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Diablo III roars into an open beta weekend
Flex those mouse-clicking fingers, compadres -- it's demon-hunting time! This weekend, Blizzard is blowing the doors off Diablo III's beta, allowing any and all (well, those with a Battle.net account, that is) to come try out this upcoming action RPG. The open beta weekend begins at 3:00 p.m. EDT today and lasts until 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 23rd. During the beta, all five classes will be available, but players will be limited to a level 13 cap as they give the game a whirl. To access the Diablo III open beta, you'll need a valid Battle.net account and a BattleTag. Despite playing in the open beta, participants won't be able to post in the beta forums and won't receive Beta Bucks to spend. Asian players in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau will be part of not this stress test but rather a separate invitation-only closed beta test starting on April 23rd.
Nokia Lumia 610 headed to the (Pacific) 'Ring of Fire' in coming months for €189
The Lumia 610 is a colorful thing, going on sale, in the Firery Ring. Bound by tepid desire, it's about to launch in the Ring of Fire. It's about to launch in the burning Ring of Fire. Sales are down, down, down, and the burning platform feels higher. But it's going on sale, sale, sale, in the Ring of Fire. And also China. The full press release is after the break.
Huawei Ascend P1 arriving in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia by May
Looking to sail the smartphone seas on Huawei's dual-core flagship? Good news if you happen to reside in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia: the 4.3-inch 1.5GHz Ascend P1 will be arriving in your locale by next month. Oh, and Latin America, don't worry, Huawei hasn't forgotten about you. The phone will be bringing its eight-megapixel camera to that part of the world in June, followed by Europe at some other point in the summer. More mystery regions will be getting their chance at the P1 at another undisclosed time. In the meantime, more info can be found in the press release after the break.
ASUS won't release Transformer Prime GPS dongles in Italy or Greece (updated)
We're afraid we've got some bad news. Transformer Prime users outside of America and Taiwan in Italy and Greece won't receive a GPS dongle to address their tablet's lackluster mapping performance. The company confirmed on its Italian Facebook page that while it was advertised in the US and Taiwan as having "Full GPS," once issues were found, the European advertising was changed to read "GPS Locator" -- in short: it's not its problem, go away. We've included a machine-translated version below so you can hear it from the horse's mouth Facebook wall and we apologize in advance for any errors. "Guys confirm that the initiative is reserved for those territories where Prime was marketed with the GPS between the specifications of the product. So mainly the U.S. and Taiwan. In Italy Prime was marketed with a GPS locator, and not with a "Full" as car navigation. Function that we believe the rest is useless in combination with a tablet. Customers who bought Prime has done with the understanding that GPS is not present, then from our side there were no broken promises or misleading claims. We do not understand then what the reason of your critical Riccardo. Among other things, the satisfaction level of users who bought Prime is very high. In sharp contrast with what you say. It means that the product performs its function very well" Update: Looks like there's some confusion between the company's Italian arm and the rest of Europe. Readers have forwarded links to various European-country pages to apply for a dongle before July 31st this year. Update 2: ASUS got in touch to clarify the position, saying that only customers in Italy and Greece won't be able to get GPS dongles, but all other customers are invited to check if they're eligible on the official website (More Coverage), adding that "ASUS Global would like to further clarify that we're always committed to delivering the best experience for our customers through regular software updates and, where necessary, accessories like the GPS Extension Kit." [Thanks, Carmine]
Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry to "significantly" raise wages
Workers at Taiwanese plants run by Hon Hai Precision Industry -- the parent company of iPad and iPhone manufacturer Foxconn -- will begin to see some benefit of the popularity of the Apple products they manufacture in the form of "significantly" higher wages. The company is doing this primarily to attract and retain top talent at its Taiwanese manufacturing facilities. Foxconn has recently worked on improving worker conditions at plants in mainland China, raising wages and reducing the number of overtime hours worked by employees.
ASUS PadFone priced and ready for pre-order in Taiwan tomorrow, launches mid-April
We were promised that the phone-that-goes-tablet would ship in April, and it looks like ASUS is keeping its word. The PadFone and its corresponding tablet shell and keyboard dock, will be up for pre-order in Taiwan starting tomorrow, going on sale April 20th. On its own, the Snapdragon S4-powered 1.5GHz dual-core phone is priced at NT$17,990 (US$610), while the tablet set -- including that curious Bluetooth headset / stylus -- will set you back NT$24,980 (around US$850). If you're thinking keyboard add-ons are all the rage, expect to pay around NT$28,901 (US$980). Need more of an excuse to step into pre-order territory? Well, ASUS is offering up an extra battery for those that do. While we wait for some global roll-out details, you can remind yourself of what to expect in our hands-on from MWC.
