There are lots of startups out there focused on making money. Aiju is not one of them. Instead, it’s an online problem-solving platform that aims to make the world a better place.
Unfortunately, before we talk any more about that, we have to talk about it’s name. Aiju is the Chinese name, but tragically the English name (and the startup’s domain name) is iGeey. That is terrible. Awful. It is such a horrible name, in fact, that I refuse to call it that, so for the remainder of this post I’ll be calling it Aiju and trying to pretend that “iGeey” is just a bad dream.
In practice, Aiju is pretty simple. It’s a bit like Quora or other “answers” services, except that the site focuses on real-life problems rather than questions, and the answers are all suggested solutions which users can then vote up or down. Users can also upload “real-life case” data like photographs to further explain (or prove the existence of) the problem in question, and can “follow” problems they’re interested in. It is also possible to comment on problems if you don’t have an actual solution in mind; there is a separate system in place for commenting and submitting a potential solution.
The problems posted to the site do appear to be curated by the Aiju team, which means there aren’t many of them and it’s not full of irrelevant spam. While I hope they expand the offerings as the site grows, moderating and limiting the posted problems is a good idea as it helps keep people focused on solving a few real problems at a time.
Of course, there’s no way for the site itself to enforce the implementation of a cool solution after users have voted on it, but it does provide an interesting collection of possible solutions to any given problem. For example, one problem listed on the site is that pets in the user’s residential community urinate and defecate more or less anywhere, which makes a mess. Users submitted solutions including creating a toilet area for pets and better training for dogs, but the winning solution was to have owners carry stuff to clean up after their pets.
That said, it won with only a single vote. At present, it is clear that the site’s user numbers are very, very small. That’s something I hope changes, because it’s a cool concept, and crowd-sourcing solutions to social problems both big (recycling) and small (dog poop) could help turn up some truly life-changing ideas. But for that to happen, people need to be aware of it, and participating. I hope that they do.
And I really hope the Aiju team changes that English name.
China Entrepreneurs (CE), is an organization that is built to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in China.
From January 2012, CE will be launching the Entrepreneur 101 training series in across Beijing and Shanghai. The series will focus on the needs of start-up and growth stage companies, providing forums and seminars to help entrepreneurs develop within the ecosystem of entrepreneurship. Each month, the topic will change and aim to cover the gamut of what entrepreneurs need to know to succeed.
To kick off the series, you can check out:
Shanghai
Topics: The Business Plan: Your Lifeline to Investors
Date: January 11, 2012
Time :18:00-21: 00
Location: Songhu Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, No. 388, Building 7, KIC Plaza 1st Floor Conference Center
Language: Chinese
Tickets: 200RMB / bit
Contact: Cao Han, +8610-85306215/16 / 17-210
E-mail Registration: registrations@ce-online.cn
Beijing
Topic: The Secrets of Raising Capital in 2012
Date: January 12, 2012
Time :18:00-21: 00
Location: Beijing CBD
Language: Chinese
Tickets: 200RMB / bit
Contact: Cao Han, +8610-85306215/16 / 17-210
E-mail Registration: registrations@ce-online.cn
We have been hearing this rumor for the last 4 weeks that Way2SMS is in talks to acquire 160by2 (or some of its properties) and while we don’t publish rumors without verifying data (independently), take a look at domain ownership of 160by2.us:
Administrative Contact Name: Suresh Uppalapati (works for Way2SMS: link 1, 2)
Contact address is same as the HQ address of Way2Online (parent company of Way2SMS).
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Till today morning, Way2Online.net had a link to 160by2.us on its site but has been removed now.
Aside, 160by2 recently launched its new design which is way2similar to way2sms’ site. Take a look yourself (notice similarity in design blocks)
Way2SMS and 160by2 Design - Way2Similar
Way2SMS, if you notice has been among the top 25 sites in India (source:Alexa) for the entire year and we included them in our list of High Flying Technology Startups of 2011.
We will be updating this as and when we hear from the two companies, but if you are in the know of this development, do share (contact us form).
Smartphone growth and usage continued to accelerate in China in 2011 – but which phones do Chinese consumers most want to buy? QQ Tech looked at the most popular product searches for such devices on all the major search engines, and compiled this top ten list. The results are awesome news for Android – which runs on seven of the ten – and offer a glimmer of hope to Nokia. But the iPhone is not the one sitting on the throne.
Note that this method is better than taking a poll, as asking an invited audience for their opinions can be very self-selecting and reductive. So by taking these stats from popular product searches, we get a free-form and realistic view of what Chinese consumers are keen to buy with their own money. Of course, that doesn’t translate into sales, but it gives a good picture of which smartphones are the most likely to be parting cash from consumers.
