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NFL is first to stream live sports on a key Chinese social network
If you enjoy Twitter's live NFL games, you might just feel jealous very shortly. The NFL has struck a deal that will make it the first sports league to livestream on Sina Weibo, one of China's largest social networks. The service has already streamed six regular games so far, but the pact will also have it provide the last Sunday Night Football game, a trio of playoff games and even the Super Bowl. Yes, you read that correctly -- in one way, Chinese fans will have easier access to the biggest football game of the year than their American counterparts.
Twitter CEO plans 'personal trip' to China, will include meeting government officials
Twitter's Dick Costolo will make his first trip to China, traveling to Shanghai to talk with government officials and academics. The social network has rejected the idea that it would open an office anytime soon in China, as it would tie the company to Chinese law. A Twitter spokesman said: "Dick is visiting China because he wants to learn more about Chinese culture and the country's thriving technology sector." According to Reuters, Costolo will meet Shanghai officials including representatives of the Shanghai free trade zone, established in 2013 to test further market liberalization in China. Officials have previously denied reports that internet censorship and social network access would also be loosened within the trade zone.
Study finds that anger spreads further than joy on social networks
Want to get your message heard on a social network? Try raging about it. China's Beihang University has published a study of Sina Weibo users which suggests that anger-fueled online posts have more of an influence than those reflecting other emotions. During the research period, a typical bitter comment would affect posts three degrees removed from the original; joy had a muted impact, while disgust and sadness hardly got any traction. Don't be too quick to lament the human condition, though. As researchers note, many of the angry posts were triggered by politics in Weibo's native China. There's a chance that internet denizens on other social networks have a rosier outlook on life. [Image credit: Wayne Marshall, Flickr]
Hell freezes over: Sina Weibo now lets you post to Facebook
For some strange reason, Sina Weibo's always required folks to log in to view some of its posts, but now there's more incentive for those who've yet to open a Weibo account. Announced yesterday, the website claims to be the first Chinese social networking platform to connect with Facebook -- the irony being the latter is still blocked in China, plus Tencent's WeChat already beat Weibo on this one. Anyhow, both new and existing overseas users (including those from Taiwan and Hong Kong) can now register their Facebook accounts on Weibo, thus letting them post Weibo messages to the former simultaneously. Understandably, it doesn't work the other way round, but this should still somewhat help Weibo expand its user base of over 530 million. As you can see in the above screenshots, this author took the new feature for a test drive and could only forward text-only Weibo posts to Facebook. That said, Sina's press release states that through Facebook's Graph API, Weibo users will eventually be able to also share images, videos, TV shows, music and mobile location to Zuckerberg World. For now, this Facebook integration is only available on the web client, but the Android and iOS clients will soon receive it as well. We've reached out to Sina to see what's up with the Windows Phone version, so stay tuned.
Sina Weibo passes 500 million user mark, how's your site coming along?
Remember those halcyon days last November when Sina Weibo passed more than 400 million users? Well, a mere three months later, and the microblogging site can now boast that it's got 503 million compulsive over-sharers. To put that figure into perspective, were "Chinese Twitter" to be its own country, it would be the third most populous nation on Earth. While it should be celebrating such figures, there's a few signs of trouble on the horizon, as local rival Tencent's WeChat hit 300 million users last month -- not to mention some disgruntled former users inviting people to switch to Twitter.
Kai-Fu Lee defies ban, invites 30 million Weibo followers to join him on Twitter
Think you're brave, internet tough guy? Ex-Google China chief Kai-Fu Lee's been rather outspoken about censorship in his homeland, and as such was banned from Sina and Tencent Weibo for three days, presumably by over-zealous authorities. To keep his followers in the strictly monitored nation up-to-date, the Beijing-based Lee took to Twitter and invited all 30 million of them to join him, which would make him the social network's fourth most-followed user. That's unlikely, of course -- Twitter can be accessed fairly easily despite a ban in the nation, but developing a country-sized following on an illicit site would be a stretch, even for an outspoken pundit.
Microsoft switches on Sina Weibo integration for Chinese users of Windows, WP and SkyDrive
Sino Weibo is like Twitter, it's often said, but there are some key differences: the service is mainly used within China, it's heavily censored, and it's never been particularly well integrated into the major mobile ecosystems. That final issue is starting to change, however, as Liveside is reporting that Microsoft accounts now permit Sina Weibo connectivity. This allows crosstalk between a Chinese user's microblogging world and their Windows Phone, Windows 8 device and SkyDrive storage -- for example, allowing them to see Weibo contacts in WP's People hub or share direct links to cloud-stored files. It's not known exactly how many of the service's estimated 400 million users have adopted Windows Phone, but this update potentially gives them one more reason to hop aboard.
