Bigger doesn’t mean bigger. That defies your grocer’s logic; after all, a 500 ml bottle of orange juice is supposed to be a bit more expensive than its 330 ml variant, but we’re talking about things that are more expensive as they get smaller.

And that, of course, refers to nothing other than the Samsung W629 mobile phone, now available only through Shenzhen Unicom. At CNY 8,888, this phone is tiny, extremely elegant, tiny, chock-full of gifts, neat features, a sight to behold — and (I think I said this before) — tiny.

And also costly.

The new phone does both CDMA and GSM networks (you’ll want this phone if you go to the US or Korea; my recent visit to South Korea, which is CDMA-only, was nothing less than mobile bloody murder), and is — in fact — the smallest mobile phone to do both CDMA and GSM networks.

Despite the exorbitant price tag (raised to CNY 9,800 or CNY 13,800 if you buy a “combo set”, which includes neat extras like credits or a “super-cool” mobile number), this phone is already in heavy demand. I’ve seen local ladies with miniscule phones before, so it kind of shocked me when the Shenzhen Business Today report told everyone that of the buyers that nabbed the whole first load — 100 phones in all — the majority of these people were gents. (But then again, I’d grab the phone if I wanted to anyway!)

The average farmer in the field, though, is not going to be the ideal buyer. Nope, this phone is reserved for “the privileged”; extras like golf club membership, one-to-one services and other VIP services are part of the deal.

Expensive? Sure. Here’s the other deal, though: Shenzhen Unicom is thinking of cutting call rates. However, Shenzhen Unicom can get terse when asked: a Q of “so will we see lower prices?” yielded a terse A of “I think so”.

So here you have it — one of those super-expensive phones that’s also super-tiny. Now that you have it — don’t lose it, no matter what you do!

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, GSM, CDMA, Shenzhen Unicom

OK, here’s the More bit:

Read this post again. That’s right — read it again. You’ll want to.

Unfortunately, this post will enter into that undesired-yet-unavoidable list of endangered electronic species in the not-too-distant future. Blognation China was able to go strong for the best part of nearly 3 months, but the recent collapse of the blog network, as well as the horrifying turn of events, has lead to my decision. A decision which took time for me to digest, but is one I have to make.

With the mothership deeply in trouble, I have tried to save it, but the recent stepping down of even founder Sam Sethi has meant that blognation China has become that bit harder to maintain. Most troubling are developments that have occurred in the most recent 24 hours. It looks like that the quality and reliability of blognation China, in particular, could be seriously compromised given how things may turn out. I don’t want to go into this too deeply, but suffice it to say that I’m fully aware of how things are looking — and ladies and gentlemen, they do not look all that good.

I will not be leaving blognation for the moment (let me make that clear again: David Feng will not be leaving blognation China), but I will step aside and see if this ship has enough of what it needs to keep both itself afloat, and more importantly, the interests of the readership. This post, though, will be one of the last ones I’ll do for the time being — until things seem to twist and wiggle to the extent that an acceptable way out can be found.

It has not been that easy, and I do not wish to waste everyone’s time going into the excruciating details. If you want in on the 101, feel free to take a look at my take on my blog (if you do Chinese characters — traditional chars only! — click here instead. I know, not the most harmonious post for an age or two — and it leaves me only to say that I wish things didn’t turn out this way.

But more importantly, it leaves me to say how indebted I am to your constant support. I’ll still be kicking around, I will be doing what I’ve done so far, and I am hoping for better days for this great network.

Ladies and gentlemen, without your support, blognation China could not have hoped to be what it is now. We love the fact that you love the site, and that very David Feng principle — serving the readership with reliable and high-quality content — will continue, no matter where I’ll be.

The Beijing Times reports that China Mobile may be getting very magnanimous indeed, with China’s biggest mobile telco offering a BlackBerry for free — provided that you sign up for a two-year contract.

Phones for free and gratis are rare in the People’s Republic: the vast majority buy their phones separate from their mobile subscriptions, which is why a mobile phone can get a bit on the expensive side. Nevertheless, this marks a brave new move in the Chinese mobile world.

