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Hong Kong's CSL demos 300Mbps LTE Advanced service, due early 2014 (video)
It was only about four months ago when CSL, Telstra's part-owned operator behind Hong Kong's one2Free and 1010 networks, showed off its 150Mbps LTE Cat 4 upgrade; but why stop there? Today, the same company gave us a glimpse of its upcoming 300Mbps LTE Advanced service, which is enabled by aggregating its 20MHz carriers at both its 1,800MHz and 2,600MHz LTE bands. "The announcements in Korea and the announcements in Australia around LTE Advanced... the theoretical speed that they're delivering is 150Mbps. What we're talking about today is LTE-A300," said Phil Mottram, CEO of CSL. "It's definitely a first for Hong Kong, and it's potentially a world-first in terms of being able to deliver these theoretical, maximum download speeds at 300Mbps."
Edward Snowden stops off in Moscow with US extradition request snapping at his heels
Even if he anticipated the risks involved in turning whisteblower, Edward Snowden can't have imagined the rushed, convoluted journey he'd have to take to avoid the full wrath of the US government. First to Hong Kong; most recently to Moscow, and perhaps soon to Ecuador (via Cuba and Venezuela) where he has apparently made a request for asylum. Strongly worded demands for his capture have followed every step of the way, with the White House National Security Council expressing "disappointment" that Hong Kong allowed Snowden to flee and now urging Russia (which has no formal extradition treaty with America) to "expel Mr. Snowden back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged." In an effort to help the fugitive navigate the maze of diplomatic fault lines, WikiLeaks has stepped up to say that its own legal advisors are "escorting" Snowden towards his final destination, likely making use of the knowledge they gained while protecting Julian Assange, and that it sees US efforts to arrest him as an "assault against the people."
US government files criminal charges against Edward Snowden over PRISM leaks
The Washington Post reports tonight that, as expected, the US Government has filed criminal charges against Edward Snowden for leaking information about NSA surveillance programs to the Post and Guardian. The charges listed include Theft of Government Property, Unauthorized Communications on National Defense Information and "Willful Communication of Classified Information to an Unauthorized Person." The charges are filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where the headquarters of Snowden's employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, are located. So what's next? According to the paper, the government has asked Hong Kong to detain Snowden on a provisional warrant, however if a fight over extradition or request for asylum could delay the process.
HTC sends out Butterfly S and Desire 600 launch invitation in Taiwan
According to an invitation we received earlier today, HTC and Taiwanese carrier Chunghwa Telecom will be holding a joint event on June 19th to launch two devices locally: the already announced 4.5-inch, BoomSound-enabled Desire 600, along with a new Butterfly S. While no specs are mentioned here for the latter phone, our usually reliable friends over at ePrice received a tip last month on what to expect: the new phone is believed to still pack a 5-inch display, but its camera will be replaced by an UltraPixel version (which is currently only featured on the One), plus its body will be slightly thicker to make way for a larger battery. And unsurprisingly, the new Taiwanese Butterfly is expected to still have a microSD card slot. HTC's VP of North Asia Jack Tong also told ePrice recently that if there is a demand, he will speed up the process of bringing an LTE-enabled second-gen Butterfly to Hong Kong -- a city that never officially got hold of the original Butterfly. The exec believes that judging by HTC's recent market performance in Taiwan, it's possible to realize a dual-flagship strategy in other regions for the remainder of the year. Anyhow, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese will be at the launch event in Yilan, Taiwan next week, so stay tuned for our coverage.
Hong Kong's CSL preps network for LTE Cat 4, offers Huawei's 150 Mbps mobile hotspot (video)
With Hong Kong boasting pretty much the fastest average internet speed on this planet, it's no surprise that the city is also one of the first to launch commercial 150 Mbps LTE Cat 4 service -- just right after SingTel's launch in Singapore earlier this month. Announced yesterday by CSL (who operates both one2free and the more premium 1010), its FD-LTE network takes advantage of the recently acquired 5MHz extended spectrum, in order to increase the capacity of 2600MHz from 2 x 15MHz to 2 x 20MHz. This upgrade is what enables Cat 4 download speed of up to 150Mbps on compatible devices, and it went live yesterday. The company's 1800MHz spectrum will also get an upgrade from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 15MHz in June, followed by another jump to 2 x 20MHz towards the end of the year. You'll find a live demo video (courtesy of RingHK) showing the performance difference between Cat 3 and Cat 4 after the break, with CTO Christian Daigneault claiming he's seen a speed increase of up to twice as fast in the lab.
Daily Update for May 21, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Chinese activists complain of Apple Store light pollution
Environmental activist group, Friends of the Earth HK, claims Apple's Causeway flagship store in Hong Kong is a major contributor to light pollution in the area. Apple reportedly runs about 500 lamps and spotlights over night, and the light spills outside of the store into the Hong Kong streets. According to a report in M.I.C. Gadget, Friends of the Earth HK says light from the store can be seen as far as 700 meters away. Hong Kong is known for its colorful and illuminated skyline, but all these lights may be having a negative effect on residents. A recent study suggests that parts of Hong Kong have light levels that are 1,200 times higher than international standards. This nighttime brightness is affecting the sleep patterns of residents who can't escape the blinking neon. A government task force is looking at ways of curbing light pollution from restaurants, retail outlets and other buildings in the area. Though Apple isn't being targeted by the government, M.I.C. Gadget claims the council has received several complaints about the amount of light pouring out of Apple's retail stores at night.