Lenovo (HKG:0992) smartphones won’t be too familiar to overseas readers, but they’ve been a low-end to mid-range mainstay in China for years. This A60 is one of the better efforts, with Android 2.3.3 and a 3.5-inch HVGA screen. Lenovo’s custom UI, with those huge round icons, is not exactly classy though. But it seems plenty of Chinese netizens are keen to read-up on the phone with a view to buying it. Afterall, with a China Unicom (NYSE:CHU; HKG:0762) subsidy, it’s a cheap ticket to the smartphone club, costing just under 1,000 RMB (US$158).
Another local kid makes the list, as Shenzhen manufacturer Meizu generates a lot of hype and excitement for its newest MX. The Meizu MX comes with a highly-customized Android 2.3.5 (which it now calls Flyme OS) which looks good on its 4.0-inch screen and is powered by its dual-core processor. The screen is higher-res than many others on the list, at 960 by 640 pixels. Starting at 2999 RMB for the 16GB version, this could be a headache for the more established brands in 2012.
Despite Motorola (NYSE:MMI) pushing some high-end business-oriented handsets in China, its cheaper phones are proving to be of interest too. This ME525+ runs Android 2.3.4, has a 3.7-inch screen, and costs about 1,900 to 2,200 RMB.
And now things get a bit lame, with the ridiculously under-powered Wildfire S from HTC (TPE:2498) – known as the G13 in China – with its small, low-resolution screen that makes it obsolete and unable to run a lot of newer, funkier apps.
Despite running the older Android 2.2 OS, its small form-factor combined with the Sense UI makes this pretty popular around here. It costs about 1,300 on the grey-import market, but it’s a very bad deal via more official channels where it costs 2,000+ RMB.
Samsung’s (005930:KS) new flagship – dubbed the i9100 around here – is the impressive follow-up to the best-selling original Galaxy S. In a recent analytics report, we found that the first version was now the most popular single Android phone model in China, usurping the HTC Desire. But, frustratingly, it seems Samsung might deny all those consumers an upgrade to Android 4.0, which ought to be the decent thing to do for a mere year-old phone. Shame on you, Sammie!
Anyway, Chinese consumers seem to like the TouchWiz UI and other local customization such as a Chinese app store which accepts local payment methods. The Galaxy SII is currently about 3,400 RMB on the grey-import market.
Halfway through the list, and we finally encounter Nokia (HEL:NOK1V; NYSE:NOK). This beautiful-looking device seems popular in product searches, though I’m very skeptical that this will translate to sales once people realise it runs a moribund OS – MeeGo – for which there are few games or apps. The 16GB models costs about 3,500 RMB in most gadget malls, although the official local price is a not-so-reasonable 4,888 RMB.
HTC’s most impressive release this year was perhaps the Sensation XE, which launched in China last month with all the usual Beats ephemera such as branded in-ear headphones and better music software. Its 4.3-inch qHD screen was a welcome feature, as Android phones were so slow to rise to the challenge of Apple’s ‘retina screen’ iPhone. The 1.5GHz dual-core phone, complete with the updated Sense 3.5 UI, costs about 3,500 RMB on unofficial sales channels.
Daddy’s home! Yes, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) ubiquitous iPhone makes the list of popular product searches, but only in third place. With the iPhone 4S still not on sale here officially, it seems the older but aesthetically identical previous model is still in vogue. The 8GB model costs 4,000 RMB when schlepped over the border tax-free from Hong Kong, or 4,500 RMB direct from Apple or China Unicom.
Grandpa’s home! Pull up a comfy chair, make a mug of hot chocolate, and get out the medication – because Symbian has just arrived on our list. The creaky old OS is still soldiering on in Nokia’s N8, which is proving popular amongst those who’re familiar with Symbian and its still significant catalog of apps and services.
There have been a lot of bad omens for Nokia in China this year, but the interest in the N8 is a ray of hope at a time when middle-income Chinese have been turning to Android smartphones and the iPhone. The N8 costs about 1,800 RMB.
Regular readers of PO won’t be too surprised to find the much talked about dual-core, Android-powered Xiaomi phone at the top of the list of searches in 2011. It launched with a bang and a breath-taking price tag – just 1,999 RMB – back in August of this year, and ends the year being talked about in the Chinese tech press pretty much everyday, snagging a supply deal with China Unicom, and attracting a further US$90 million in funding – some of which is coming from Yuri Milner’s own pocket.
In October, we dropped into Xiaomi HQ in Beijing to get a hands-on demo of the phone on the same day that it hit shelves across China; here’s the video:
[Hat-tip to QQ Tech news (article in Chinese) for collating the list data; Motorola Defy image from Whatmobile.net, and the Lenovo one from Zol.com.cn]
As I mentioned yesterday, our readers have shown great interest in India’s much-anticipated $35 tablet, the Aakash. But thus far there have been few details to pass on about the development of the device which has been subject to repeated delays, the latest saying a January release is expected.