So far, the BlackBerry 8700g is the candidate (is it just me, or does the “g” actually stand for “gratis”?). Tests are underway; if all’s well, the phone should be ready by the first month of the Olympic Year — 2008.

So how cheap is the phone? If you’re up for two years with China Mobile, it’s for the low price of zero (your subscription fees, though, may vary). If two years seems like mobile imprisonment to you, you can claim your BlackBerry for a price estimated as low as CNY 3,000 (USD 406.86, GBP 198.90, EUR 277.22) — CNY 2,000 (USD 271.24, GBP 132.60, EUR 184.81) less than the previous estimate price.

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, BlackBerry in China

For most of us, the iPhone’s trek is incredibly well-known: Ive and Co design it, His Jobsness promotes it, and it gets made in the People’s Republic of China. The phone is sent straight back to the US, where it awaits — on must-obey orders from everyone’s favorite fruit company. China makes the iPhone, but doesn’t get it. Right?

Wrong.

A highly investigative report from the Southern Daily in southern China reveals a secret “Chinese express” for the iPhone’s 1.3 billion potential fans. Streetloads (quite essentially) of shuihuo, or “illegit goods” versions of the iPhone — the phone being exactly the same as the one the US and Europe gets — are all the rage. Shops line the street, ready to sell the iPhone to those who want Apple’s latest-and-greatest gadget.

Since the first unlocked iPhone was sold in March 2007, some shops were able to pull off sales of up to 150 iPhones; at least a sale was guaranteed virtually every day. At the start, prices of the iPhone were no less than astronomical: CNY 12,000 (USD 1,625.80, GBP 794.09, EUR 1,105.53). (The average Chinese in the city earns around CNY 5,000 on a good salary — that’s USD 677.42, GBP 330.88, EUR 460.64).

Prices have since dropped down to as low as CNY 4,300 (USD 582.58, GBP 284.56, EUR 396.15); however, they’re back up to CNY 5,500 (USD 745.16, GBP 363.97, EUR 506.69). What’s even more amazing than the ever-changing price is the interest: no matter how expensive Apple’s phone may be, there will always be someone interested in the gadget.

Step into a shop, and you’d actually — be disappointed: the iPhone is often hidden from view. Tell the shopkeeper you’re interested in Apple’s revolutionary device, however, and a quick phone call later, an iPhone appears in front of your very eyes — fresh from the storehouse.

How profitable do these cracked (and somewhat illegit) iPhones become? At CNY 3,000 (USD 406.45, GBP 198.53, EUR 276.37) a pop in profit, the iPhones are still somewhat profitable — although getting less so as the prices tumble down.

So where do they get those iPhones? These phones actually make the cross-pond (as in cross-ocean) trip twice; they’re not from the PRC itself (as in it’s not a case of grabbing it straight from the factory). Instead, the phone is sent from the US, decoded, and offered for sale to mainland customers.

And how useful are these iPhones? Remarkably, apart from not being able to do WAP or access the Web using a CDMA card, there are very few limitations. Even wifi is active (mainland-made phones designed for domestic consumption must by law have wifi off). Thanks to third-party utilities, Chinese input is possible, and even iPhone-optimized IM systems, stock trading tools and games are all the rage.

This decoding rage, in fact, has given birth to a Chinese “iPhone Research Center”. All the iPhones you see in other Asian countries have — indeed — been unlocked at this very “Research Center”.

Legit or illegit? One thing is for sure: it’s not illegal. But don’t expect help from the guys at 1 Infinite Loop if your iPhone goes kaputt. You did, after all, not play by the rules 100%…

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, iPhone in China, shuihuo

No, we can’t exactly call this one “wishful thinking”, but we’d like to get close by calling this “wish-full thinking”. Sohu IT has it that Wang Jianzhou, the CEO of China Mobile, is calling for the release — as fast as possible — of mobile phone TV standards — hopefully before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

But — here’s the other bit of the news — Wang stated that the attitude of China Mobile is to push for the promotion of mobile TV. Looking for content on mobile TV? Sorry; China Mobile isn’t in the biz to do the actual content.

