After years of ongoing negotiations, it appears that Apple and China Mobile have finally reached a deal that will see China's largest carrier offer the iPhone. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is currently preparing to ship the new low-cost iPhone "5C" to the carrier...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
Chinese hackers have launched a pirate app store that allows people to download pirated iOS apps with no jailbreaks needed. The online web store uses geolocation to determine a user's whereabouts. If the user is outside of China, he is not granted access to the store, instead being redirected to another page run by the hackers.
Out of respect for the hard work iOS developers do, we aren't linking to the store or revealing its name.
Piracy takes away from the development of apps on iOS. Many of the best apps today were created by a single developer or small development team that didn't initially have a lot of financial resources. If the apps being created are pirated and result in limited financial reward to the developers, why would they want to continue to come up with new and exciting apps? Some of the best apps in the App Store -- apps that are part of the reason your iPhone is so cool -- wouldn't exist.
So please, think before you pirate, because in the long run, you're hurting not just the developer, but the entire iOS ecosystem and yourself as well. And no, "I pirate an app to see if I'll like it and then buy it if I do" is not any kind of valid excuse.
[Source: TUAW]
Over the past several weeks, state-run media and other outlets in China have criticized Apple over the company's warranty practices in the country.
The company had posted a letter to customers defending its practices as going above and beyond requirements of Chinese law, but as noted byBusiness Insider, Apple has now posted a newletter from CEO Tim Cook [Google translation] announcing changes to its warranty policy. From the Google translation:
We are aware that, due to the lack of external communication in this process and lead to the speculation that Apple arrogance, do not care or do not attach importance to consumer feedback. We express our sincere apologies for any concerns or misunderstandings this gives consumers.
In order to further improve the level of service, we are implementing the following four major adjustment:
- Improved iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S repair policy
- Provide a concise and clear on the website of the official Apple repair and warranty policy statement
- Increase the intensity of the supervision and training of Apple Authorized Service Provider
- Related issues to ensure that consumers can easily contact Apple Feedback Service
Apple's previous policy for iPhone 4 and 4S warranty repairs had frequently involved issuing customers new handsets but swapping their existing back plates onto the new hardware, with the replacement handsets carrying warranties lasting 90 days or until the expiration of the original one-year warranties from the customers' initial purchases.
The policy had received criticism from those arguing that the replacement devices essentially amount to brand-new hardware and should carry longer warranty coverage. Under Apple's revised policies announced today, the company has heeded those complaints and when it swaps out customers' devices for replacement ones, they will be entirely new devices and carry fresh one-year warranties.
Apple has also made it more clear to customers what its standard repair policies are in China, with main parts such as motherboards receiving two-year coverage while other components receive one-year coverage. In addition, Apple has increased training for authorized service providers in China in order to ensure that they are fully aware of Apple's new and continuing warranty policies. Finally, Apple has also rolled out a new feedback form to provide a simpler mechanism for Chinese customers to contact Apple about service concerns.
[Source: MacRumors]
China and Google just can't seem to get along. The country's ministry is the latest to take issue with el Goog, stating that it has too much control within the smartphone industry because of its Android OS and is discriminating against local rivals. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced this in its recent white paper, adding that the country had the ability to craft its ownmobile OS if it wanted to. According to the document: "While the Android system is open source, the core technology and technology roadmap is strictly controlled by Google." It goes on to describe how the Mountain View crew had apparently delayed sharing source code with Chinese companies developing their ownoperating systems. The paper also took the opportunity to praise homegrown stars like Baidu, Alibaba and Huawei for their own systems. In short, it looks like an amicable relationship is still a while off.
[Source: Engadget]
Unlike the chaos that reigned at the iPhone 4S launch earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 appears to have been quite subdued. It is unclear, however, how much of the change may be due to lack of interest and how much may have been related to snowy weather and changes in Apple's sales policies designed to reduce scalping and other factors that have led to problems at previous launches.
Friday’s iPhone 5 launch was notable for a different kind of white: a rare accumulation of fresh snow that blanketed the nearly empty plaza outside the Sanlitun store.
At 8 am on Friday, when the store opened to hurrahs from employees, only two consumers stood inside a cordon set up by Apple, though they were joined by a desultory snow man someone had made on a bench near the entrance.
Apple's new sales policies require customers to enter a lottery for the right to purchase an iPhone in the store, with winners being given specific windows of time in which to pick up their devices.
[Source: Engadget]
While Nokia's Lumia 920T has already been unveiled for China Mobile, the company isn't content to leave its Windows Phone 8 lineup to one device on one carrier. The company has just introduced Chinese versions of the Lumia 620, 820 and a regular 920, all of which are on pre-sale today at respective contract-free prices of ¥1,999 ($320), ¥3,499 ($560) and ¥4,599 ($736). We haven't yet seen specific release dates mentioned, although all three versions on show carry HSPA+ 3G for China Unicom. The strategy won't enthrall those who want every Lumia available on every network; it's nonetheless good to know that HTC's Chinese roster will have plenty of company.