Acer Financials: meager 2011 Q4 profit, massive annual loss
Acer was hoping for the gloom to lift after two bad quarters, but it can hardly call its latest financials stellar. It scraped a slender $2.4 million profit in the quarter, which wasn't enough to prevent the company posting an overall annual loss of $212 million. It blamed one off charges and operational and strategic adjustments (though no mention of the impending war with Lenovo over Gianfranco Lanci) for the bad year. The terse release (after the break) claims the business is becoming "more healthy and stable," which is a good way to paint a quarter-on-quarter drop of 98.4 percent turnover.
AU Optronics, Idemitsu Kosan announce 'strategic alliance' on OLED development
The OLED-infused future is fast approaching in Taiwan, where AU Optronics today announced a "strategic alliance" with Japanese firm Idemitsu Kosan. According to AUO, the partnership will see both companies collaborate on new OLED displays and patents, with Idemitsu filling the role of supplier. Taiwan-based AUO delivered the following statement: "This will accelerate business growth in AUO's small-sized OLED displays for smartphones and tablets, which have emerged as a new growth area in the display industry, and that of large-sized OLED displays for TVs." There's no indication as to when we might see the first fruits of this alliance, but as AUO VP Paul Peng recently reminded us, it may be a while.
Koobe's Jin Yong Reader gets Mirasol, brings color to Taiwanese hearts
It's no accident that Koobe's Jin Yong Reader bears a striking resemblance to Kyobo's eReader and Shanda's Bambook which we toyed with back at CES. But while those e-readers brought Mirasol to their respective South Korean and Chinese markets, Koobe's entrant will do the same for Taiwan. As for the trio's striking resemblance, know that they're all based on the same Qualcomm-heavy reference hardware, which pairs a 1GHz Snapdragon S2 with a 5.7-inch 1024 x 728 XGA Mirasol display. For those unaware, the addition of the latter part means the e-readers boast limited color on their non-backlit displays, all while retaining an E Ink-like low power draw. The trinity also feature a highly customized layer atop Gingerbread, and in Koobe's case, come pre-loaded with 15 novels by, you guessed it, Jin Yong. Naturally, pricing and exact availability have yet to be announced, but we're told they'll be available "soon." PR for those interested awaits after the break.
Rara.com: a new music service for the techno techno technophobe (video)
Music lovin' grampas here and in Europe will be doing The Charleston when they hear about Rara.com, a cloud-based music service with them in mind, which launched today. Powered by Omnifone, the same whitelabel service behind Sony's Music Unlimited, Rara hopes to appeal to the 70 percent of people its research shows "do not 'do' digital music." There's access to the same ten-million-strong music library as other services, and pricing starts at a frugal 99c/p for the first three months (rising to 4.99 from there on in) for the web-only option. Those with a little more tech-smarts can use an Android service too, which launches at 1.99 (going to 9.99) with the web-service bundled in. Those directly north and south of the border can look forward to access later this week, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore lighting up before Christmas. An iOS app will complete the set soon. Tap the PR after the break for more.
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]
Chinese MacBook component factory still shut down
Apple deals with a variety of component suppliers in the Asia Pacific region. Usually, the production process is uneventful, but sometimes the company has to do some fancy juggling to keep its product inventory in balance. Most of the time, customers don't see these behind-the-scene changes, because Apple has the reserves to buy its components from other suppliers when one can't meet demand. Recently, it had to shift production of its aluminum MacBook Pro and Air cases to a new supplier. Apple was buying its aluminum cases from Taiwan-based Catcher Technology, but officials closed the company in October after local residents complained of unpleasant odors coming from the plant. The plant is under investigation and production is at a stand still while it tries to solve its stinkiness. IDC Analyst Helen Chiang says the prolonged disruption at this Taiwan plant has not affected Apple's inventory of Apple's MacBook models. Apple has been able to offload production to another supplier and everything is smooth sailing.