Sina Weibo exceeds 400 million users, sees increasing mobile traffic
Microblogging site Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, reported a pretty dazzling statistic in its third quarter results: it now boasts over 400 million registered users. We can't be sure how many are active, of course, but it's still a vast number considering appeal is localized to the People's Republic. It also means Sina is winning the popularity contest with social media competitor Tencent, although it humbly acknowledges their services are somewhat different. The company's platform is still evolving, and it's only recently seen mobile usage exceed computers, so is shifting product focus accordingly. Sina's obviously doing something right, and that suits us just fine -- keep those news bites and juicy leaks coming.
China Mobile's Lumia 920T packs a Snapdragon S4 Pro, better graphics performance
Buying a shiny new flagship and finding out international variants are tricked out better than yours is never much fun. Well, China Mobile has Weiboed (is that right?) that its Lumia 920T variant will pack the Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC (MSM8960T), and not the S4 Plus in the regular 920. The Pro carries the same basic CPU, and while it's not known whether the 920T will use the full 1.7GHz available (the 920's runs at 1.5GHz), the major difference is a bump from the Adreno 225 GPU to the more powerful Adreno 320. It cleaned up in the GLBenchmark tests we ran on the LG Optimus G (albeit with a quad-core CPU), but is Windows Phone 8 ready to use all that hardware -- or, more politely, will it make any difference to the user? With graphic-intensive apps a rarity, we would speculatively say no, although it might make for a smoother view through Nokia's City Lens, which is fairly hungry. We won't know until some real-life comparisons between the two emerge, but we'd imagine the GPU boost won't make too much of a difference to the average user.
China Mobile announces Nokia Lumia 920T, changes its mind soon afterward
Let's face it, China Mobile will carry Nokia's Lumia 920T, with the launch now believed to be in mid-November. Unfortunately, the network itself isn't being so straight forward, announcing the news on Sina Weibo shortly before yanking the post altogether. China Mobile's dithering aside, we're fairly sure the 920T will gain TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE modems, but is otherwise the same phone we've pawed at for the last few weeks.
ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur
Who needs a marketing department when you have a personal Sina Weibo account? So reasoned ZTE's marketing strategy manager, Dennis Lui, as he posted the above photo of three ZTE Windows Phones to the internet. The right-hand device is just a regular ZTE Tania and, although it looks like it's running Windows Phone 8, the screen is actually a dead ringer for a certain "WP8 simulator" app available for WP7 phones. The remaining two devices are obscured by a generous helping of blur, but the handset on the left could well be running legit WP8, as evidenced by the shrunken live tiles, hinting that ZTE may be among the first wave of manufacturers diving into the new OS. To further whet our budget hardware appetites, Lui also posted a photo of a Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet (shown after the break), which suggests that ZTE is getting into that game too.
HTC's 5-inch behemoth phone spied in press render, may be called One X 5 (update: some caution)
Something big has been brewing at HTC, most often referred to as the DLX or by its less-than-flattering 6435LVW name. While there have been unconfirmed photos of prototypes floating around, a Sina Weibo user has posted what we have reason to believe is an authentic press image of the finished result: meet the One X 5. As the name and image suggest, the phablet-class device should be dominated by a 5-inch (and possibly 1080p) screen that makes even a regular One X look dainty. Internal details haven't been nailed down alongside the looks, although previous benchmarks have had it using a Snapdragon S4 that might ultimately be a quad-core S4 Pro. There's no immediate signs of a stylus or other tricks besides that sea of glass. We may not have long to wait before we find out, however. HTC just happens to have a New York City event planned for this Wednesday, and previously detected links between the 6435LVW and Verizon could see the One X 5 quickly reach the US if it's meant to show at that gathering -- although it might get another name change to fit into the Droid family. Update: We've been given a heads-up that this is a device posted as a "concept" by Danny Tu on Flickr, which raises doubt that we'll see exactly what's on show here (or see that name). However, it still lines up with earlier photos and what we've heard. We'll keep you posted as to whether or not it reflects reality in the end.
Tencent reveals how it gets users to pay for its service
We've all seen those "OMG! Don't make us pay for Facebook" fake petitions, but App.net and The Social Network raise questions about how our social services raise their moolah. Tencent's Sophia Ong has revealed that it's in the unique position of having users happy to pay for services that we take for granted. While signups for QZone (Facebook equivalent) is free, users have to use QBs, the site's virtual currency, to buy and clothe their avatars. While 1 QB = 1 yuan ($0.16), there are 30 million paying customers on the site -- meaning that the company can count on around $50 million in monthly payments. It's not stopping there either, sensing a slowdown in the local economy, the company has an eye on opening up its eCommerce platform to ensure it can continue to rake in the cash.