It goes without saying that without content, a new media platform is as good as — dormant (or dead if you prefer the more blunt term). And while we’re sure that there’ll be quite a good load of quality content, to push for the standardization and promotion of mobile TV — and then to walk away from the content — makes me feel like this is “wish-full thinking” without much action.

They are, after all, looking for action on the (rather small) silver screen!

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, mobile TV, mobile television

Taiwan’s already one well wired-up island, and if the Taiwanese WiMAX market is any sign, it’s on the way up. The island’s United Daily News has it that they’re working with manufacturers around the World and building more and more wireless cities, like their mainland counterparts and Hong Kong. Those wireless cities aren’t slow, by the way; speeds are expected to be at least 2 Mbps.

Looking skyward, limits for WiMAX appear bigger and better. We’re talking about ranges of up 50 km and speeds up to 75 Mbps. Now that’s fast — and fast, wireless Internet has gobbled down many a Taiwanese budget, with the 2006 Taiwanese telco values at TWD 700 billion (USD 21,634,986,862.76, GBP 10,570,369,689.86, EUR 14,730,230,075.90; nobody said this was a small figure!). These include, of course, wireless networks, modems and other connectivity options, putting Taiwan way in front on the World stage.

Even the authorities on the island are getting in on the act: the island’s cabinet, the Legislative Yuan, have teamed up with a number of government organizations and research institutes to create the Taiwan WiMAX Development Blueprint Working Group. The group’s goal: develop WiMAX on the island in three stages, meeting three goals. In the end, they’ll be witness to a more wireless Taiwan.

The big telcos, including Chunghwa Telecom, are all in the act, including the handing out of WiMAX licenses. Six licenses were issued in July 2007; two more are slated for June 2009.

Blognation China take: Wireless has taken off not just in Taiwan, but also on the mainland, where even Beijing’s thinking of going wireless. (Do note, however, that Beijing — in terms of 3G — has their own standard, TD-SCDMA — and that WiMAX’s recent entry has caused quite a bit of concern for China.) And while I’ve not heard much from mainland authorities (or the Beijing city government) about building up a wifi China (or even wifi Beijing), the feeling in Beijing is more along the lines of “less officialspeak, more action”. And sometimes, that’s better than masses of officialspeak. Let’s face it: there’s nothing better or more productive than opening up your laptop in the average Beijing traffic jam — and getting online!

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, Taiwan, mobile Internet, WiMAX, wireless Internet

What is this world coming to? Heilongjiang Unicom — the subsidiary of China Unicom in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province — has come out with something pretty awful, according to a report by China’s Xinhua News Agency. People were getting spam text messages, and they obviously wanted a way out. The service center gave the way out (send a cancel text message to a certain number) — but here’s the catch: the normal SMS charge of CNY 0.10 had to apply no matter what.

Oh yeah… so that’s like going to the market, and being handed something you didn’t want. You say, “I don’t want this cabbage, I want the other one”, only to be told that “if you want out of this cabbage, we’ll have to charge you”. Somehow, the maths don’t add up: you have to pay to cancel a service you never agreed to!

This, unfortunately, is common currency — bad common currency at that — in the Chinese mobile world. Many a mobile telco is in the business of subscribing their customers to spam-like “info services”, and the population often wants out. By opting out, they have to send a text message to get out of the act — and that’s where the money comes in, at CNY 0.10 per message.

So is there a way to cancel without paying? There is — customers can opt to use the “telephone service hall” service to cancel without paying a penny. Unfortunately, even here, there’s a catch: the cancellation request is recognized only after 24 hours!

Poor Heilongjiang Unicom customers…

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, Heilongjiang Unicom, SMS, spam

Wireless Weekend is a special that comes to you every Sunday on blognation China. We explore an increasingly wireless (wi-fi) China on the making. Grab a laptop, and — go!

If you’re in China’s fragrant harbor — or Hong Kong as it’s more known to all of us — you’re in for a treat. Hong Kong is getting increasingly wireless — and we’ll take a look at this increasingly wifi metropolis on the make.

