Kindle doppelganger? The gang at Tech-On stumbled upon this little number at this week's Tokyo's Digital Publishing Fair, and unless our eyes deceive us, this snowflake's the spitting image of Amazon's e-book reader. It comes from Founder International, Inc., the Japanese unit of Chinese Peking University Founder Group Corp., and aesthetics aside, the screen comes from the same manufacturer (E Ink Corporation) and even lets you insert a SIM card and download directly to the device. And yet, despite the evidence, the company claims its gadget was "independently developed" and has nothing to do with the Kindle. Sure, whatever you say, wink wink, nod nod. The so-labeled WeFound is heading to China at the end of 2009 for around $209, with a possible release in Japan sometime after.

[Thanks, Alex]

Rockchip, already a favorite among dirt cheap, feature-laden PMPs, has its sights set on Android and we couldn't be happier. The company sees Android's free nature being the perfect match for the Chinese market, and plans to release its low-cost RK2808 chipset in October to take advantage of that. In addition to Android, Rockchip claims the RK2808 enables additional multimedia capability over what's currently available in Android handsets. No matter how well the RK2808 pans out, it's obvious that the second half of this year will mark a real explosion in Android, and if we could get some $100 or $200 unlocked imports mixed in there somewhere, we certainly wouldn't be complaining.

[Via PMP Today]

If you find the ten megapixels of (legit) Sony's DSC-T77 absolutely decadent, why not settle for (illegit) Sony's two megapixel-wielding T77 smartphone? The tradeoff for lower resolution pics is a dual SIM solution with Bluetooth A2DP support, FM radio, MP3/4 player, microSD slot, e-book reader capabilities, WAP connectivity, and a 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD display that's a tad smaller than its doppelganger. It's even got its own plectrum for rocking out with your, erm, KIRF out. Think this is everything you could possibly want and more? Decidedly Chinese vendor solomobi's selling it at $116.

[Thanks, facelessloser]

There's not exactly much more details than the headline on this one, but China's official Xinhua news agency is reporting that the country is delaying its plans that would require that the so-called "Green Dam Youth Escort" internet filtering software be installed on all PCs sold in China. That requirement was set to go into effect on Wednesday but, as we have seen, it's caused no shortage of controversy during the lead up -- both because of the general nature of the software, and because of some piracy and security issues that could leave PCs with the software vulnerable to an attack. No word on a new date just yet, but it seems unlikely that the delay will be an indefinite one.

[Thanks, James]

One of our favorite intellectual property rips of recent months is without a doubt the SciPhone Dream G2 from China. Having completely missed the point of Google's open-source OS being, well, open-source and thus free for SciPhone's use, the company instead chose to hack the G2's "proprietory" OS to look like Android. The charger, however, built to look like the iconic Android mascot is pretty damn cute; enough so that the idea of paying $150 just to get our hands on the 100-240V USB charger has crossed our minds. See the Android's naughty bits after the break.

[Thanks, Steven]

We know, we know, it's gonna be awfully hard to part with the comfort of your current beloved Meizu M8, but trust us, change can be good. We've already heard reports of an Android-centric UI refresh, and now company CEO J. Wong has chimed in to outline a tentative upgrade plan for the upcoming M8 3G. Current users of the eerily familiar 8GB / 16GB device will need to pay approximately 1,300 RMB to 1,500 RMB (translation: about $190 to $200 US) for next year's model. Oddly enough, despite these estimates, he's not confirming any market selling price. Wong also adds the screen size has been expanded from the initially planned 3.54 inches diagonal to 3.6, with same 720 x 480 resolution. Keep saving your pennies, last we heard launch date was still (lightly) penciled in for March 2010.

We're not exactly supportive of the Chinese government requiring new PCs to be imported with content-filtering software, but like we keep saying, karma's a bitch: CyberSitter developer Solid Oak says it's found stolen code inside the Green Dam Youth Escort filtering software mandated by Chinese authorities, and it's considering filing a lawsuit to halt shipments. In the meantime, the company has asked heavy hitters like Dell and HP to refrain from installing Green Dam; Dell says it's still reviewing the Chinese requirements and hasn't yet shipped any machines with the software, but some nine million copies of the software have already gone out. For its part, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has "ordered the problem be fixed," but it's unclear when that'll happen -- and it still doesn't change the delicious multilayered irony of Chinese censorship efforts being thwarted by a copyright infringement action.

Update: Things were getting a little out of control down there, so we've disabled comments on this one.

Mr. BlurryCam, meet Dell's first cellphone. At least that's what the forum jockeys are claiming on Chinese site PDAFans. We have no way to authenticate the claim but whatever we've got here is sporting a Dell logo on a Pre-esque handset running Android somewhere in China -- the country where Dell is expected to launch a new phone before the end of the year. A scenario that matches the Dell smartphone rumors to a tee.

[Thanks, LesterW]

Hey, Microsoft -- you're pretty proud of that Arc Mouse, yeah? If so, you should probably alert your legal team to the image shown above, as it seems one BOL-LINK has decided it best to just copy the arching input peripheral you helped pioneer and showcase it to onlookers in Taiwan. Then again, these guys did use a slightly different color scheme...

We don't know a single soul who hasn't wanted to hear Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness from start-to-finish whilst swimming off the coast of Phuket, but seriously, who's going to tune in on a $40 waterproof Bluetooth speaker ball? Then again, maybe Billy's secretly more concerned with his choice of swimwear and lack of sunscreen than the clarity of Iha's riffs.

If you thought the golden anniversary of Olympus' Pen camera was something, get a load of this. From now until August 23rd, an elaborate exhibition entitled 'The Invention of Photography and the Earliest Photographs' will showcase some of digital imaging's earliest tools, including the planet's oldest camera. The wooden sliding box shown above will undoubtedly be the centerpiece of the Macau-based expo, though it will be surrounded by 250 photography antiques and 180 old photos, which were collections lent by the Nicephore Niepce Museum and 12 other museums, cultural institutions and private collectors around the world. Anyone planning on making the trip over? Make sure you take a few snapshots with your 90s-era point-and-shoot, cool?