iPad Alternative?
Even before the iPad was launched the crafty folks in China were busy working on fakes and knock-offs, though so far the turnout has been a bit disappointing. Now. however, news reaches us, via Engadget, of the Moonse E-700, a 7-inch tablet PC that’s rumoured to be going on sale soon for a little over £100. Apparently it will use a Cortex A8 processor, running the increasingly usable Android 1.5 software. It’ll have SD card for storage, built-in wi-fi, 5-hours battery life, 720p HD playback on its 800 x 480 resolution screen and a couple of things still on the iPad wish-list, including a built-in camera and USB port. It’s going to weigh in at a little under 400 grams, or around half the weight of an iPad. No details on a launch just yet but we wouldn’t mind betting it’ll be in the shops in plenty of time for Christmas
China Blue takes on Blu-ray
Just when you thought the format wars were over and it was safe to buy a Blu-ray player it looks like the losing HD-DVD format may be staging a stealthy comeback Although Blu-ray won the battle in Europe, the US and Japan, on the other side of the World, in China, it is trailing behind the recently launched China Blue HD (CBHD) format. CBHD is very closely related to HD-DVD thanks to some clever licensing agreements between the DVD Forum and China’s Optical Memory National Engineering Research Centre (OMNERC) based in Tsinghua University. The principle differences concern compression and CBHS has more powerful copy protection, as piracy is a big concern in China. Already Warner Home Entertainment has announced support for the format in China with titles such as the Harry Potter Series, The Golden Compass and Blood Diamond likely to be the first into the shops. There’s speculation other major studios could follow suit
NBA 2K Goes Online and Moves to China
2K Sports has always held the second place in the sports games race, which has been dominated by EA Sports. So, it needs to offer some pretty good and innovative concepts in order to gain ground on the dominating force of the market.
One such innovative idea has just been announced, as the company is saying that NBA 2K10, its fully-licensed basketball simulator, is being brought to China and the larger South East Asian market via a partnership with Tencent Holdings. And as if this wasn’t enough, the game is also being offered online.
Ben Feder, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Take Two, declared that “I’m pleased to announce our first strategic move in what is now the fastest growing online game market in the world. Given the universal appeal of sports, specifically NBA basketball, we believe that our partnership with Tencent to make NBA 2K Online is the perfect entry point for Take Two into this market. NBA 2K has revolutionized the basketball gaming genre and we are confident that its best-in-breed pedigree can be fully leveraged in China with the support of our valued partners at Tencent and the NBA.” Read more
Google to Allow Free Music Downloads in China
On Monday, Google Inc. has announced that it has begun offering free and legal downloads of licensed music on its Chinese servers, after the American company reached an agreement with the four largest music producers and distributors in the world – Sony Music, Warner Music, EMI and Universal Music. Google will pay for the songs by sharing some of its advertising revenues with the music companies, one of the first attempts made by the music industry to cash in on the large Chinese market.
In China, the most popular search engine is not the leader of the market, but trails behind giant Baidu.com Inc., which has the most visitors and registered searches per day. The President of Google for greater China, Lee Kai-Fu, said that one of the main reasons why the company lagged behind Baidu was the fact that Google offered no music downloads. “We are offering free, high quality and legal downloads. We were missing one piece – we didn’t have music,” Lee stated. Read more
Sex, Now the Main Cause of Chinese HIV Infections
HIV entered China in the 1990s mainly through the non checked blood plasma-buying network and infected transfusions in hospitals. But now, sex has bypassed drug syringes as the main factor of HIV transmission in China, and this could lead to a booming of the infection spread from high-risk categories to the overall population, as signaled by a new report made by UNAIDS and a committee of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, and released on World AIDS Day.
There were 50,000 new Chinese HIV cases registered in 2007, raising the overall number of HIV patients in China to 700,000.
“Despite a fall in the rate of new cases since the data were last collected in 2005, infections were still spreading, and sex—not intravenous drug use—was now the main form of transmission. China’s HIV epidemic remains one of low prevalence overall but with pockets of high infection,” said Health Minister Chen Zhu. Read more
Spy Pen Detects Wireless and RF Signals
The Auto Detective pen detects wireless and RF signals. The light starts blinking when it detects “signals within the ranges of 900/1200/1300 and 2400/2600/3000MHz”. The faster the blinking the closer you are to the spy device you’re detecting. As an added bonus it’s supposed to have some feature that helps detect counterfeit bills. The unit runs $16 and is made in China. I’ve already placed my order. I have reason to believe my girlfriend bugged the house because she suspects I’m cheating. Which I am, but she’ll never catch me. The bag-lady and I only make out at the bus-stop. I don’t invite her over because she smells like urine.