Touching Down to Wireless Signals

Landing at Hong Kong International Airport? You’re in luck! If your baggage is taking forever and a day to show up — you can at least get productive (even if that means propping up your laptop on that luggage cart), for wifi — and free wifi, at that — is available throughout the whole airport building.

By the way — folks travelling with laptops are in the majority; a study has it that over 50% of airport users carry a laptop. We’re — yes, indeed — witnessing the birth of wireless airport productivity (for you Mac folks out there, very much also wireless AirPort productivity).

Wifi isn’t new to the airport — it was available as early as 2003, but only in selected spots and against a charge. The late 2006 move to expand and to make access FOC (free of charge) was a bold move, but a very welcome one.

Getting Wireless in Your Hotel

Hong Kong’s hotels are also great places to go totally wireless. Depending on your hotel, wireless may be hotel-wide or in-room only; in the most recent hotel yours truly stayed in (the Renaissance Harbor View), wifi was there — you just had to be in the lobby to access it.

Internet in hotels may not be all that cheap, especially if you’re coming in from the mainland. (If you’re coming over from Europe or America, though, it could be on-par with what you’re expecting at home.) There’s another good thing about the Net in Hong Kong: you don’t have to play cat-and-mouse with that Great Big Firewall, as you do have to contend with on the mainland.

But why confine yourself to the humble hotel room? There’s that great big Internet out there waiting for you…

Free Wifi in the MTR

Since yours truly is still missing an iPod touch (and foolishly enough forgot to pull out his laptop in an empty subway train), he can’t comment if the latest-and-greatest Beijing Subway Line 5 really does have that wireless Internet that some sources say they do. However, Hong Kong has free wifi in its MTR system — and that’s for real.

This is where your iPod touch or iPhone gets in on the act — or your laptop (if you’ve enough space in the trains). Wifi is now reality in MTR trains and train stations — and thanks to the recent merger of the MTR and the KCR, more and more stations and trains are being served in a unified system.

Nobody said that good things are always free — just inquire at your Pizza Hut (there’s no such thing such as a free lunch!). However, a flat payment of HKD 20 (USD 2.57, GBP 1.26, EUR 1.75) per day will do very well. The same system, by the way, will do 3.5G signals from tunnel transmitters — they then get turned into wifi signals for those on board.

In an MTR station? They’re well-served with wifi, too. Mobile productivity just got that more — productive.

In the Making: Wireless Hong Kong

Wireless Internet at the airport, in the subway system, and in your hotel. It’s no rocket science, then, that Hong Kong’s wifi network are taking on — the whole city next.

In early August 2007, Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui became the first permanent free wifi hotspot. HKD 200,000,000 will be spent (that’s USD 25,656,154.65, GBP 12,622,342.42, EUR 17,522,151.36) all the way through to 2009 to enable the creation of at least 350 public hotspots. Speeds will be pretty quick: we’re looking at wireless velocities between 3 - 18 Mbps.

However, not all is good news — they’ll also check what you’re browsing around (”check” in this sense is intended more as to “stop” you from doing “bad things” than to “peek around your shoulder” so as to “inspect” you). Access to some “less than healthy sites” will be blocked, as will BitTorrent and IM software, including MSN and Skype.

So how has wifi Hong Kong grown? Let me rephrase that as “How has wifi Hong Kong grown!” Stats coming in dating from mid-October 2007 show that there are altogether 5,000 wifi hotspots (whether or not they’re free or not, though, is another question), meaning that a wireless Hong Kong is growing — and growing strong.

(Articles referred to in this article include: Asia Travel Tips, Engadget, cnBeta.com and Sina Tech).

On the next Wireless Weekend, we take a look at the wireless world in Taipei. Throughout December, we’re also planning wireless visits to Guangzhou, and Kunming. See you then!

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Hong Kong, Internet in Hong Kong, mobile Internet, wifi, wireless Internet

The story about Apple’s iPhone and China seems to — never end. First we’ve China Mobile and China Unicom interested, then The Steve orders the game they way he wants it, and now — is D.Phone ready to give the iPhone to 1.3 billion?

