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Updated: China Mobile wants iPhone and iPad

Mar 17th, 2010 by

China Mobile CEO - Wang Jianzhou

Update March 17, 2010: China Mobile CEO, Wang Jianzhou, is talking “Apple” again. During a recent press conference, Wang Jianzhou revealed that he is interested in the iPad and has told Apple that China Mobile would also like to see a special version of iPhone with a chipset that supports time division synchronous code division multiple access (TDSCDMA), the 3G standard awarded to (licensed by) China Mobile.

Since early February Apple’s China website has been taking indications of interest (notify me) for the “soon to launch” iPad. Read more background > here. However, there has been no mention of any 3G carrier data plans for iPad in China. An iPad carrier plan via China Unicom is a no brainer. China Unicom runs WCDMA 3G and this global standard is already supported by the current 3G versions of iPhone and iPad. An iPad or iPhone deal with China Mobile would be more complex as it would require a special production run to support the TDSCDMA standard.

There are multiple hurdles to overcome before Apple opts to include TDSCDMA 3G support in a special version of either the iPhone or iPad. For readers interested in exploring the complexities of the Apple and China Mobile relationship, I would point you to a recent interview with yours truly posted on Neonpunch and CNN Asia. Read more > here

Once again … China Mobile says it’s in talks with Apple to offer iPhone

March 4, 2010: With apologies to long time iPhonAsia readers … but once again (for the umpteenth time) China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou revealed (WSJ March 4, 2010) that China Mobile is in “talks” with Apple to offer iPhone.

Apple’s deal with China Unicom is non-exclusive and it’s possible that one day China Mobile and Apple will indeed come to terms on an iPhone deal. Summer of 2010 would be good timing.

If Apple and China Mobile reach an agreement, it is more likely that the deal will be to offer consumers a low-priced EDGE 2G iPhone. Why 2G? EDGE is a very reliable network used by 500+ million China Mobile consumers. Despite substantial state backing, the newly launched TDSCDMA (China Mobile’s 3G network) has not motivated enough mobile consumers to upgrade to 3G (requiring the purchase of a TDSCDMA capable handset) and the China developed 3G standard may not be long for this world. TD-LTE 4G will likely supplant TDSCDMA by 2012. In my opinion, Apple would only reluctantly add TDSCDMA support in a special “for China Mobile” iPhone. If Apple does agree to add a chipset that supports TDSCDMA, then you can be sure that the deal involves a massive pre-purchase commitment by China Mobile … good for Apple (AAPL).

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Posted in China, China Mobile, iPhone in China | 1 Comment »

Updated: Apple’s iShades one step closer to reality

Mar 16th, 2010 by

Richard W. DeVaul Ph.D.

Update – March 16, 2010: Apple has hired Richard DeVaul Ph.D., a veteran of the wearable computing field and computer animation. While at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. DeVaul wrote his dissertation on “The Memory Glasses,” a real-time memory support system (smart glasses).

I spent the last five years of graduate school working on new human-computer interaction techniques for wearable, mobile, and portable applications.

Vindication? Just a bit

April 20, 2008: I have to chuckle after seeing Apple’s recent patent filing for a laser-based head mounted display tethered to iPhone or other Apple hardware.  Back in late 2006 I posted on AppleInsider Forums about the notion of Apple offering just such a product.  I called it “iShades.”  This was my first and only post on AppleInsider Forum and I was ridiculed mercilessly.  I actually had to laugh too.  Some of the veterans on that board had good fun at my expense … and they were quite creative with their humorous digs. One posted a photo of a new graduate blowing bubbles with massive, oversized glasses.  “iShades found!” was his caption.  Thus inspired, more “piled on” with good humor.  Finally one veteran poster chimed in … some words to the effect “Okay, now that we’ve had our fun with the newbie, let’s address the idea he presented.” He added more about early iterations of augmented reality eyeware in the market that failed to live up to promise … yet he liked the idea and was the first to support my post and the merit of Apple eventually producing such a product.  The product manager for Microvision’s augmented reality eyeware, Ben Averch, joined the thread discussion and (no surprise) supported the notion that augmented reality eyeware would soon have a big impact in the marketplace.  The thread eventually died and sadly it is nowhere to be found on the Forum.  Perhaps it is archived somewhere in Indiana Jones’ forgotten artifacts warehouse?  I added a similar post (12.20.2006) on Everything iPhone now icafe.  No lively retorts or banter there, but at least the thread still exists … see below

Image of > Wearable Displays: Mobile Device Eyewear via Microvision

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12-20-2006, 06:14 AM # (permalink)
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Question A New Jaw-Dropping Apple Product – iShades?
After reading various articles and looking at ink blots (seeing what I want to see), here is my latest SWAP (Super wild-ass prognostication)

The future (2008/9) for Apple may be via an “augmented reality” (AR) eye-phone. Let’s call them iShades.

Apple Insider hints at a “jaw-dropping device not due to hit the market until the following year.”
AppleInsider | Mac OS X key to Apple’s consumer electronics strategy

Is this new product an AR iShades (eyewear)?  No it will be very much more than Motorola’s Thumper (MP3/Sunglasses). With iShades you don’t just hear music, you also see many things* through the glass frames and you can chat with your OS (voice recognition built-in) or with friends via the incorporated iShades phone.

*To learn more about the “things” you might see in your field of vision, read Microvision (MVIS) Blog

The eyewear product manager for Mircovision has even hinted that an Apple logo might at some point appear on “augmented reality” (AR) eyewear. He didn’t mention his own company, but it’s not a stretch to conceive of such a collaboration. And oh by the way, Microvision has just announced (Thurs., Dec 14th) a joint development agreement with a manufacturing partner. What are they cooking up? “Ultra-miniature laser projectors for mobile phones, personal media players, laptops and DVD players. Additional applications include lightweight color eyewear.”

