I addition to 陌陌, I downloaded WeChat this week. This is the English name of 微信 (Weixin). One of the more interesting features of this social networking app is... well, the below screenshot is pretty self explanatory. I tried it, but all that came up were other guys shaking their phones. I'll try it again tonight and see if anything different happens.
Image courtesy of All Things D
Image courtesy of All Things D
China is expected to have 26.5% of worldwide smartphone marketshare versus America's 17.8%. Why? It's a simple numbers game.
China’s overtaking of the United States in smartphones doesn’t mean sales here are grinding to a halt, says Ramon Llamas, a senior research analyst at IDC, in a statement. Smartphones already account for the majority of phone sales in the United States, so a slowdown was expected, he said.
There's a lot of people here. Really.
Wow. From CNN:
According to a court proffer, Bryan Underwood had lost a significant amount of money in the stock market and hoped to make between $3 million and $5 million by supplying classified photos and information to China's Ministry of State Security.
I was just at the Guangzhou US Consulate in June to get extra pages in my passport. So what was his plan for originally contacting Chinese government officials?
In the court proffer signed by Underwood, he admitted writing a letter last year addressed to the Chinese Ministry of State Security. "I know I have information and skills that would be beneficial to your offices (sic) goals," Underwood wrote. "And I know your office can assist me in my financial endeavors."
Underwood tried to deliver the letter to China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) but a guard turned him away and would not accept the letter. According to court documents, Underwood then "left the letter in the open in his apartment hoping that the MSS would find it. He believed the MSS routinely conducted searches of apartments occupied by Americans."
Why?
"The big eagle pushes the young eagle off the cliff. As it falls, the little eagle has no choice but to spread its wings, and learns how to fly," He explained, quoting a Chinese proverb.
Fertilizer
On advice from a Chinese friend, I downloaded a new social app called 陌陌 (MoMo), which is pictured on the right. Like other current Chinese social apps (QQ, WeChat) this app displays all the users in close proximity to yourself. As we were driving around I started checking out who was close by. That's when I came upon the below. I know a Pasta (a student from my teaching days in Beijing) and two days ago I met a Pizza. But I've never met a Fertilizer.
Is this the future iPhone 5?
Is this the future iPhone 5?
The question is, will it actually get on China Mobile store shelves? We'll have to wait and see. From AnandTech's excellent iPhone 5 rumor analysis:
The big addition with the upcoming iPhone will be a massive and much needed improvement in cellular connectivity. Put simply, the addition of both support for LTE in the Americas and perhaps a few other international markets, and TD-SCDMA support for China. Support for LTE is simply requisite for a high end smartphone at this point, and inclusion of TD-SCDMA is likewise requisite for any further growth in China.
My wagon's already hitched to China Unicom, but the importance of having TD-SCDMA 3G capability on the next iPhone cannot be overstated. Without it, Apple will continue to lose market share in the world's largest smartphone market.
A bullfight in Guizhou province.
A bullfight in Guizhou province.
Unlike Spanish bullfights, these bulls face each other and, unless badly wounded, aren't killed by a matador.
Chinese bull trainer Wang Youxiu says he didn’t realize Spanish bullfights end with the matador slaying the bull. Too cruel for Chinese bull owners, he says. “We are too emotionally attached to our bulls,” he explains. “Even when they get old, we don’t kill them. We sell them to far-away places.”
Though hardly a well known pastime, Chinese bullfighting has grown in tandem with the country’s economy. Where farmers used to stage showdowns in fields for beer money, matches these days can involve purses as high as 50,000 yuan (nearly $8,000), and one town in Yunnan province – where the tradition was born — even has a new bullfighting arena.
I had to chuckle at the Wall Street Journal's caption for the photo below: "Optimus Prime, at right, sent an opponent running, winning another bout." Here's hoping Lamborghini's next Chinese special is named the Lamborghini Optimus Prime.
Mining accident, European debt, BYD in trouble, and China in Egypt
1. Death toll rises in China coal mine blast
The death toll from a gas blast at a coal mine in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan rose to 19, with 28 miners still trapped underground, according to the local city government. A total of 154 miners were working underground when the accident occurred Wednesday at around 6 p.m. at Xiaojiawan Coal Mine, according to Panzhihua city's official account on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.
2. China's Wen calls for action on Europe debt
Expressing alarm at Europe's debt problems, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on Greece, Spain and Italy to embrace budget cuts and get their finances in order after meeting Thursday with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
1. BYD predicts dismal Q3 results
But the carmaker that used to own the country's best selling model F3 sedan has been outstripped by its peers in the Chinese market, despite only a total 9.6
million vehicles being sold in China in the first half, representing a 14-year low of 2.9 percent year-on-year expansion, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Great Wall Motor Co on Friday said its first-half net profit rose 29.9 percent to 2.4 billion yuan from 1.8 billion yuan a year earlier after selling an aggregated 262,018 vehicles during the period. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, another Hong Kong-listed carmaker, reported last week that its first-half net profit rose 8.7 percent this year, following sales of a total of 222,390 units both at home and abroad, up about 4 percent from a year earlier.
4. Chinese firms brave uncertainty in Egypt to gain a foothold in the Middle East
The Chinese are attracted to Egypt’s massive market for cheap consumer goods and an expansive and relatively cheap labor force. Egypt’s large number of preferential trade agreements with Europe, Africa and the Middle East, along with the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important waterways, also make it a prime location, said Chen Lin, the commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Egypt.
5. Analysis: China's aircraft carrier: In name only
Retired Major General Luo Yuan suggested naming China's new aircraft carrier Diaoyu, after the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. It would demonstrate China's sovereignty over the islands known as the Senkakus in Japanese, he said. For a notable hardliner, it was one of the least bellicose reactions he has advocated throughout a series of territorial rows that have soured China's ties with its neighbors in recent months.