According to China Tech News, yes:

After rumors earlier this week that negotiations with China Mobile broke down, Chen Jingsheng, vice president of D.Phone, has told Chinese media that D.Phone has signed a strategic agreement with Apple for the iPhone and iPhone will be first sold at D.Phone’s stores after it enters the Chinese market.

Chen says that iPhone will come to China around the Spring Festival holiday of 2008 and will be sold at D.Phone’s retail stores.

Interesting how Chinese media still report that China Mobile is still the favorite. The talks, though, broke apart after China’s biggest mobile telco operator failed to come close to a deal with everyone’s favorite fruit company — over splitting revenues.

Even more interesting, though, is this quote:

Some other analysts quoted by local media say they believe the spreading of the news that Apple has signed with D.Phone for the iPhone might be a strategy that Apple has taken to force China Mobile to make a concession in their negotiations.

Hmm… so is The Steve threatening the PRC?

Apple does have a bad tendency to regard the Chinese market as nothing more than a 51st state of the US — as in they expect everyone in China who uses the Mac to be familiar with English. This is in particular the case since there is no English version of .Mac (amongst other services), and Apple support is lacking.

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, iPhone in China, D.Phone

Yours truly was part of the 16th Mobile Monday in Beijing, a mobile-oriented info evening in Beijing (but also in many other cities around both China and around the World). If you blinked, here’s the whole raconte in the blognation China twitterfeed.

The Mobile Monday got underway right around 19:30 (starting ontime, was — of course — pretty important), with Benjamin onstage introducing the event. Then, it was time to get down to business — and talk about Mobile and Web Reunited.

The panelists that came included Alvin Yang from Tencent (QQ.com), Jyri Salomaa from Nokia, and Alan Zhang from Baidu.

The news from QQ was pretty big: there are now no less than 715.3 million registered users. (China has 1,300 million — that’s 1.3 billion — people, for the record. Is a People’s Republic of QQ next?) Of the 715.3 M, 288.7 million are active users. Tencent also has the biggest mobile blog in China and has — get this — a virtual pet service, so you can feel your faithful Fido online (and cry virtual tears if he gets hit with that dreaded food poisoning).

Jyri Salomaa next went online, talking about the 21-year old Nokia Research Center. Nokia is no longer “just” about “connecting people”; Salomaa went on to coin “Connecting People 2.0″, meaning that they’re now “connecting people to what is important to them”. With a user base of about a full billion, they’re in a unique position. Salomaa also went on about the Internet culture, talking about bringing in a more human side. Finally, Nokia stated that it is supporting Open Source, and has promised location-based services for China.

Alan Zhang came on last with his prezo about Baidu — in particular the Baidu Mobile Search overview. The market share of Baidu is massive in China — three-quarters of the population trust Baidu on the Web alone. Baidu’s lead is seen in just much the company has dived into the mobile world: there are mobile versions of searches, online games, online music, forums (PostBar), FAQ services (Knows/Zhidao), news search, map search, and even image search. There’s even Baidu plug-in software developed with Nokia, which optimizes the whole experience.

The panel was next fully set up (the microphones, however, sounded like they were firing gunshots!). Amongst the opinion exchange part of the panel were:

• Baidu: “The Mobile Internet is still the Internet; “mobile” is merely an adjective!”
• In response to a viewer question (”What would a new startup focus on — the plain-vanilla Internet or the Mobile Internet?”), Baidu responded: Things are just starting out on the Mobile Internet, so to gain the most cash, start on the plain-vanilla Net or SP.
• Netvibes was mentioned.
• On the question “Content another alliance to counter this very one! (The audience roared with laughter.)
• There were 250,00 SDK downloads from Google in China.
• Regarding content licensing (paid content), Tencent’s idea was to buy content packages, integrate products in channels, gain revenue, and share the cash.
• The evolving ecosystem was brought up. Nokia cannot predict the future, but was pleased to see change in the ecosystem. Tencent stated that it has always followed the whole ecosystem and mentioned about sub-ecosystems.
• The final viewer question told us that educating the users was most important. If they know about your service, they’ll come back.