KEF M500 and M200 headphones launched in Hong Kong, we go ears-on
It's been almost a month since KEF announced its first headphone series, and yesterday we finally got the chance to try out its M500 cans and M200 in-ears at the company's Hong Kong launch event. In fact, it's worth noting that while KEF originated from the UK 52 years ago, it's been part of Hong Kong's Gold Peak Group since 1992. That said, much of KEF's R&D is still done back in an English county called Kent, where the engineers attempted to port their company's sonic signature over to its M series headphones. The result? Let's just say we prefer one to the other. %Gallery-188390% %Gallery-188389%
BYD e6 all-electric taxis, Premier sedan launch in Hong Kong
Anyone who's visited Hong Kong within the last few years has probably experienced the city's thick soupy smog. Sure, things aren't as bad as they are in Beijing, but pollution from the mainland often wraps the metropolis in a humid haze -- and we're not sure an all-electric taxi rollout is going to do anything to alleviate that. Just 45 of the BYD e6 cabs are now on the road, so the release is mainly symbolic -- only a few dozen lucky drivers will be cruising up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) of city streets between charge breaks at one of nine area stations. Private citizens, for their part, can take ownership of the e6 Premier sedan -- the civilian version just began shipping as well.
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%
Surface RT coming to six more countries in late March, Pro in the 'coming months'
Microsoft's Surface is continuing its global retail rollout, expanding its reach well beyond the western hemisphere. In late March the RT model of Redmond's in-house tablet effort will begin popping up in Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan, (though, not necessarily at the same time) adding to the pile of European nations where it's already launched. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro will finally be leaving the Americas and heading for Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the UK sometime in the coming months. Unfortunately Microsoft isn't getting any more specific about when its full-blown Windows 8 machine will appear in countries other than the US and Canada. All we can do now is await the promised follow up post on the Surface blog for more details about availability. If you're a fan of press materials (even those that don't provide a ton of information) you'll find some after the break.
Cotton-polymer material absorbs or repels moisture depending how hot it is
Aside from the sweltering daytime heat and the freezing night-time temperatures, the biggest problem for folks living in desert regions is finding sources of water. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and Hong Kong Polytechnic have leveraged those temperature swings to help solve the arid region hydration conundrum with a cotton material that absorbs water straight from the surrounding air. Of course, it's not your run-of-the-mill fabric woven from fluffy white stuff. This cloth is coated in a special polymer, called PNIPAAm, that's hydrophilic (read: super absorbent) at temperatures 34°C and below, but becomes hydrophobic (read: repels water) when it gets any hotter. In absorption mode, the cloth can hold 340 percent of its own weight -- compared to just 18 percent without the polymer's aid -- and when it warms up, it releases the collected moisture as clean and pure potable water. So, it can help hydrate both plants and people in desert regions around the world. The boffins who created the stuff claim it's reusable and can be used on locally-sourced cotton fabrics for a minimal, 12 percent cost increase given current manufacturing conditions. Not impressed? Well, the magical moisture-absorbing material may get even better, as the plan is to increase the amount of water the material can hold and lower the temperature threshold for its release.
Xiaomi Phone 2 preps Hong Kong and Taiwan launch, seeks early local testers on Facebook
We knew Xiaomi's keen to bring its phones out of China and into the European market, but before taking that long-haul flight, the Chinese company is going to make a couple of stops in Asia. According to the latest updates on the company's Twitter feed and a freshly-made Facebook group (under "Xiaomi Asia"), the Xiaomi Phone 2 will be hitting Hong Kong and Taiwan "in the near future," and folks living in those two regions can enter a draw for a chance to become a guinea pig help test the phone's localized MIUI ROM (in traditional Chinese, naturally) ahead of launch. CEO Lei Jun had previously stated that his company would expand into Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore by the end of this year, but due to the overwhelming demand of Qualcomm's 28nm chipsets throughout the year, it's unlikely that Xiaomi can realize its original plan in time. Regardless, from what we know, Xiaomi may partner with Chunghwa Telecom to sell the Xiaomi Phone 2 in Taiwan, whereas in Hong Kong it may utilize the same old online direct sale model to begin with -- unlike Meizu who has a physical shop in the city, as well as a partnership with local carrier PCCW. Now, how about a full schedule for your world domination, Mr. Lei?
Cookoo analog smart watch makes early debut in Hong Kong, we go hands-on (video)
Remember the Cookoo smart watch? For those who don't know, 'tis an analog watch with a notification display plus Bluetooth 4.0 low energy connectivity, and it prides itself for its much longer battery life compared to other smart watches. We originally covered it as a Kickstarter project back in May, and seven months later we found ourselves at its humble launch event in Hong Kong. That's right, it turns out that ConnecteDevice, the company behind this gadget, is based in said city; though it did also emphasize its multinational effort on this project -- French design, American engineering, Indian plus European coding, and Hong Kong plus Shenzhen R&D on integration and manufacturing. Interestingly, the company decided to make a commercial debut in its home town ahead of the bigger launch at CES next month. Read on to see how we got on with this wearable -- there's a hands-on video after the break as well.