Slate reports on the often rumored use of body doubles in criminal cases:
The practice of hiring “body doubles” or “stand-ins” is well-documented by official Chinese media. In 2009, a hospital president who caused a deadly traffic accident hired an employee’s father to “confess” and serve as his stand-in. A company chairman is currently charged with allegedly arranging criminal substitutes for the executives of two other companies. In another case, after hitting and killing a motorcyclist, a man driving without a license hired a substitute for roughly $8,000. The owner of a demolition company that illegally demolished a home earlier this year hired a destitute man, who made his living scavenging in the rubble of razed homes, and promised him $31 for each day the “body double” spent in jail. In China, the practice is so common that there is even a term for it: ding zui. Ding means “substitute,” and zui means “crime”; in other words, “substitute criminal.”
This does have some relevance right now but I'll let you find out why on your own.
Samsung's new Windows Phone, the ATIV S
Samsung's new Windows Phone, the ATIV S
I enjoy technology and enjoy dreaming about owning technology. I've been an iPhone guy and don't care at all for Android. While nothing will stop me from continuing to use my iPhone, I do like what Microsoft is doing with Windows Phone. Unlike Google with Android, Microsoft took their time (which unfortunately dented their marketshare) and created a unique and fresh os that in some ways surpasses Apple's iOS. I'd love to support the platform and thus am very interested in getting one once Windows Phone 8 is released later this year.
Samsung just announced a new Windows Phone 8 phone based on the Galaxy S III hardware. As I was reading the linked post and getting very excited, I realized I had completely forgotten about Nokia's September 5th event which will certainly be used to debut two or three new Windows Phone devices.
I was pretty set on buying an iPhone 5 later this year but if Nokia announces a new Windows Phone 8 phone with a PureView camera, all bets are off. So, buy an iPhone 5 or continue with the trusty iPhone 4 and get the new Nokia PureView Windows Phone in addition? Hmm...
And I say to the grownups, if you want to deny evolution and live in your... your world that’s completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that’s fine, but don’t make your kids do it because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future. We need people that can... we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems.
Verdict: You should give in too.
A week ago I saw the below advertisement upon my return to Shenzhen. My interest was pipped. What was this crazy concoction?
Well I finally gave in and 15 minutes later the delivery man was at my door with a box of freshly prepared black and white burgers.
To my surprise, the contents of each burger was unique. The black burger was a hamburger topped with onions and a sweat sauce. The white burger was actually chicken.
I'm not embarrassed to say (okay, I'm a little embarrassed to say) I really liked them, especially the black burger. I have no idea the reason for their existence, but the set complimented each other well; while the toppings may have been applied with little delicacy and finess, each burger was distinct and tasted great.
Not sure how long this item will stay on the menu, so try it while you can.
It's only two babies kissing.
Jingdi Meilongzhen, Shenzhen
Great. First this, and now the below from Bloomberg:
Mitt Romney says the U.S. must be willing to say “no more” to its rocky trade relationship with China. If elected president, he vows to brand China a currency manipulator on his first day in office. He also says he’ll place extra tariffs on Chinese imports to correct an undervaluation of the Chinese currency, the yuan, which helps make Chinese goods cheaper than U.S. goods.
That stance puts Romney at odds with President Barack Obama, who’s resisted formally rebuking China for its currency practices. No doubt the Republican challenger wants to differentiate himself from the incumbent in his dealings with the world’s second-largest economy.
After reading those first two paragraphs my first thought was, "I'm sure US businesses would love being shut out of the Chinese market." Thus I had a small chuckle when I read the next paragraph:
The problem is that getting tough with China also puts Romney in conflict with a bastion of Republican Party support, the U.S. business community. Many of the largest U.S. companies favor a less confrontational approach. They’re too concerned about being locked out of the Chinese market to risk taking a bold, public stance against objectionable Chinese practices.
China's not an evil place; there are some really great people here, just like there are in the US. Both countries have their issues. Why does this have to be the second Cold War? Can't we all just find a way to work together for the mutual benefit of both societies? I love living here and I value the relationships I've made and the friends I have. I'm also here helping US businesses expand in the country and access this market, a market that has a lot of potential and value.
Mr. Romney, please think before you speak. Please.
Violence against the Japanese ambassador, stocks drop, Lincoln expands, and China is aiming for the moon.
1. Japan demands investigation into attack on ambassador's car in China
Beijing apologized for the embarrassing incident on Monday, in which an unidentified man ripped the Japanese flag from the ambassador’s car amid rising tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
2. China stocks drop to 2009 low as Air China profits fall
Air China, the nation’s largest international carrier, sank to its lowest level since March 2009, while Zhongjin Gold, the third-largest bullion producer by market value, retreated 2.3 percent. FAW Car Co. (000800), which makes passenger cars with Volkswagen AG, declined for a seventh day as the company reported a six- month loss. Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology Co. rose 6.4 percent after Japan imported more solar products.
3. Lincoln Is Heading To China
Ford CEO Alan Mulally used an event Tuesday in Beijing to announce plans to start selling the brand in China in the second half of 2014. The announcement is significant because it makes Lincoln an international brand.
4. China eyes next lunar landing as US scales back
But experts say that China, which as recently as the 1980s was focused solely on developing satellites, is the closest to landing an astronaut on the moon. Beijing launched its manned space programme in 1999 and has developed rapidly since, sending its first astronaut into space in 2003 and completing a space walk in 2008.
This year, it conducted its first manned space docking -- the latest step towards setting up a space station -- during a mission that included its first woman in space. In its last white paper on space, China said it was working towards landing a man on the moon -- a feat so far only achieved by the United States, most recently in 1972 -- although it did not give a time frame
