China Cracks 450 Million Internet Users

The world’s largest Internet population got a lot bigger in the past year, jumping 20,3 percent to 450 million–that’s more than a third of the country’s population of 1.3 billion.

Of course, that massive number of users aren’t able to access the whole of the Internet. The Chinese government has been notoriously hard-lined in its censorship of those sites it deems a threat. In the past year, the government has shut down more than 60,000 sites and removed more than 350 million pieces of content deemed pornographic.

A number of high profile America sites including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have been blocked as well. According to Chinese authorities, VoIP service Skype is next on the list.

Sharp Galapagos media tablets will bring 3G and EPUB content to US e-reader market in 2011

We like a bit of ambition around these parts and Sharp’s plans for entering the US e-reader battlefield reek of the stuff. The Galapagos tablets that recently enjoyed their Japanese debut are going to be retooled, according to the Mainichi Daily News, to include new 3G radios for the internet-addicted US consumer, while the primary content format will also be switched from the proprietary XMDF in Japan to the almost universally compatible EPUB. Content partnerships are said to be brewing as we type, because, quite naturally, Sharp intends to have its own e-bookstore for Americans as well. After the Yanks, the company’s said to be looking into bringing its 5.5- and 10.8-inch tablets to China, India, and Brazil. Highly ambitious indeed.

Sharp Galapagos media tablets will bring 3G and EPUB content to US e-reader market in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbook News  |  sourceMainichi Daily News  | Email this | Comments

China tightens hold on rare earth exports, markets soar

If you own a flat screen TV, a hybrid, a PC, or any number of cell phones, chances are you own a small but very sought after piece of China. The country accounts for 97 percent of the world’s rare earth production, which is used in all manner of gadgets, and it recently announced plans to scale back exports by 10 percent in 2011. The move probably won’t have a big impact on the average consumer, but it’s certainly gained a lot of attention on the world market: the US threatened action in the World Trade Organization, stocks for rare earth mining companies spiked significantly, and Sony Corp. vowed to decrease its dependence on the minerals. It’s actually not like the rest of the world is lacking for rare earth resources — American’s are actually sitting on 13 million metric tons of the stuff, which companies in the US and Canada are making a mad dash to mine. Trouble is, just getting the stuff out of the ground isn’t enough — China still has a monopoly on rare earth processing, and US companies are reluctant to spend the eight years and minimum $500 million necessary to construct a chemical separation plant. So what does all this mean for you? Well, not a whole lot, unless you happen to be China’s Minister of Commerce, in which case you should probably stop surfing the web and get back to work.

China tightens hold on rare earth exports, markets soar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Yahoo!  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

Another Sony Ericsson Android leaked in China, successor to the X10 Mini Pro?

Once again, here’s proof that China is the place to be for piping-hot gadget leaks. The latest delivery is yet another mysterious Sony Ericsson handset, which is allegedly the Android 2.3 successor to the much loved X10 Mini Pro slider but with an X8 screen size. Despite its modest dimensions, this little gem packs a 1GHz chip with an Adreno 205 GPU, scoring an impressive 1,553 on the Quadrant benchmark app — coming close to the Nexus S’ score — and 42.5fps on Neocore, as pictured on the 3-inch 320 x 480 multitouch LCD above. It sure sounds juicy, except for one thing: the buttons are in reverse order of the current Xperia layout. Very funny, Sony Ericsson, now just give us a date. One more shot after the break.

Continue reading Another Sony Ericsson Android leaked in China, successor to the X10 Mini Pro?

Another Sony Ericsson Android leaked in China, successor to the X10 Mini Pro? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Unofficial Xperia X10 Blog  |  sourceIT168  | Email this | Comments

iPod nano watch gets knocked off, has little to worry about it

There are run-of-the-mill KIRFs, above-average KIRFs, and this. While we’ve definitely been privy to a few comical iPhone / iPod knockoffs over the years, there’s a certain layer of hilariousness to this one that just can’t be beat. The iPod nano watch isn’t even a genuine Apple product; in fact, it’s simply a mod that’s so easy, your mum could probably pull it off with minimal effort. That clearly hasn’t stopped the factories in Shenzhen from churning out an iPod nano watch knockoff, complete with a 1.8-inch resistive touchscreen, inbuilt SIM card slot, Bluetooth, a microSD slot, FM radio tuner, a side-mounted camera sensor and a speaker for good measure. You’ll even get a fancy “Slide to Unlock” screen before being able to dig into the underlying UI, but that chintzy plastic wrist strap all but destroys any respect it was hoping to garner. Thankfully, the unit you’re peering at above is being dubbed an “engineering prototype,” with the final version expected to boast a 3.5mm headphone jack and a modicum of self-worth. We’ll see, won’t we?