Alleged images of 7-inch iPad shell appear from the east
Hey, did you hear... Apple is making a 7-inch iPad. Well, the top brass at least thought about it, this much we know. What might it look like if it ever comes to be? Well, if you're willing to be a bit skeptical, it might look like the above. These images -- claiming to be legit iPad parts -- popped up on Chinese social media site Sina Weibo. There's little other activity on the account to back up the source, and the omission of a camera hole might irk some, but if these were early parts, then that could be something that is added later. For now, we're left to fill in the gaps with out imagination, which also includes hoping other recent teases might also make the leap into reality.
Sony Xperia P blushes in metallic pink
If the black, grey and red hues of existing Xperia P models really weren't cutting it, Sony has just previewed a new color option -- pink. The device made a brief appearance at Sony's Weibo event, matching the metallic finish of our review model, but throwing in a little extra feminine charm. No news on release regions or dates, but given the Asia-centric reveal, we suspect it's unlikely to be gearing up for a world tour. [Thanks Kihoon]
ZTE teases 6.2mm-thick 'Athena,' crams in 720p IPS display and Cortex-A15 chip
Never mind Huawei's 6.68mm-thick Ascend P1 S or Oppo's 6.65mm-thick Finder, because the record's about to be beaten yet again by another Chinese manufacturer. Codenamed "Athena," this mysterious ZTE phone's been getting a fair bit of attention on Sina Weibo with its 6.2mm slimness claim, all thanks to a keen terminal device strategy director from the company. While Mr. Lu hasn't delved into specifics, what we know so far is that Athena will feature a 720p display, Cortex-A15 chip (a source of ours said it will be multi-core) and up to 64GB of internal storage, as well as a "Miflavor UI" -- something that we've already previewed on the Era at MWC -- to go on top of Android 4.0. Lu also hinted that there will be several color options, but we're more than happy to nab that black kevlar edition in the above shot (and someone should tell Motorola to take a look at this). Two more pictures after the break to keep you busy for the time being.
HTC and Sina Weibo debut One S with dedicated microblog functions (video)
Just when you'd warmed to the idea of three navigation buttons on HTC's One lineup, the company went back and re-added a fourth button to the row -- in mainland China, anyway. To follow the debut of its Desire (aka Dragon) lineup, HTC has introduced a One S variant that it designed in collaboration with Sina Weibo, the country's most popular alternative to Twitter. The phone sports a dedicated Sina microblog button, along with a set of bundled software from the popular weibo service, but otherwise remains true to its namesake. The handset will be available in both black and gunmetal blue enclosures, and will sell for 4,688 yuan, or approximately $740. Our associates at Engadget China recently snagged a hands-on with HTC's latest, and have provided a video tour for English audiences to enjoy. Take a peek after the break.
Weibo services 'punished' for Beijing coup rumors, comments temporarily disabled
For a country who doesn't really do April Fools' Day, you know China means business when it lays the smackdown on its weibo services. Here's the background story: about a week ago there was a rumor on the Chinese web about a military coup on one of the main streets in Beijing, and coincidentally I was in town around the time (for the Windows Phone launch). Funnily enough, I wasn't aware of this at all until my taxi driver in Hong Kong asked me about my visit, as he claimed that the passenger he picked up beforehand was actually a Chinese military officer who had several intense phone calls about said coup.But of course, nothing actually happened. In fact, the guards at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City were pretty relaxed when I visited on that very day. As for the rumormongers, the Chinese government announced through Xinhua that 16 websites have been shut down and six people have been detained, while local microblogging platforms Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo have been "criticized and punished accordingly," though it didn't elaborate on the details. All we know is that comments under each weibo post are now disabled until local time 8pm on April 3rd, during which these two companies can, in their own words, clean up the mess. Well, at least we now know where to draw the line for China's April Fools'.
Nokia Lumia 800's CDMA cousin coming to China Telecom in March?
An employee of the Qingzhou branch of China Telecom went a bit camera-happy over the weekend, but we'd do the same if we were handed a CDMA Nokia Lumia 800. The since-pulled images and text confirmed our feeling that it's arriving in early Spring (i.e "March"). The tipster revealed to WMPoweruser that both the 800 and 710 would arrive at the same time, potentially joined by the 900 in April -- and that all three handsets would be available in black, cyan and white, as well as coming preloaded with Tango as standard. We'll take the latter claims with a pinch of salt until we see 'em, okay? As you were, China.
Lenovo LePad S2005 leaps into China
The Lenovo LePad S2005 is now making the rounds over in China. Our crack team over at Engadget.cn saw the above announcement on Lenovo's official Sina Weibo page. If you haven't got a dictionary to hand, we can tell you that the 5-inch Gingerbread tabletphone has a disappointing 800 x 480 display and runs Android 2.3.5 on its dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm chip. Pre-sale prices are RMB 2,499 ($390) or RMB 2,699 ($425) if you turn up on the day. Sadly you won't be able to get your hands on one of these, as it's a Chinese exclusive. If we see anyone begging eBay for a secondhand Dell Streak 5, we'll guess you just couldn't bear the thought of buying a Galaxy Note.