[Source: Engadget]
Lost in yesterday's writeup of the iFixit 21.5-inch iMac was this small line in the description: "Interestingly, this iMac claims to have been assembled in the USA."
Sure enough, a look at the iFixit image of the back of the iMac shows the fascinating line "Designed in California. Assembled in USA". Why is that fascinating? Apple has closed all of its US production facilities, which were in places like Elk Grove and Fremont, California and Fountain, Colorado.
9to5Mac reports that some earlier generation iMacs have come in boxes printed with "Assembled in USA" on the side. In order for a product to be marked as "Made in the USA," the US Federal Trade Commission states that "A product that includes foreign components may be called 'Assembled in USA' without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the 'assembly' claim to be valid, the product's last 'substantial transformation' also should have occurred in the U.S. That's why a 'screwdriver' assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn't usually qualify for the 'Assembled in USA' claim."
9to5Mac's Seth Weintraub speculates that perhaps Apple is making an early manufacturing run of the new iMacs in the USA to "get the manufacturing kinks" worked out before handing the proverbial factory keys over to Foxconn.
[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]
Picking between LTE and HSPA iterations of Galaxy Note II was difficult enough already but now Samsung China has gone official on its previously-spotted twin-SIM variant. It's the same exotic mix of micro and full-size SIM slots, alongside that potent 1.6GHz quad-core processor and 5.7-inch Super AMOLED HD screen. The phone has a respectable collection of radios (GSM 850/900/1, 800/1,900, WCDMA 850/900/1,900/2100 MHz) too -- just ensure you have all your SIM sizes in order when the device goes on sale December 3rd.
[Source: Engadget]
As eagerly as Google has gone through routing acrobatics to minimize the Chinese government's ability to censor and spy on its its services, it's still at the mercy of the Great Firewall. The company might have just run head-first into the bricks as of Friday. As confirmed by some of our own staff, all of Google's services stopped working in China for at least the better part of a day despite the search firm verifying that everything was in good working order. Officials haven't confirmed that anything was afoot, but it's easy to raise the specter of possible censorship given local political maneuvering. The once-a-decade Communist Party Congress began on Thursday, and the establishment may have wanted to cut off a relatively unfiltered line of communication for dissidents during a transition of power. We're hearing that access may have ameliorated in at least parts of the country, which would be a pleasant surprise -- not that a sudden improvement in service will cheer up those who know they still face a backlog.
[Source: Engadget]
China's supercomputer development is as much driven by national reputation as by military prowess and science; the country chose to build the Sunway BlueLight MPP with domestic chips knowing that it wouldn't get the absolute performance crown. It won't be quite so modest the next time around. China's National University of Defense Technology wants the Tianhe-2 supercomputer due in 2015 to crack an extremely high 100 petaflops, or five times faster than the record-setting Titan over in the US and a whopping 40 times faster than the Tianhe-1A. Before we hand the crown over, though, Top 500 supercomputer chart keeper Jack Dongarra notes to ITworld that China might have to sprint if it wants the symbolic title: the EU, Japan and US are all striving for the same benchmark, and they're not backing off anytime soon. The nation's trump card may have to be long-term plans for an exaflop-strength supercomputer by 2018, at which point we suspect the bragging will simmer down. For awhile.
[Source: Engadget]
Huawei Technologies aims to expand its tablet PC product line. The firm plans to introduce the MediaPad 10 FHD with a 10.1-inch IPS screen that has a resolution of 1900 by 1200. The tablet PC, featuring Android 4.0.4, will be launched in Russia and China first.
Unlike most tablet PC makers that develop similar applications such as smartphones and notebooks, Huawei has been developing tablet PCs using its home appliance department. The firm hopes to integrate home appliances with the tablet PCs.
Huawei has been cooperating with Foxconn on OEM orders.
According to Huawei, MediaPad 10 FHD comes with a HiSilicon quad-core K3V2 1.5GHz processor and 2GB RAM. The product has a thickness of 8.8mm and weighs 598g. MediaPad 10 FHD will be introduced in Taiwan at the end of the fourth quarter.
Huawei has been dominating the set-top box (STB) market in India, Brazil and Mexico, an mainly focuses on cable TV and satellite STBs. The firm indicated that IP STBs are a development trend.
[Source: DigiTimes]
Digitimes seemingly confirms a previous report that the next generation iPhone has already started production in China. 
Pegatron has begun production of a new version of the Apple iPhone at its factory in Shanghai, eastern China, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
The newspaper cites "industry sources" for the knowledge.
Earlier this month, Japanese blog Macotakara first reported that the next generation iPhone had already gone into production. These reports do somewhat conflict with a BGR report that the next generation iPhone is still in an engineering verification test. BGR believes that the new iPhone will carry 1GB of RAM as well as both LTE and NFC support. Regardless, it seems there are ongoing signs that the next iPhone is approaching.
The next generation iPhone will likely launch in the September or October -- approximately one year after the launch of the iPhone 4S.
[Source: MacRumors]