Not to be left out in the old boys club of the Great Chinese Hacking Scandal of 2013, the Wall Street Journal included themselves with the New York Times as being hacked by Chinese operatives. That’s two big name dead tree media organizations getting hacked by China. Who’s next? More »
When I visit a zoo or anywhere else animals are the main attraction, I can’t help but to snap a few photos to later view and remind myself of my recent visit. One thing I don’t do is have my phone so close to an animal that they can snatch it out of my hand and eat it, which is exactly what happened to the Chinese tourist in the following video.
The video follows two Chinese tourists as they visit an elephant park in Thailand. One tourist can be seen feeding one of the elephants by hand, while the other holds her iPhone up in order to get a shot of the elephant-feeding action. The elephant can then be seen snagging the iPhone up and proceeds to eat it, which makes sense seeing as there’s an Apple logo on the back of the device.
The rest of the video I’ll leave for you to watch, but let’s just say, the woman goes through the process of retrieving her eaten iPhone and it’s not how most people would want to spend their afternoon in an elephant park.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Check out Apple’s iPhone 5 rendered in full 3D[Video], Netflix iOS App Update Adds New Player, Controls, Facebook Sharing Toggle and More,
Huawei has had an image problem lately among countries skittish about trusting a Chinese telecom giant with the backbone of networks that its home government might like to snoop. The company’s Australian chairman John Lord thinks that’s just paranoia, and he’s planning radical transparency in the country to recover what trust he can after Huawei lost a National Broadband Network deal. The firm is willing to give the Australian government “unrestricted” access to both networking hardware and source code to prove that there’s no espionage afoot. Lord even likes the idea a domestic inspection agency that would greenlight equipment across the industry. All of the proposals represent a one-way conversation, however — Canberra hasn’t said if it’s receptive enough to drop the cold attitude. There’s a distinct chance that any successful return to favor wouldn’t come soon enough to recover the most lucrative contracts, which could make any Australian change of heart a Pyrrhic victory.
Filed under: Networking, Internet
Huawei gives Australia peeks at its network hardware and code to regain trust originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Many of us who live in North America and Europe consider Amazon synonymous with online retail — yet we forget that the company barely even registers in some parts of the world. That misconception is about to be cleared up now that one of China’s largest online retailers, 360buy, is going global. A just-launched English version of the store is initially shipping China-made goods for free to 36 countries that include obvious candidates like Australia, Canada, the UK and the US as well as France, Germany and southeast Asia. You’re unlikely to find a Kindle Fire HD equivalent in the selection, but the mix could still make Amazon nervous when the brand-agnostic can already find real bargains. Combined with long-term plans to set up local distribution points, 360buy’s international expansion could get more of us comfortable with buying from China and heat up a retail race that some thought had already been won.
Chinese online retail giant 360buy spreads worldwide, may keep Amazon on its toes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink PConline (translated), ZDNet | 360buy | Email this | Comments
It’s not just America waiting keenly on the Nokia Lumia 920 and its PureView powers — new images have popped up proving that this Windows Phone 8 device is also headed to China. Corroborating earlier reports of a Lumia 920 that is compatible with China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network, the phone’s settings screen mentions “CMCC”, which is a reference to that operator — although it’s not clear whether the handset will also support the carrier’s proposed LTE network. The pics only show a dark-colored variant, but Nokia will no doubt be depending on the booming Chinese market to bring some sunshine to its balance sheet.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia
Lumia 920T leaks in China, could be Nokia’s ticket to a huge new subscriber base originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink GSMInsider | WP7Nokia (Weibo) | Email this | Comments
Japan’s unique language makes calls to other countries a challenge: locals often don’t have much choice but to brush up on someone else’s language or hope there’s a Japanese speaker on the other end of the line. If all goes well with NTT DoCoMo’s planned Hanashite Hon’yaku automatic translation service, international calls will be as comfortable as phoning a store in Nagano. As long as a subscriber has at least an Android 2.2 phone or tablet on the carrier’s moperaU or sp-mode plans, the service will automatically convert spoken Japanese to another language, and reverse the process for the reply, whether it’s through an outbound phone call or an in-person conversation. The service will bridge cultures starting from November 1st, when it will translate from Japanese to Chinese, English or Korean. Indonesian, Thai and five European languages are coming later that month. If you’re not that patient, NTT DoCoMo will provide a holdover on October 11th through Utsushite Hon’yaku, a free Word Lens-like augmented reality translator for Android 2.3 that can convert text to or from Japanese with a glance through a phone camera.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
NTT DoCoMo preps automatic translation from Japanese through Android, leaves no one an island originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
“We must remember always that accusation is not proof.” So begins a report sponsored and published by Huawei, heavily quoting a 1954 US Senate report that condemned McCarthy and his anti-Communist hysteria. The document is a prelude to Huawei’s forthcoming public testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee, and its message is clear: the Chinese manufacturer is tired of how it’s being treated in America, where numerous telecoms contracts have been blocked over “national security concerns.” Huawei wants to be seen as an “opportunity” rather than a “threat,” claiming it has scope to expand its 140,000 workforce and would love to create more jobs in America — if only the US government would remove its “roadblock.”
