FarEastone
Latest
Xiaomi Phone 2S and 2A announced with MIUI v5, the former entering Hong Kong and Taiwan
After selling 7.19 million phones in China last year, Xiaomi is now one step closer to world domination with a new device that'll take it to new territories: the Xiaomi Phone 2S (or MI-2S). As the name and look (pictured left) suggest, this is pretty much the same device as the 4.3-inch Xiaomi Phone 2, except it comes with Qualcomm's newer Snapdragon 600 quad-core chip clocked at 1.7GHz, plus a beefed up camera of 13-megapixel resolution (with F2.2 aperture) on the 32GB model. The 16GB 2S, on the other hand, gets the same old 8-megapixel F2.0 imager. The rest of the hardware is the same old: 2GB RAM, 2,000mAH removable battery, 720p IPS display, dual-mic noise cancellation, 2-megapixel front-facing camera and WCDMA 850/1900/2100MHz radio (there's also a CDMA version for China Telecom). Unlike the previous launch, the 16GB flavor of this phone is already in stock on the day of announcement and is ready for purchase in China today for ¥1,999 or about $320 unsubsidized. Actually, strike that -- apparently the first lot of 200,000 units promptly sold out (likely thanks to scalpers). Luckily, Xiaomi is finally tapping into the Hong Kong market via its xiaomi.hk website starting April 23rd, so chances are genuine buyers in Hong Kong won't have to compete against the machines from mainland China; and Taiwan customers will also be able to buy a 2S from either local carrier Far Eastone towards the end of this month, or from xiaomi.tw starting next month. No word on the availability of the 32GB model just yet, but it's already priced at ¥2,299 or about $370 unsubsidized. %Gallery-185086% %Gallery-185084%
Taiwan's mobile operators see 'unprecedented' demand for iPhone 4S
Taiwan is ready to break sales records when it launches the iPhone 4S later this month. According to a Focus Taiwan report, iPhone 4S pre-orders have already reached an astounding 380,000 units. With eight more days left until the December 16 release date, this number will likely get larger. A report at Want China Times claims the carriers were not prepared when pre-orders began earlier this month. Far Eastone's website crashed under the load of customers trying to reserve their handsets, and even Chunghwa Telecom, which upped its capacity during the pre-order frenzy, couldn't keep up with demand. Taiwan Mobile also went down, and its 2,500 free iPhone 4S cases sold out within hours. The top 4S seller is wireless carrier Chunghwa Telecom, which accepted 210,000 pre-orders, well over the 150,000 orders the carrier expected. Coming in second and third are Far Eastone with 90,000 pre-orders and Taiwan Mobile with 80,000. All three carriers say they did not expect this high demand for Apple's latest smartphone. The iPhone 4S will launch in Taiwan on December 16. An unlocked iPhone 4S will start around NT$25,400 (US$842). [via The Next Web]
China Mobile given OK to set up shop in Taiwan
It's not every day that a Chinese company gets regulatory approval to invest in Taiwan. Actually, a Chinese company has never before been given permission to invest in Taiwan's communications infrastructure, so it's pretty big news here that the world's largest carrier by subscribers -- China Mobile -- has just been greenlighted to set up a subsidiary there. Initially, they're going in under the guise of becoming an electronics wholesaler, but longer term, they're interested in taking a 12 percent stake in local carrier Far EasTone that would work out to $17.8 billion Taiwan dollars (roughly $558 million) which would represent a pretty unprecedented level of technical synergy between the nations. What's more, Taiwan is toying with TD-SCDMA these days -- China Mobile's forte -- so on the surface, the move seems to make good business sense.
Fujitsu takes NTT DoCoMo's F905i to Taiwan
When we think "NTT DoCoMo," the images of Tokyo, Akihabara, wide VGA, and one-seg are all indelibly burned into our minds. Fact is, though, NTT DoCoMo has ventures all around the world -- heck, they helped AT&T build out its Hawaiian network -- and they've been working with Taiwan's Far EastTone for a while now to bring i-mode-branded gear to the island. Latest in that fruitful partnership will be Fujitsu's F905i, a swiveling flip with a 3.2 megapixel cam, wide VGA display, and the capability to slow down conversations in real time by 30 percent, which is just about the freakiest thing we've ever heard. Granted, it's not the 25-phone barrage we're used to seeing out of Japan, but it's a start.
Nintendo teams up with distributor to bring DS to Taiwan
For all of you in Taiwan who have relied on non-official distribution to satisfy your need for Nintendo, know that a new third-party distributor has made a deal with Nintendo to supply the region with video games from the Kyoto-based company. FarEasTone (FET) will be teaming up with Nintendo to provide the region with DS units and hopefully find as receptive a market as the handheld has in all other regions of the world it's available for sale. Two specific models of DS Lite were mentioned, in the crimson black (or "senior") unit and a "New Super Mario DS Lite console." The handheld will be available from July 3rd on.
Nokia rolling custom 6124 classic in Taiwan with i-mode support
Wait, Taiwan? i-mode? Yep, turns out that Far EasTone Telecommunications licenses NTT DoCoMo's well-known mobile internet brand for use in Taiwan, and they've partnered with Nokia to deliver the service on a customized version of the 6124 classic candybar -- the first Nokia ever to offer it. Of course, no i-mode handset is complete without blazing data speeds, and sure enough, the 6124 classic delivers with support for HSDPA in addition to a 2 megapixel cam, QVGA display, and S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1. Yep, that's right, not only is Nokia tying up with i-mode, they're doing so on an honest-to-goodness smartphone. Kudos![Via IntoMobile]
