Echelon 2012 Startup Marketplace open to applications

Echelon, an annual Asia tech startup launchpad, will be back for its third iteration. It is also accepting applications for Startup Marketplace, an exhibition platform for tech entrepreneurs to showcase their startups to potential investors, corporate partners, the media, and members of the startup community.

Deadline for this year’s applications is 31st March 2012. Prior to the main event, shortlisted candidates, selected by a panel of judges, will be invited to participate in satellite events in Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, and Hong Kong, where they will pitch their products to an audience.

Last year, over 1,000 attendees turned up, and the exhibition saw participation from startups from over nine countries. Some of these companies have gone on to secure funding and strategic partnerships.

Following the satellite events, the top 50 selected startups will be given an exhibition space at the main event on 11th to 12th June 2012, which will cost S$400. The top 10 will be given an opportunity to pitch on stage to the main audience.

The Echelon 2012 Startup Marketplace was previously known as the Echelon Launchpad and Startup Exhibition. The platform was revamped following feedback from Echelon alumni, placing more emphasis on startups themselves.

To apply, fill up this form.

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6 Must-Read Tech Stories in China This Week

Despite it being the week in the run-up to Chinese New Year, there was a very surprising new gadget, plenty of new statistics, and lots of other news sprouting out of the Chinese web:

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1. RedPad is the Tablet Custom-Made for China’s Cadres, Costs Twice as Much as an iPad

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The so-called RedPad appeared out of nowhere a few days back, and we were the first to break the news in English. To the astonishment – and soon to be chagrin – of Chinese netizens, this Android tablet that’s made especially for the country’s politicians looks way over-priced. Why exactly? One day later, its makers responded and explained.

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2. China Internet Penetration Map 2012

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So, you might have noticed that we like maps and charts and stuff. And after CNNIC released its recent report on internet usage in China, one of the key datasets that we were eager to look at was internet penetration by province. Turns out it all makes for a neat interactive graphic…

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3. China Hit 513 Million Net Users in 2011

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Meanwhile, the big picture is that China’s web usage has exploded in the past few years, so that it has now officially cracked the half billion barrier.

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4. Baidu Breaks Ground on New International HQ – But Not in Beijing

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Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), China’s biggest search engine, earlier this week broke ground on a new campus building that will eventually be home to 10,000 employees. And though it’ll be a new “international HQ,” it won’t be based in the capital, Beijing.

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5. Chinese Military-Developed Game “Glorious Mission” Being Used For Military Training?

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When it was first announced, China’s Glorious Mission drew immediate comparisons to the U.S. Military’s America’s Army, and with good reason. And now a video news report seems to suggest it’s being used for training… Or not.

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6. China’s The9 Lands Anelka, Shanghai Shenhua in Endorsement Deal

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On a lighter note, the Chinese gaming company, The9, splashed the cash to land a worldwide endorsement deal with the French footballer Anelka, who currently plays for Shanghai Shenhua.

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Bonus: Chinese New Year tech stories

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As a bonus, check out the four newest stories for the year of the dragon on our ‘Chinese New Year’ tag. Gong xi fa cai, or Kung hei fat choi!

That’s all for this week, folks! For our full spread of China coverage, you can subscribe to our China RSS feed.

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Indonesia Digest: MyTrans application by CT Group, Sedapur.com new payment method, and more

(1) After acquiring Detik, Trans Corp, a subsidiary of CT Group, has gone straight into the digital world by launching MyTrans, a digital content application.

(2) Online food delivery service, Sedapur.com, is now providing a new payment method via KlikBCA.

(3) According to Kapersky, a Russian antivirus maker, Indonesia is ranked number two after India in the list of the world’s biggest spammers. The data was collected from all spam emails sent before September 2011.

(4) CyberAgent, a Japanese investment company announced USD 20 million in new funding to be divided proportionally between Indonesia and Vietnam.

(5) BlackBerry services (BIS and BES) have about five million subscribers in Indonesia in 2011. They predict the number will nearly double in 2015, to 9.7 million subscribers. Roughly speaking, the increment is projected to reach nearly 20 percent per year.

(6) Indonesia is the country with the second most populous Facebook users in the world after the United States, at 41.7 million users according to social media agency SocialBakers. However, if recent trends are anything to go by, Indonesia’s rank may slip.

(7) BPPT is the first client of Fujitsu cloud services in Indonesia.

(8) Microsoft kicked off the year by adding six new countries in the App Hub for Windows Phone apps and games distribution, bringing the total number of countries to 41. These new countries are Argentina, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, and the Philippines. This however, does not mean that the Marketplace is open for business yet in those countries.

(9) Tandif.com is a local service that allows users to filter digital content automatically. Tandif, as described by Mr Ahmad Fathi Hadi (founder), should actually be named Tandif Moderation Ultimate Service.

(11) Hajinguk Project, a community focused on making games, recently released their first game, “Panic UFO Panic”.

(12) Some online technology industry players in Indonesia decided to cooperate on a project called “Bisnis Lokal Go Online (Local Business Goes Online – eng)”. They aim to encourage the adoption of online businesses in Indonesia.

(13) Last week, Google, along with a number of Indonesian partners in both the private and government sectors, launched an initiative to bring 100,000 Indonesian small and medium businesses/enterprises online by the end of 2012.

(14) VP Marketing & Communications Ericsson Indonesia, Hardyana Syntawati, predicts a significant increase of mobile broadband subscribers in Indonesia, which will double by the end of this year.

(15) Tiphone, a local low-end phone manufacturer, on January 12 is officially listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). On their first day, share value is up 11%.

This has been brought to you by SGE and DailySocial. DailySocial is a blog that covers the Indonesian tech startup scene. They publish in both Indonesian and English.

Thank you to nordicfactory for the flag image.

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GREE Partners With RightScale, Offers Multi-Cloud Management System to Developers

Japan-based social gaming network GREE (TYO:3632) and U.S-based cloud computing management company RightScale jointly announced a partnership yesterday.

Under this partnership developers will have the flexibility to host their servers on any cloud vendor of preference — all under RightScale’s platform. This partnership will also help to reduce operational load as it enables large-scale systems management by smaller groups of people. RightScale will also offer premium support services at no cost to GREE’s development partners.

RightScale has an impressive list of clients which include PBS, Harvard University, Zynga, and Sling Media. While many gamers and tech enthusiasts adore Zynga’s growth, it owes a portion of its success to RightScale’s all-in-one platform cloud computing management system. You can head over here to read more.

You can also check out the recorded webinar below which tells you more about cloud management. It’s lengthy, and it’s a tough topic, but very informative and worth a watch.

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