Many other arguments are put forward, but some of the most interesting paragraphs deal with the background of Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei. The document claims that Zhengfei has been “tragically misunderstood” and that his alleged roles in the People’s Liberation Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are “unsubstantiated.” The report doesn’t deny those memberships ever existed, but instead downplays their significance — for example by insisting that the CCP is now focused on promoting “private entrepreneurs” and “democratization.” We admittedly stopped reading at that point, but if you’d like to continue then the full 78-page PDF, written by Dan Steinbock of the India, China and America Institute, is linked below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile
Huawei complains about US spying allegations, implies McCarthy-style victimization originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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ZTE’s LTE-capable version of its Grand X smartphone will arrive on China Mobile’s GSM network at the end of this month. The Grand X LTE (T82) is the company’s first single-chip LTE handset, coming with a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 8-megapixel rear camera and Ice Cream Sandwich. It’ll arrive in Hong Kong on August 31st, setting locals hack HK$3,180, before being rolled out to the rest of Asia-Pacific from Q3.
Continue reading ZTE launching Grand X LTE on China Mobile in Hong Kong
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
ZTE launching Grand X LTE on China Mobile in Hong Kong originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Despite improvements, working conditions are still a sore point in China — and China Labor Watch wants to emphasize that no company is exempt from scrutiny. The rights advocacy group claims that, on top of pushing mandatory overtime and poor overall conditions, Samsung contractor HEG Electronics has allegedly been employing at least seven underage workers at a Huizhou plant making phones and DVD players. Not surprisingly, Samsung has been quick to defend itself, asserting that it found “no irregularities” in two separate inspections this year and that it plans a third as a response to the new accusations. Who’s telling the truth is still up in the air, although China Labor Watch is taking aim only after going undercover; it’s long been suspected that contractors whitewash their labor practices when they see corporate inspectors coming from a mile away. If there’s any substance to the allegations, Samsung may be the next tech giant taking action to mend a bruised public image.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment
Samsung accused of, denies employing child labor through Chinese contractor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Bloomberg | China Labor Watch | Email this | Comments
Since Huawei’s president formerly served as a senior engineer in the People’s Liberation Army of China, it’s unsurprising that it’s raised the hackles of the US and other countries. It’s been blocked from a variety of prime, security-sensitive contracts on suspicion of espionage, but the Chinese company seems bent on proving its honorable intentions, and has opened a “Cyber Security Evaluation Center” in Banbury, UK to do exactly that. According to the Economist, the company will work closely with GCHQ, the British signals-intelligence agency located in nearby Cheltenham, to persuade the UK and other governments that its equipment is trustworthy. It even has security-cleared staff, including some from the British agency, to shake down the gear and ensure it can’t be exploited by spooks or crooks. Huawei already has hefty backbone contracts in Canada and New Zealand and is becoming one of the world’s largest suppliers of telecom infrastructure, on top of its high ranking as a handset maker. It might hope this new approach will let it break its US and UK market logjam — but it has a lot of pent-up distrust to overcome.
Filed under: Cellphones, Networking
Huawei working with British spy service to prove its ‘kit’ is clean originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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