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This guy tried to smuggle 94 iPhones using only his body
It's one thing to try to sneak a single prohibited item past customs when traveling -- don't do it, obviously, ever -- but it's another to try to get away with smuggling an entire Apple Store's worth of iPhones into a country using only your body. That's what officials at China's Futian Port discovered when they turned their attention to a man who had just arrived from Hong Kong, and was behaving strangely. The poor fellow apparently couldn't walk correctly, and appeared to be in some sort of distress. When officials scanned him they immediately saw the problem: iPhone body armor. When they asked him to remove his sweatshirt they discovered he was wearing dozens of iPhones around his abdomen, strapped to his thighs, and taped all the way down his legs. Hong Kong is well known as a hub for black market electronics, and had the man been able to successfully get all 94 iPhones into China their sale would have produced a nice chunk of change. [Photos via Sina]
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.
Proview sued by its iPad court case law firm, owes at least 2.4 million dollars in legal fees
Guess who hasn't yet gotten its share of Proview's recently acquired $60 million? Ironically, it's the lawyers that helped it win the iPad trademark dispute in China. According to Sina Tech, Grandall Law Firm confirmed that its shady client refused to pay up the promised 4 percent of Apple's settlement fee, which equates to $2.4 million. While acknowledging their contractual arrangement (wherein the law firm covers the legal fees in advance, and then expect the client to pay up after winning the case), Proview founder Yang Rongshan told Sina Tech that Grandall's behavior is "nonsense," and that his company isn't obliged to pay back immediately as it isn't under normal operation right now. However, Yang promises Proview won't "pass the buck." We shall see about that -- maybe he could spend some yuans on buying Grandall a few new iPads, at least.
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'.
HTC Salsa ditches its Facebook button for Weibo in China
When is a "Facebook phone" not a Facebook phone? When it's in China. While this handset may look like an HTC Salsa at first glace, if you look a little closer you'll notice that the familiar little blue button has been replaced with one for Sina's Weibo social networking service. Lest you think this is just another KIRF, however, you can rest assured this is indeed the real deal, and a fairly big deal for HTC, considering that Weibo has around 150 million total users, and 50 million active monthly users. As for the phone itself, it's remained mostly unchanged otherwise, with it packing an 800MHz processor and a 3.4-inch 480 x 320 display, along with Android 2.3.3 with Sense 2.1 on top. Head on past the break for a video, and hit the source link below for a closer look.
Megapublisher Shandra sees 66% profit increase
Shandra Interactive Entertainment, the Chinese operator of MapleStory, Dungeons & Dragons Online, The Legend of Mir, and the positively ginormous Ragnarok Online let the world know that its profits for Q3 2007 are up 66% vs. last year and that it is expecting further growth in coming months.Shandra is the biggest publisher of online games in the Chinese market, and recently reached an agreement with NCsoft by which NCsoft will distribute its new title AION in China through Shandra instead of its old partner in the region, Sina (in which Shandra ironically holds a 20% stake).
Gamasutra's "China Angle" reports on The9, Giant Interactive, NCsoft
To North American and European MMO players, China is more than just a different country; it's a different universe. But it's important to keep an at least one eye on the Chinese market. Gamasutra ran its latest "China Angle" column today. Here's what we learned this time. The9, the Chinese publisher of World of Warcraft, will be responsible for the Chinese version of EA's FIFA Online 2. The9 already operates the original FIFA Online in the PRC, and EA owns a 15% share in the company, so that's no surprise. Newer company Giant Interactive -- who are behind the highly profitable Zhengtu Online -- saw a $38.7 million profit in Q3 2007, and all 800 employees of the company were given actual, real-life gold coins in celebration. The company is also actually awarding stocks to some of its customers. Finally, Korean MMO supercompany NCsoft has selected a new partner company called Shandra to distribute their new title AION. NCsoft opted not to work with their old partner Sina this time. The decision to change may have been influenced by disappointing Chinese numbers for Lineage and Lineage II, two NCsoft titles which were brought to the Chinese market by Sina.
NCsoft opens Shanghai office
South Korea-based NCsoft (Lineage, City of Heroes, Guild Wars) is continuing their Asian expansion with the announcement of NCsoft China. The new Shanghai-based office is a result of the MMO maker's 51% equity stake in NCsoft Sina, a joint venture with the popular Chinese Internet media company. NCsoft China will publish new games tailored to the Chinese market, in addition to providing localized services for the company's existing game offerings.NCsoft also has offices in Europe and the U.S, and will be releasing Auto Assault and Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa later this year.