But today there’s a wonderful piece in The Globe and Mail spotlighting the company who won the contract to create the Aakash, Montreal-based Datawind. It focuses on the company’s Indian-born, Canadian CEO Suneet Singh Tuli, who along with his brother scrambled to put together a bid for the Indian government’s contract back in February.
It’s a great read, and I suggest you drop over to The Globe and Mail website to check it out. I also came across a talk that Suneet gave in Toronto recently, which you can check out below.
What I found most interesting in the piece was that Suneet has subsequently received inquiries from Thailand, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and many other countries, all interested to talk about Datawind’s cheap tablets. With any luck the Aakash will have a successful launch in India, and we hope we see it popping up in other countries here in Asia as well.
ASEANpreneurs Youth Leader Exchange (AYLE) was held in Singapore on 2008 and it will happen again on February 2012. AYLE is a weeklong program that brings together a motivated and variegated populace from ASEAN member states and encourages a focused collaborative learning in the space of entrepreneurship. There will be various panel discussions with leading entrepreneurs of the country (speakers list), workshops (full details), company visits (list of companies), cultural exchange (details), and fun-filled entrepreneurial activities.
This emo photo of a digital info kiosk is courtesy of Sina Tech
The rise of mobile phones — smartphones especially — has meant that people now walk around China’s capital with information and phone service at their fingertips. That’s great! But it hasn’t been great for Beijing’s public phones and digital info kiosks, many of which have fallen into disrepair and are “serving the people” as de facto public restrooms and trash heaps.
Mobile phones are a major factor, but they aren’t the only problem. Phone booths paid for with IC cards have been more or less ignored as fewer and fewer people have IC cards to use. The phones that can be paid for with public transportation cards have obviously seen less use too as more people carry mobile phones, but the ubiquitousness of public transit cards has meant that they continue to see use.
The digital info kiosks, too, have suffered from being replaced by smartphones, but another problem is that the equipment in many of them is old, damaged, and generally not maintained or updated enough to be particularly useful (except as a bathroom for the shameless and the desperate). Beijing does plan to update these booths over the coming year, tearing out some and refitting others with newer hardware and software, but the specifics of the changes haven’t yet been ironed out. It’s also possible some will be converted to wifi hotspots, as suggested earlier this year.
My cohort Steven suggests that some of these things ought to be replaced with recharge kiosks where people can pay into their phones (most mobile phones in China are pay-as-you go). If those kiosks covered all the major telecom providers that would actually be really useful. Unlike an IC card phone booth.
Be honest, I may go to Israel for holiday, but for business? I’ve never thought of that. When I asked a few friends if they were willing to do their startups in Israel, they thought I was joking. For some reason, safety is always the first concern for people including Chinese to consider going to Israel.
However, I do know a few friends who are originally from Israel and now doing great in web business. And when I met Saul Singer, the co-author of Start-Up Nations: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, he even told me this,
There are ~500 startups in Israel. In terms of the number of Venture Capital companies by population, it’s even 2 or 3 times more than the States. So Israel, actually has a very good environment for startups.
And the most interesting point he mentioned which I also agreed is that,
Israel, as the developing country and emerging market like China it may have more issues need be solved using technology, i.e. more opportunities for technology startups.
This week has been absolutely filled with hacking news from China as CSDN, Tianya, Netease, and 360Buy were among the major internet entities which we learned have fallen victim to data breaches. And there were morereports swirling last night that two of China’s e-commerce giants had experienced data leaks as well.
It was reported that Alibaba’s online payment system Alipay reportedly experienced a leak that affected 15 to 25 million user accounts. To find out more, we got in touch with a representative who conveyed the company’s statement on the matter last night:
Alipay employs rigorous information security measures to ensure the safety of our users’ private information and funds; we do not believe this list of emails originated from any breach of Alipay data or hacking activities. [1]
There was an earlier statement on the Alipay Weibo account, where the company responded to some inquiries. It asserts that passwords and funds are still secure. Of course, the emails in question could theoretically be cross-referenced against other data out there, so users would be wise not to use the same passwords across multiple services, which is an advisable personal security practice at all times.
In addition, Dangdang (NYSE:DANG), fresh off launching its new e-book platform, is said to have issued a statement yesterday regarding reports that the information of 12 million users had been leaked. According to Marbridge Consulting, the company asserts that the only ‘a small fraction’ of that data belongs to Dangdang users and that the police have been notified regarding the matter.
The wording of the statement seemed to leave open the possibility that the leak might have originated within the company, even if there was no breach by any external entity. We inquired about this, but a representative clarified by saying “we are certain” that it did not come from Alipay. ↩