Hmmm? Interesting! Hope it’s Apple. But darned if Microvision isn’t HQed in Redmond, WA. Too cold and rainy up there. And the Vistas aren’t very good there either.

[url=http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061214/20061214005202.html?.v=1]

~ Dan B.

Last edited by idannyb : 12-20-2006 at 06:22 AM.

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Posted in iPhone, Uncategorized, Video | 1 Comment »

Updated: China to Google: Here’s our compromise – “disobey and you will pay”

Mar 13th, 2010 by

Update – March 13, 2010: The other shoe has dropped … The Financial Times is reporting that Google will indeed terminate their search business in China as talks with authorities have reached an “impasse;”

Google has drawn up detailed plans for the closure of its Chinese search engine and is now “99.9 per cent” certain to go ahead as talks over censorship with the Chinese authorities have reached an apparent impasse, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking.

Netizens pay their respects to Google China - Jan 13, 2010

In a hardening of positions on both sides, the Chinese government also on Friday threw down a direct public challenge to the US search company, with a warning that it was not prepared to compromise on internet censorship to stop Google leaving.

The signs that Google was on the brink of closing Google.cn, its local search service in China, came two months after it promised to stop bowing to censorship there. But while a decision could be made very soon, the company is likely to take some time to follow through with the plan as it seeks an orderly closure and takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by the authorities, the person familiar with its position said.

Eric Schmidt and Kai-Fu Lee in happier times for Google in China

March 12, 2010: In the wake of the recent Google/China cyber-hacking scandal, there had been some speculation that a compromise with Chinese authorities might allow Google to continue its “search” business in China. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was quoted in the WSJ earlier this week: ”We are in active negotiations with the Chinese government.” Schmidt added “something will happen soon.”

Li Yizhong, Vice Minister MIIT, surrounded by journalists in Beijing - March 12, 2010 - China Daily

Well “something” did happen, but it may not have been what Google expected. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced today (March 12, 2010) that there will be no change in China’s Internet censorship policies and Google must comply with State “filtering” mandates (i.e. removing links to banned sites). According to MIIT Vice Minister Li Yizhong;

If you want to do something that disobeys Chinese law and regulations, you are unfriendly, you are irresponsible and you will have to pay the consequences.” Li Yizhong added “If there is information that harms stability or the people, of course we will have to block it.”

The next move is up to Google. Will Google shutter their China offices and abandon the “search” business in China to rival Baidu.com? The last statement (March 11, 2010) from a Google China spokesperson suggested that there were no plans to cease operations in China; “we are still at normal.”

Google’s Android business to hold down the fort in China

Despite the line being drawn in the sand on “search” (no change to China’s rules for Google) China’s mobile carriers do not want to abandon their use of customized Android mobile operating systems (e.g. OMS for China Mobile) and nor is there any plan to give up on Android handsets (e.g. OPhones). Yet Google’s expression of outrage over the cyber attacks and their direct affront (so perceived by China), cannot help their future position in mobile in China.

Apple’s suit against HTC will also have repercussions on Android’s future in China and globally. While Apple’s patent litigation did not name Google, many of the named infringements clearly targeted Android. This legal action will take a many months, if not years to resolve, but it’s something to watch with interest.

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Posted in Android, China, Google | No Comments »

iPhone in China Today and Tomorrow

Mar 12th, 2010 by

iPhonAsia.com interview with Hong Kong’s NeonPunch.com

The editors of NeonPunch.com, a gadget site in Hong Kong, posed several questions for the editor of iPhonAsia (yours truly). My responses are in a two-part interview:

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Posted in Apple, China, China Mobile, China Unicom, Hong Kong, iPad, iPhone, iPhone Hong Kong, iPhone in China | No Comments »

Cisco unveils lightning-bolt-fast router

Mar 9th, 2010 by

Chambers: “The Internet will scale faster than any of us anticipate”

Usain "lightning" Bolt sets world record

How does that sports adage go? “Hey, it’s not bragging if you can back it up!” Cisco Systems today unveiled its new “lightning-bolt” fast CRS-3 Internet core router, with three (3Xs) times the capacity of its current platform. This new paradigm changing router will be commercially available in the third quarter of the year. See press release > CRS-3

According to Cisco CEO John Chambers “The Internet will scale faster than any of us anticipate.” At full scale, the CRS-3 has a capacity of 322T bits per second. That’s roughly three times that of Ciscos’s CRS-1 (introduced in 2004). According to Cisco’s Chambers, the new CRS-3 router has “12 times (12Xs) the capacity of its nearest competitor.”

How does this relate to Apple and iPhone/iPad?  Simple … products like Cisco’s CRS-3 will help unclog crowded networks and enable the Internet to deliver a smooth entertainment and media experience, with video the emerging as the “killer app.” Many devices stand to gain from a fast/rich mobile experience, but perhaps none more than Apple’s offerings and platform.

According to Cisco, using CRS-3 technology;

… every person in China, which has a population just over 1.3 billion, could participate in a video phone call at the same time. It could transmit the whole printed contents of the U.S. Library of Congress in one second and every movie ever made in four minutes … This is the heart and brains of the next-generation Internet.”

Cisco has already been field testing their new ultra high speed router. Also on today’s webcast, AT&T announced it has been using the CRS-3 to test 100G bps data links in tests on a commercial fiber route in Florida and Louisiana.

CRS-3 Network Routing System

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Posted in Technology | No Comments »

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