Hasta La Gadget!

Who needs a state-sponsored online mapping service? Why China, of course. We know that particular government doesn’t exactly trust the Googles and who knows how far astray its Google Maps service might lead those impressionable citizens. So now there’s Map World, created by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping and deemed to be “authoritative, credible and unified.” The service has been out since last year but has only recently lost its beta tag. We’ve spent a few minutes clicking around and it certainly seems reasonably comprehensive, offering map and satellite views plus 120,000 POIs and even 3D views of some cities, which could make finding your way to den of KIRF all that much easier.

China’s Map World now providing maps and POIs within the Great Firewall originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daimler AG is of course best known as the producer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, cars that usually sit toward the higher end of their respective classes. BYD, on the other hand, makes batteries, cellphones, and inexpensive cars that often look an awful, awful lot like other, rather more expensive ones. Strange bedfellows, these, but according to a “knowledgeable individual” quoted by The Wall Street Journal the two are getting closer to finalizing plans for an electric vehicle, freezing the design ahead of production to begin toward the end of 2012. The car is said to be called the GOLF, standing for Green, Oxygen, Light, and Friendship — though that L could also double for Lawsuit given VW already sells its Golf in China. This partnership is similar to what BMW is doing, working with Brilliance China Automotive to get a foothold into the potentially Chinese EV market, which is already starting to heat up and should only continue to do so over the coming years.

Daimler and BYD’s GOLF electric car getting closer to completion? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Truth About Cars  |  China Realtime Report  | Email this | Comments

Most of our favorite gadgets are constructed with parts made of rare earth minerals, and as many of you already know, China produces the lion’s share of the stuff. So news that Hu Jintao and company recently took control of 11 rare earth mines in order to more tightly manage the mines’ production is of great interest to hi-tech companies and consumers the world over — and could mean your next hybrid, smartphone, or PC just got a bit more expensive. The Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources indicates that nationalization of the facilities was prompted by illegal strip mining and dumping of toxic tailings in nearby waterways, but given China’s pledge to reduce rare earth exports by ten percent this year, it seems likely that the move isn’t entirely driven by environmental concerns. Consumers needn’t worry too much, however, as Japan and the US are currently searching for ways to break China’s monopoly on rare earths and keep us flush in affordable flat-screen TVs and hybrid cars for years to come.

China nationalizes eleven rare earth mines for environmental and strategic reasons originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For years foreign nations have received better and faster cars than America but, finally, we thought we’d at least received smartphone parity. Not for Motorola, who is bringing its 4.3-inch Droid X slab to China with one major tweak: a processor running at 1.2GHz. That’s a 20 percent boost over its cycles in domestic form despite having the same TI ticker humming away in there. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t ways to unofficially overclock your X to 1.2GHz — and beyond — but those of us who prefer staying stock are left to wonder why, and to hope for an equivalent update on these shores. Futile hopes, these.

Motorola Droid X gets 1.2GHz software overclock for China, we feel slighted too originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Droid Life, electronista  |  Motorola China  | Email this | Comments

How far we’ve come. It was only a couple of years ago that Lenovo was closing a deal to sell its mobile phone business, but a quick re-acquisition in late 2009 and some recent heavy flirtation with the tablet form factor have led to the creation of a whole new unit in the company’s hierarchy, one dedicated to the development of smartphones, tablets, TVs, and other internet-connected devices. Headed up by Liu Jun and working out of Beijing, this squad of designers and engineers will focus on harnessing the “tremendous growth potential of the mobile internet.” Cloud computing will be a major feature of Lenovo’s plans moving forward, which places its goals for the future right in line with just about everyone else’s. Still, it’s good to see one of the big desktop computing players diversifying its portfolio with gusto.

Lenovo setting up a specialist unit for tablets and smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  AFP (PhysOrg)  | Email this | Comments