital, Tokyo, but also other startup hubs like Fukuoka, Kyoto, Osaka, and many more.
(1) So far, only YouTube users from Canada, the US and (since October) the UK were able to rent movies, but few days ago, Japan has finally been added to the list, too (the country is the second biggest market for movies in the world).
(4) Toshima-ku/Tokyo-based Japanese consumer goods brand Muji (Mujirushi Ryohin), who operates about 300 shops in over 20 countries around the world, starts a social game Muji Life on November 15.
I noticed a blog post today over on Baidu’s blog (NASDAQ:BIDU) , Baidu Beat, that the company had rolled out indoor maps. What a coincidence, says I, reaching for my China copycat brush — didn’t Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) just roll out indoor maps last week? But seeing as how Baidu’s post made no mention of any launch date, I thought I’d drop them a quick inquiry first.
Turns out that Baidu actually launched this feature back in October, a representative tells us, and the company already has over 500 participating malls (pdf link) around China, including about 180 in Beijing and 200 in Shanghai. Here’s a look at what Baidu’s indoor maps look like, this particular one from Zhongguancun:
For those curious as to what Google’s indoor maps look like in comparison, you can check out many indoor maps previewed here. These maps are available with the recent Google Maps 6.0 release for Android, and by showing your location on those maps, you can see exactly where you are in relation to things nearby. To start, Google has partnered with retailers, airports, and train station in the US and Japan, including Narita and Haneda airports and some selected train stations and shopping centers. You can learn a little more about their indoor maps in the video below:
Google, of course, has done some previous work mapping indoor areas, most notably (albiet somewhat different) its spectacular Street View tours of some of the world’s most famous museums. I got in touch with a Google representative as well, who declined to give any official comment regarding Baidu’s indoor maps. But from a user’s point of view, it’s good to see both companies helping to make the indoors more navigable. These kinds of maps are critical when planning escape routes from weekend shopping trips with my wife.
The Singapore Chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is holding their annual Christmas Party on December 14, 2011. With free admission for members of the Singapore game development community, the event is a great way to meet other professionals in the industry. This year the event will be sponsored by the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA). RSVP via their Facebook page here.
If you’re into design, art, and/or tech, you’ve likely drawn inspiration from Hongkiat.com before.
Hongkiat is a design-focused weblog based in Malaysia and is founded by non-other than Lim Hong Kiat himself. The blog is ranked highly on Alexa (above 1,800) with a Google Pagerank of five. Hong Kiat also revealed that his blog generates a whopping 6 million page views per month and is profitable just by selling ad spaces.
I find his story interesting and thought it would be great to contact him to find out more about his background and thoughts. And I’m thankful that Hong Kiat is kind enough to share his story with us…
1. What’s the story behind Hongkiat.com?
Hongkiat.com was registered about five or six years back. Its initial idea was to redirect to a Blogger blog I registered. It wasn’t very active, merely an online journal for me to note down interesting websites, useful tricks, tips, and tutorials I learnt from the Internet.
Back then I was Head of Creative for a local company in Malaysia, but as the day job got more sucky I slowly resorted to spending more time updating the site than the one that actually writes my paycheck.
The more effort I put in, the more visitors and feedback I was getting in return; it also made me some sustainable passive revenue. Then one day came a crazy thought – I should be doing what I feel is right. I quit my politically ridiculous day job and solely focused on blog writing. I guess that’s how it all started…
2. What are the web statistics? Is it profitable?
Based on Google Analytics’ figures, Hongkiat.com generates about 6.0 to 6.5 million pageviews per month and is gradually increasing. On top of that, we have another 70,000 to 75,000 readers following us via newsletter, RSS feeds, and various social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc). It is definitely profitable.
3. How do you manage to rack up such high traffic? What are your tips/tricks?
I guess – ultimately – if you give them what they want, they’ll stick for a while. If you are writing content related to your visitors’ interests, they will eventually come back for more.
I like to dig into the metrics, analyzing their demographics: what people are reading, what interests them the most; are they clicking related contents for more, etc. This kind of gives me the direction of what we should be writing.
4. How big is your team?
The team is small, and I intend to keep it that way. I have three permanent editors and authors. They all work in the comfort of their home.
Aside from that, there are another 30 to 45 consistent writers and ghost writers that submit articles occasionally.
5. What are the future plans for Hongkiat?
I definitely want to expand into other areas or perhaps explore other tech/design-related niches. I have a few in mind, but have yet to decide.
6. Are you working on other stuff besides Hongkiat.com?
Aside from overseeing Hongkiat, I’m also investing in the US and Singapore stock – tech industry stocks mostly.
If you’re into design, art, and/or tech, you’ve likely drawn inspiration from 