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Apple’s iPhone 6 is Finally Available in China

September 30, 2014 By Jack M. Robinson Leave a Comment

Last week we reported on how the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have sold more than 10 million units in the opening weekend, thus breaking any record previously held by Apple. What’s even more amazing is that they’ve done this without China’s help. Up until today, the Chinese government put a ban on the new Apple devices, but now the iPhone 6 is finally available in China.

iPhone 6 is Finally Available in China

Apple has finally gotten China to approve the new iPhone 6 in their country. The Chinese government held their ground as Apple tried and tried to get China to sell their new smartphone. Apple received a key license after it went through some rigorous scrutiny by the Chinese government. According to an official statement by the government, Apple has been given the green light to sell their devices in China after it addressed many security risks about personal data. In short, Apple promised that it would not give away personal data of its customers to any other government, except the Chinese one, of course.

Apple told the public that the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will go on sale on October 17. If you live in China, then you can pre-order your device starting with October 10. Nearly a month after the new Apple devices hit the U.S. market the iPhone 6 is finally available in China.

The new iPhone 6 will have some serious competition in China, as the latest smartphone from Samsung, the Galaxy Note 4, has just went on sale on Monday. Xiaomi, local smartphone maker, is also a serious competitor to the Apple’s iPhone.

What are your thoughts on this news? Are you happy that the iPhone 6 is finally available in China? Drop us a line in the comment section below and tell us about it.

Microsoft Has Finally Launched Xbox One in China

September 29, 2014 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Microsoft Xbox One is the most popular gaming device in the world, at the moment. Back at the beginning of summer, we reported on the fact that the new Mortal Kombat X is hitting the market in 2015 and now we’ve got some more exciting news for Xbox fans: Microsoft has finally launched Xbox One in China!

China places a video gaming console ban in the year 2000. Microsoft launched their original Xbox in 2001, which means that China hasn’t been able to enjoy the device until now. It lifted the ban and now Microsoft has launched the Xbox One in China, after the device was officially launched in the U.S. in November of 2013.

The Xbox One in China will be available in 37 cities and 4,000 retail locations. It doesn’t seem like too much, considering that there are 160 cities in China that have more than 1 million inhabitants, but we’re hoping that following the predicted success, more locations and cities will be added to the list of places you can buy in Xbox One in China.

Microsoft held the Xbox One launch party in Shanghai, at the Oriental Pearl Tower. It was supposed to launch the device last week, but delayed the launch for today, for unknown reasons.

Some rumors are hinting at the fact that Chinese gamers who have already preordered the Xbox One in China are going to get an added bonus, but nothing is known about the type of bonus Microsoft is going to offer. They should be given something, because they’ve been waiting long enough for the Xbox One video gaming console.

What are your thoughts on this news? Are you happy that China is getting a piece of the video gaming pie? Drop us a line in the comment section below and let us know what you think about this news.

U.S. Commerce Department Imposes Punitive Measures to Chinese Solar Panel Producers

July 26, 2014 By Jack M. Robinson Leave a Comment

Solar energy becomes increasingly important in a time when fossil fuel reservoirs run dry and pollution reaches alarming levels, even as the main polluting industries moved overseas. As production costs dropped, solar panel sales increased in the last several years. But the world market of solar panels gets more competitive and legal battles are being taken to clarify what it means to be a fair market competitor. U.S. based solar power technology companies claimed that Chinese solar panel producers do not operate fairly because they receive state funding and sell at sub-cost levels.

On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department intervened by setting preliminary anti-dumping tariffs for some Chinese and Taiwanese solar panel producers. A month ago, anti-subsidy measures have been taken by U.S. regulators, so now a second step is being taken against Asian producers selling solar panels on the U.S. market. The Commerce Department’s June decision set duties from 10.74 up to55.49 percent. The World Trade Organization announced in July that the U.S. infringed global trade rules through its punitive 2012 tariffs on Chinese solar panels. Two different views on how production and distribution should take place clash, leading to increased tensions between the U.S. and China.

The development of solar powered solutions runs at a fast pace. In April, a solar powered plane to fly around the world was announced.

Prices rise as Chinese solar panel producers face anti-dumping taxes

U.S.-based SunPower, among other solar panel companies, will gain from the future anti-dumping tariffs. But the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, formed mostly out of solar panel installers, is not happy with the new measures, according to Reuters. The decision will hinder the development of alternative energy deployment and will affect consumers who will face escalated prices, the coalition argues.