iPod nano watch gets knocked off, has little to worry about it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink M.I.C. Gadget  |  sourceM8Cool  | Email this | Comments

China launches state-sponsored, Twitter-esque Red Microblog, Kanye West already has the most followers

China has launched a state-sponsored micro-blogging site which is apparently identical to Twitter, except that it’s run by the Chinese government, of course. The brand new social network, named Red Microblog, is run by a local propaganda department in Chongqing and its purpose is to promote the official revolutionary spirit of the Chinese government. So far, the messages seem to be living up to that ideal: “I really like the words by Chairman Mao that ‘the world is ours; we should work together’,” microblogged Bo Xilai, a local party secretary. Of course, Red Microblog does has not yet suffered from the inevitable influx of celebrities with inane aphorisms to dish out, b-listers hawking diet scams, and of course — people talking about their lunches, the weather, and whether or not Tron is going to totally rule. Come to thing of it, Red Microblog sounds pretty awesome. For now.

China launches state-sponsored, Twitter-esque Red Microblog, Kanye West already has the most followers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Mashable, Switched  |  sourceThe Telegraph  | Email this | Comments

Creative ZiiEagle Movie Box promises 3,000 years of Chinese culture in one sleek burgundy package

So just what is the Creative ZiiEagle Movie Box? What exactly do you get from this? Here’s what we’ve gathered:

  • A set-top box featuring 668 movies from Celestial’s Shaw Brothers Film Collection.
  • “3,000 years of Chinese culture and secrets of the much elusive ‘Confucian thing.'”
  • A price tag — 888 Singapore dollars ($676 in US currency) — that “solves the perennial video piracy problem in one stroke.”
  • The reason for that awesome picture above to exist.

Singapore, consider yourself enlightened, and consider your days of video piracy officially numbered.

Creative ZiiEagle Movie Box promises 3,000 years of Chinese culture in one sleek burgundy package originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceZiiEagle, Creative  | Email this | Comments

Meizu M9 christens site launch with full specs list

Meizu CEO Jack Wong has been teasing the M9 handset for some time now, and if we’re not mistaken, the official site just went live with a full list of specs to boot. As promised, there’s a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 resolution screen (reportedly the Sharp ASV display), and we’re also apparently looking at a 1GHz S5PC110 processor (just like the Samsung Galaxy S), Android 2.2, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A-GPS, 802.11b/g/n, microSDHC, a removable 1370mAH lithium-polymer battery, and support for (drumroll, please) GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA,and HSUPA. Too good to be true? Word on the street is this very phone will be available December 25th in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and will expand to the rest of China days later. We’ll believe it when we see it.

Meizu M9 christens site launch with full specs list originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Micgadget, Meizu Me (1), (2)  |  sourceMeizu  | Email this | Comments

Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (update: new video)

There’s not much to see right now, but it appears that Red MR is well on its way to becoming one of the most advanced (and probably the most amusing) karaoke bars in the world. Ahead of its Hong Kong debut this Saturday, said company has already installed six Surfaces in its two bars, and is aiming to fit more to fill up all 80 rooms — and that number could go up to 300 in the near future — once Microsoft has ramped up production. With Red MR’s customized software (still under wraps), customers will be able to pick songs, order food, watch TV, and play games on the Surface while listening to a drunk rendition of My Heart Will Go On. Oh, and there’ll also be a few Kinects dotted around the bars, but it’s not exactly clear whether they’ll be in the rooms as well. Anyhow, we’ll be flying out to Hong Kong to check it out later this week, so stay tuned. For now, you can watch a demo of the Surface’s Liar’s Dice game after the break.

Update: Our friends over at M.I.C Gadget found a video from Apple Daily that teases the karaoke UI. Have a look after the jump.

Continue reading Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (update: new video)

Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (update: new video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceEngadget Chinese  | Email this | Comments

Chinese hotpot restaurant gets robot waiters, may soon be serving droids as well (video)

Why, it’s another robot-themed hotpot restaurant! This time we’re looking at Jinan — once famous for demolishing a whole stash of illegal arcade machines — up in north China, where a ballsy robotics manufacturer started trialling a robot-themed eatery. While there are still human chefs working back in the kitchen, some near-hundred customers will be served by six robots (about ¥40,000 or $6,000 each to build) that follow a white line to seat diners and deliver dishes. Oh, and don’t expect any slapstick comedy here — these bland-looking droids will only stop if you dare stand in front of them. You’ll have to hurry up, though, as this venue closes in about 16 days; but for those who can’t make it, we’ve got a video right after the break.

Continue reading Chinese hotpot restaurant gets robot waiters, may soon be serving droids as well (video)

Chinese hotpot restaurant gets robot waiters, may soon be serving droids as well (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Dvice  |  sourceiQilu, Xinhuanet  | Email this | Comments