Mention of the blognation China launch party was also mentioned, which will take place tomorrow, December 4, 2007 in Dongzhimen from 20:00 to 22:00. We hope to see you there!

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, Internet in China, mobile Internet, Mobile Monday

Wireless Weekend is a special that comes to you every Sunday on blognation China. We explore an increasingly wireless (wi-fi) China on the making. Grab a laptop, and — go!

Meet Wireless Shanghai

Shanghai is massive. China’s biggest city to the tune of 21 million, it’s easy to appear to get lost in the myriad of towers — especially if you’re in the Puxi area, which is chock-full of skyscrapers.

Four wireless Internet service providers run the game in Shanghai, according to Danwei: China Telecom (Tianyitong), China Unicom (CDMA 1X), China Netcom (Mobile Office) and China Mobile (E-Traveler). (That just makes all four big Chinese telcos grab their fair share of the whole city.)

Free wifi is present — although not that much as in the good old days. A search for wireless networks returned 21 results, with the great majority in cafés. One of my favorites by name (it’s somewhat unfortunate I haven’t visited the place yet; it looks pretty exciting) has got to be Zurigo. There’s a Swiss factor in all this: Zurigo is Italian for Zurich, Switzerland’s biggest city — home base to your cheerful editor for the best part of 12 years!

Other cafés offering wireless Internet for free include Chatea, O’Malley’s Irish Pub, and even a gym — the Alexander Gym. A great many free wifi hotspots also await for those in People’s Square and Nanjing Road; there are no less than six.

The Decline of Free Wifi

Some time ago, McDonald’s and Starbucks in Shanghai offered those in town a stellar deal: surf for free! Unfortunately, quite a number of free wifi networks have simply died down.

To get onto the Web in some places, you’ll need a pre-paid wireless Internet card (you can grab them in the business centers in most four- to five-star hotels).

Costs for getting online at Starbucks do not appear to be high at first sign (CNY 0.10 per minute — that’s USD 0.01, GBP 0.006 — just over a ha’penny, EUR 0.01), but if your Net-addicted editor is any kind of wired weathervane, he’ll most likely have his creditors breathing down his neck before all too long, thanks to his sheer addiction (read: productivity) online.

Pudong Airport, too, offers a big wifi network. Unfortunately — unlike Hong Kong — you’ll have to pay for this one (through the China Netcom network).

Reasons Behind Shanghai’s Wifi Troubles

Wifi first hit China big-time in 2002, but has since died down a little. However, with the arrival of wifi-ready PCs (of course, Macs have been AirPort-ready since 1999), the whole thing is suddenly all the rage again. Thick red tape currently excludes wifi access for Chinese-made mobiles; however, imported phones are not subject to those restrictions — especially the iPhone.

However, even with the wifi fever hot as ever, there are still some problems. Wifi right now has a limited range (an Apple rumor pic a few years back envisioned AirPort signals from one access point to be as big as to cover the Eiffel Tower — but sad to say, not reality — yet), and signals can get more than iffy at times. There are some commercial difficulties too, including a mixed (and still somewhat competitive) market, lack of ways to make £££, and the fact that not everyone has a wifi-ready device.

Even with those impediments, however, the sky’s still pretty blue up there (so to speak). More and more connections are made over broadband (the days of sharing a dial-up modem connection over AirPort is more than numbered), more laptops are wifi-ready (and I’m pleased (as a Mac guy) to report that all Apple laptops are ready for wireless productivity, out of the box), and the number of access points is growing all the time. Additionally, the need for VOIP is increasing (I’ve seen more than one guy do a Skype call at a café).

The whole thing’s looking up — it might not be long before Shanghai, too, becomes a wireless city.

And you’d have good reason to smile when that day comes.

On the next Wireless Weekend, we take a look at the wireless world in Hong Kong. Throughout December, we’ll also travel to Taipei, Guangzhou, and Kunming. See you then!

Tags: blognation, China, blognation China, Mainland China, Internet in China, mobile Internet, wifi, wireless Internet