By adding the anti-subsidy and anti-dumping penalties, Trina Solar will pay a total of 29.3 percent. Green Energy will pay a total of 47.27 percent, according to Internet Business Times. This June punitive decisions increased the prices with around 10 percent, hitting Chinese solar panel producers. In the meantime, U.S. and European producers start recovering.

The recent decisions will affect the global solar panels market. Without constant certainty regarding the evolution of prices, few developers can afford the risks involved in initiating new projects. Moreover, analysts cited by the New York Times say that the punitive measures against Chinese solar panel producers will not be beneficial on the long term, because low-cost production might as well move to another country like Mexico, for example.

Google Nexus 7 4G LTE Spotted In China Ahead Of US Release Date

August 31, 2013 By Jack M. Robinson Leave a Comment

Google earlier promised to launch its Nexus 7 LTE tablet by late July, but the device has not made its way to the stores. However, just ahead of its release in the U.S. it has broken cover in China.

Simply dubbed as Nexus 7, the new tablet was debuted late last month on the Google Play Store. It includes a big upgrade over the predecessor. The biggest upgrade is the inclusion of 4G LTE that is to replace HSPA+ data speeds.

The problem now is that Google has not yet released the tablet officially. Google promised to make it available on T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon in next couple of weeks. GottaBeMobile.com writes, “We’ve heard that the Nexus 7 LTE will arrive in Italy, and possibly elsewhere, in September, and it appears that the device has made an appearance before its upcoming release date in markets around the world.”

One user on Baidu has posted several photos of the new Nexus 7 LTE tablet that appeared in China. The pics shows LTE-capable Nexus 7 tablet. It was purchased for about $331 and it appears to be authentic. It is a Wi-Fi only model.

As China Telecom does not support 4G LTE, so the new device is not capable utilizing it, but it is clear it has the network capability and it could run 4G LTE.

Well, this is a signal that the Google Nexus 7 4G LTE is not just a rumored device, and it will be hitting the stores soon.

Nokia Lumia 1020 Verizon Release Date in US First on AT&T, Price Announced in China

August 17, 2013 By Troy Rubenson 1 Comment

nokia lumia 1020 price in us

Nokia Lumia 1020 Verizon release date will be announced in US first and only on AT&, the flagship device has been in the news since quite some time. The 41MP camera lens is what that makes stand out from the rest of the device in the market. Nokia Lumia 1020 price in US on AT&T’s network is 299USD for a two year contract. In the past week, it was also reported that Amazon is attracting buyers by offering the phone at a lower down payment price.

Today, the Nokia Lumia 1020 was unveiled for the Chinese markets at Nanjing, China. The device will be available on Unicom’s network in China. It will also be available for purchase at retail outlets. What is so striking about the news is that Nokia has priced the quite expensively for China. The Nokia Lumia 1020 price in China is 5999 CNY which is around 980USD.

China is the biggest smartphone market in the world and Nokia is aiming to release the best ever Windows phone on a three year contract at an easy price tag of USD 163. The Lumia 1020 has got the trademark PureView technology. The phone comes with whole lot of camera features. The Pro Camera allows you feature like dual capture. The Smart Camera lets you snap professional kind of photos. Apart from the camera technology, all the other specs are quite similar to that of Lumia 920.

Sad thing is that Lumia 1020 is runs Windows Phone 8 OS with GDR2 update that means unless GDR3 arrives Windows Phone powered devices will not support 1080p full HD display. The Lumia 1020’s 4.5inch display supports 720p resolution. It is powered with 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and 2GB RAM. There is no external storage feature but it comes with an onboard storage capacity of 32GB.

In US, AT&T is the only network that is going to supply the Lumia 1020. Major networks like Sprint and Verizon have not announced anything on supporting the device. May be other networks are just waiting for good response and later on they may also start offering the device. However, until then it is going to available only on AT&T. Until it arrives on other networks, Nokia will continue to lose many customers.

The new Lumia 1020 seems to be very promising. The snaps taken from the Lumia 1020 appear as if it has been taken from a DSLR camera. Also, the onboard camera is capable of snapping stunning photos in low lighting conditions. Even the videos shot from the camera appear very rich and crisp and by far offers the best results ever offered by any smartphone. Thanks to the optical image stabilization onboard, the videos recorded with it can record clear visuals.

China Puts an End to 13-Year Old Ban on Gaming Consoles

July 11, 2013 By Troy Rubenson Leave a Comment

Since 2000, China had put a ban on console gaming mainly because of the unhealthy nature of video games that could negatively impact the youth. The South China Morning Post tabloid reported that China is going to withdraw the ban that it has imposed on gaming consoles. This means major brands like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft will be able to promote and sell their gaming consoles officially in China.