Acer Allegro officially on sale in France and Taiwan
Here it is, folks: the inaugural Windows Phone from Acer, known as the Allegro, is now ready and rearin' to be sold. Not only is it coming to France as originally expected, it appears that Taiwan has elected to join in the fun as well. It's no top-notch device, but it doesn't pretend to be either. Even then, the specs aren't that much of a disappointment: it comes with a 3.6-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, 1GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU, 8GB internal storage, 5MP rear camera with LED flash and a 1,300mAh battery. We'd like to see a front-facing cam and a larger juicepack, but it still promises a lengthy nine hours of talk time regardless. And the no-contract price is definitely tempting, with it being sold currently in France for €285 ($380); Taiwanese customers can wander into their local Synnex store on November 30th, likely at a very similar price point. There's no word on if the Allegro will grace any other countries with its presence. [image courtesy sogi.com.tw]
iPhone 4S reportedly to launch in Taiwan December 14-16
The iPhone 4S is rolling out globally and its next stop may be Taiwan. A Digitimes report suggests the iPhone 4S will go on sale in the Pacific Rim country starting next month. Apple has not confirmed the release, but industry sources in Taiwan claim the handset will hit Taiwan's three largest carriers sometime between December 14-16. Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Taiwan Mobile (TWM) and Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) are supposedly working with Apple to lower the price of the 4S. The carriers want the iPhone 4S to debut at a price point that's only NT$1,000 (US$33) above the iPhone 4. Presumably, this lower price will entice current iPhone owners to buy the 4S instead of waiting for the iPhone 5 which could launch sometime in mid-2012. Sales in the territory are expected to be moderate and Apple may supply carriers with only 30,000 total units. The bulk (50 percent) of these handsets will go to Chunghwa Telecom. Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone will split the remaining shipment and get 25 percent each. Most of the iPhone 4S units will be 16 GB and 32 GB models. Less than 1500 units will be the 64 GB model.
Motorola XT615 Android phone arriving in China and Taiwan: slim, but not RAZR-thin
Side-stepping the moody design tones of its RAZR brethren, Motorola has announced a new Android-powered smartphone for Taiwan. Measuring in at 9.8mm thin, this Gingerbread-powered slab sports the outfit's MotoBlur-derived Moto Switch UI, with an eight megapixel camera on the back and a VGA shooter on the front. The XT615 packs quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900), WCDMA (900/2100) and HSPA (7.2Mbps) radios, while processing power comes from a slightly underwhelming 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7227A-0, possibly explaining the NTD$10,900 ($360) price tag. The pearly-toned phone hasn't revealed any plans to leave the island nation of Taiwan just yet, but that doesn't mean you can't familiarize yourself with the full specifications in the PR below.
NMA takes animation to real life with 'Video gamers have special brains' video
Bizarre as NMA's brief, often gaming-related videos tend to be, the latest is quite informative as well. For instance, did you know that the Taiwanese media group could blend real life with its hilarious animations? Neither did we!
Eric Schmidt: Google still has 'growing and profitable business in China'
To say that Google and the Chinese government have had a rocky relationship in recent years would be something of an understatement. But it now appears that the company is willing to mend its Mainland relations, more than a year after rerouting its search operations through Hong Kong. Speaking to reporters in Taipei today, chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt acknowledged that Google's relationship with the Chinese regime remains "mixed," adding that the "the Chinese government is unhappy with our unwillingness to support censorship." He sounded notably more optimistic, however, when discussing Big G's Chinese outlook. Schmidt, who was wrapping up a three-day tour across Asia, said he was "very happy" with Android's growth within the country, explaining that Google still enjoys "a growing and profitable business in China." The chairman went on to say that even though his company has faced institutional hurdles in the past, it simply "wanted to serve China's citizens within the limits the government allowed." Of course, this isn't the first time that Google has struck a conciliatory tone with the People's Republic, though it remains to be seen whether or not it results in any substantive change.
Wizard101 heading to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau
KingsIsle Entertainment announced today that its popular free-to-play MMO, Wizard101, is expanding to the exotic east. Thanks to an agreement with Taiwan Taomee Technology, the game will be launching in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in 2012. This announcement comes shortly after the company's deal with Taomee Holdings Limited to launch the game in China next year. To get in on the Wizard101 fun yourself, head on over to the game's official site.
Foxconn chairman signs letter of intent for 'intelligent robot kingdom,' we cower in fear
It looks like FRIDA and friends are about ready to get comfy over at Foxconn. Following the company's August announcement that it would infiltrate its ranks with one million robots in the next three years, Focus Taiwan is reporting that the manufacturer's parent company, Hon Hai, is moving forward on its plans to build an "intelligent robotics kingdom" in the Central Taiwan Science Park. Chairman Terry Gou reportedly signed a letter of intent with Taichung mayor Jason Hu last Saturday, confirming its plans to erect a plant dedicated to the production of robots and automation equipment. That robo-mecca is expected to draw some serious scratch, with an estimated production-value boost of NT$120 billion (about $4 billion) and the creation of 2,000 jobs. How many of those positions will be filled by headless automatons remains to be seen.
Daily Update for November 4, 2011
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.