ZTE Grand Era LTE launches in Hong Kong with dual-mode LTE (video)
LTE technology is usually divided into two distinct camps, FDD-LTE and TD-LTE, that might as well exist in two different worlds: own a device using one and you can't access the other. ZTE is bringing some harmony to 4G through the Grand Era LTE. The smartphone can connect to both LTE formats on China Mobile Hong Kong's newly dual-mode network, keeping locals in the high-speed zone no matter which 4G format is available. As our friends at Engadget Chinese discovered in a hands-on, however, it's not quite seamless at this stage. Subscribers have to reboot to switch networks, and the Hong Kong take on TD-LTE access doesn't upload as quickly as its FDD counterpart. Even with those bubbles burst, the Grand Era LTE is still a solid phone in its own right, touting a 4.5-inch 720p screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and ZTE's relatively light Mifavor interface sitting on top of Android 4.0. Check our video after the break to get a taste of the phone and the network -- although the clip is in Cantonese, the results are universal.
Look inside Apple's 3-story Hong Kong store
There's a new Apple Store in Hong Kong (Causeway Bay), and it's beautiful. While it's not set to open until December 15 at 9 AM local time, the team at M.I.C. Gadget provided a ton of photographs and even a video to keep people excited about the opening. What's fascinating about this store is the dramatic three-story storefront. As typical with many new Apple Stores, the storefront is completely glass and provides window shoppers with an eyeful of Apple goodness. Be sure to ping TUAW with your store grand opening videos or photos if you happen to attend the event tomorrow. Just use the Tip Us button at the top of this page to let us know.
Hong Kong Causeway Bay Apple store opening on December 15
Apple's newest flagship store in Asia will open this coming Saturday, December 15th. The Hong Kong Causeway Bay Apple store will open its doors at 9 AM local time. According to MacRumors, the new store will consist of three floors for a combined retail space of 20,000 square feet. Like many flagship Apple stores, the Causeway Bay store will feature stunning architecture, including 30-foot tall glass windows. Currently the store is covered in faux red curtain graphics with a sign reading: "An opening you simply can't miss." A few other Apple stores are also set to open this week. Apple will be opening the MixC Chengdu store in Chengdu, China this Saturday as well as the Fountain Gate store in the state of Victoria, Australia. The Chengdu store opens at 8 AM local time while the Fountain Gate store opens at noon local time.
Trial begins for Chinese iPad, iPhone smugglers
A trial has started this week in southern China to determine the fate of a smuggling ring that brought as many as 160,000 Apple devices worth about US$80 million into the country. Sting operations were able to catch five different smuggling rings and 104 suspects. The trial this week, which is being held in the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, deals with only 25 of the suspects. Apple products are much cheaper outside of mainland China, so smugglers were buying the devices elsewhere and then bringing them into the country for sale on Alibaba's Taobao online marketplace. Electronista reports that the ring was selling up to 20,000 Apple devices a month at one point. iPhones purchased in Hong Kong are popular on the mainland, as they are often sold unlocked and can be used on China Mobile's network. China Mobile doesn't officially carry the iPhone, but has many unlocked iPhones on its network. M.I.C Gadget reported earlier this week that customs officials in Hong Kong caught smugglers attempting to bring 227 iPhone 5s, 22 iPads and a number of other products into mainland China. Those products were worth over US$129,000.
Rara.com expands to iOS, Windows 8 and more countries
Rara.com has been mighty busy since its luddite-friendly music streaming service launched at the end of last year, and now it's reporting the outcome of those 10 months of toil. In addition to an improved web experience and new Android widget, an AirPlay-compatible app for iOS is now available, with software for Windows 8 arriving alongside its launch. Rara's 18 million tracks haven't only invaded other platforms, but other countries, too -- residents of Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Africa and Portugal have joined the party, bringing the total number of compatible countries to 27. Lenovo is also getting a piece of the action, as a worldwide agreement means Rara software will now come pre-installed on the manufacturer's Android tablets and Windows 8 gear. Want to hear more about Rara's recent accomplishments? Then head for the PR after the break.
Lytro camera getting parallax effect and 3D display support, lands in Hong Kong (video)
Lytro isn't done extending the usefulness of its light field camera just because we have manual controls. Another update due by the end of the year will take advantage of that focus-independent sensor to allow a parallax-based 3D effect in photos: invoke a 'full' focus in reviewing shots and you can start poking around the scene in a limited way without having ever touched a dual-sensor camera. Appropriately, we're also getting support for examining photos on 3D monitors and TVs that emphasize the added depth. The promised features come hand-in-hand with Lytro's immediate availability in Hong Kong, where 8GB blue and gray cameras are selling for $3,888 HKD ($502 US) and the 16GB red model goes for $4,688 HKD ($605). Check out our Chinese crew's eyes-on look at the parallax effect in a video after the break.