Even after the ban is uplifted, the gaming console makers are supposed to adhere to the guidelines set by the government. It has been reported that the gaming console makers are required to launch a ship in the proposed free-trade zone that is going to come up in Shanghai.

The withdrawal of the ban allows console manufacturers to sell their devices anywhere in the country but they are subjected to receive approval on each product from cultural related entities. The report says that gaming console manufacturers are required to receive approval from culture ministry. The whole idea behind it is that the government does not want games containing violent content to reach the youth of China.

Even though marketing and distribution of gaming consoles have been since 13 years in China, it is a well-known fact that console hardware has been exported from the country for international since a long time. Major brands like Nintendo and Sony import console components in China and then those components are dispatched to contract manufacturers for building the devices. Foxconn is the manufacturer for Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 was built by Flextronics and Hon Hai Precision Industry is also one of the makers of PlayStation 3.

For Chinese gamers, a flourishing yet well hidden ‘black market’ has always been a source to obtain desired gaming consoles. The withdrawal of the ban will certainly allow consumers to easily purchase any gaming console from the Shanghai free trade zone. By doing this, the government of China wishes to portray itself as a positive country for international investors.

The Shanghai free trade zone is being built to turn the city into financial and distribution hotspot for overseas investors. Shanghai is also set to become tax-free zone with topnotch transport and communications. So, companies like Nintendo and Sony will seek approval from relevant government agencies and then start selling their consoles in China.

The news about the removal of ban had lingering around since the past the six months and now it seems that it will so go in effect. China has been major market for smartphones and tablets and game enthusiasts have been playing games on these devices and PCs even after the ban was imposed by the government.

Even though the ban has been removed, it is quite understandable that China will continue to bar the shipping of some video games that contain violent content. The ban on video games never sounded sensible and it was erratically enforced as gamers could play their favorite games on PC or online or through the black market. Now that the door has opened to market gaming consoles in China, it would be interesting to see how Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft fight against each other in the competitive market.

China Based Lenovo to Release Smartphones in US as PC Sales Continue to Drop

May 27, 2013 By Troy Rubenson Leave a Comment

Lenovo’s PC sales have been going down consistently. Experts claim that Lenovo’s interest in unveiling smartphones in US market has come only because of dismal sales of Lenovo PCs. According to Lenovo’s CEO, Yang Yuanqing, introducing smartphones in US market will open “new opportunity” for the company to develop.

Even though China is the biggest market for just about anything on the face of the earth, it has been observed that the PC sales have considerably gone down in China and experts feel people more and more prefer to buy smartphones rather than purchasing PCs. Not only in China but also in other parts of the world, the situation is quite same.

So, it is quite inevitable for Lenovo to switch over to smartphones. However, selling Lenovo in a market that is already been taken over by the likes of Samsung and iPhone. Lenovo will have to spend quite some time in establishing itself in the US markets. Currently, Lenovo has been offering its mobile phones in only home country and nearby Asian markets like India. However, it is not going to be the same anymore. Lenovo plans to introduce smartphones in 2014.

The major hurdle that lies in the path of Lenovo to introduce smartphones in US is that it has to gain support from various cellular networks and making the phones available at affordable prices compared to Samsung and Apple which rakes in 70% of the market in US. Another thing Lenovo needs to think of is to file its patent portfolio which has been already done by other China based companies like Huawei and ZTE that have paid importance to file patent.

At the moment Lenovo is the second major smartphone manufacturer in China and offers a wide range of feature rich phones such as K900 which runs on Intel CPU. However, the market in China is being ruled by Korean based Samsung. When it comes to making a mark in US, Lenovo has to show innovativeness when it comes to hardware and features. Its future competitors like Apple and Samsung are focusing on making their phone’s software and services very intuitive in order to provide the best user experience. Lenovo has to offer unique features at affordable prices to break the market monopoly.

Since last year Lenovo has been making attempt to expand its horizon outside China. It has launched smartphones in India, Russia and Indonesia. However, it has still not yet been able to shake the market leaders in these regions. Now, it aims to move on US and Europe. The uphill battle is going to be quite challenging for Lenovo. We hope that Lenovo offers some cool feature rich phones at impressive prices.

iPhone 6 is Finally Available in China

Prices rise as Chinese solar panel producers face anti-dumping taxes

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