Remember those halcyon days last November when Sina Weibo passed more than 400 million users? Well, a mere three months later, and the microblogging site can now boast that it's got 503 million compulsive over-sharers. To put that figure into perspective, were "Chinese Twitter" to be its own country, it would be the third most populous nation on Earth. While it should be celebrating such figures, there's a few signs of trouble on the horizon, as local rival Tencent's WeChat hit 300 million users last month -- not to mention some disgruntled former users inviting people to switch to Twitter.
Filed under: Internet
Via: The Next Web
Source: Tech In Asia, (2)
Let's face it, China Mobile will carry Nokia's Lumia 920T, with the launch now believed to be in mid-November. Unfortunately, the network itself isn't being so straight forward, announcing the news on Sina Weibo shortly before yanking the post altogether. China Mobile's dithering aside, we're fairly sure the 920T will gain TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE modems, but is otherwise the same phone we've pawed at for the last few weeks.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
China Mobile announces Nokia Lumia 920T, changes its mind soon afterward originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 05:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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WP Central, Winhp (Translated) | 
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Who needs a marketing department when you have a personal Sina Weibo account? So reasoned ZTE's marketing strategy manager, Dennis Lui, as he posted the above photo of three ZTE Windows Phones to the internet. The right-hand device is just a regular ZTE Tania and, although it looks like it's running Windows Phone 8, the screen is actually a dead ringer for a certain "WP8 simulator" app available for WP7 phones. The remaining two devices are obscured by a generous helping of blur, but the handset on the left could well be running legit WP8, as evidenced by the shrunken live tiles, hinting that ZTE may be among the first wave of manufacturers diving into the new OS. To further whet our budget hardware appetites, Lui also posted a photo of a Windows 8 or Windows RT tablet (shown after the break), which suggests that ZTE is getting into that game too.
Continue reading ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
ZTE marketing guy goes crazy with unknown WP8 handset and Gaussian blur originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We've all seen those "OMG! Don't make us pay for Facebook" fake petitions, but App.net and The Social Network raise questions about how our social services raise their moolah. Tencent's Sophia Ong has revealed that it's in the unique position of having users happy to pay for services that we take for granted. While signups for QZone (Facebook equivalent) is free, users have to use QBs, the site's virtual currency, to buy and clothe their avatars. While 1 QB = 1 yuan ($0.16), there are 30 million paying customers on the site -- meaning that the company can count on around $50 million in monthly payments. It's not stopping there either, sensing a slowdown in the local economy, the company has an eye on opening up its eCommerce platform to ensure it can continue to rake in the cash.
Filed under: Internet
Tencent reveals how it gets users to pay for its service originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hey, did you hear... Apple is making a 7-inch iPad. Well, the top brass at least thought about it, this much we know. What might it look like if it ever comes to be? Well, if you're willing to be a bit skeptical, it might look like the above. These images -- claiming to be legit iPad parts -- popped up on Chinese social media site Sina Weibo. There's little other activity on the account to back up the source, and the omission of a camera hole might irk some, but if these were early parts, then that could be something that is added later. For now, we're left to fill in the gaps with out imagination, which also includes hoping other recent teases might also make the leap into reality.
Filed under: Tablet PCs
Alleged images of 7-inch iPad shell appear from the east originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkTechnoBuffalo | Mark (Sina Weibo) | Email this | Comments 
If the black, grey and red hues of existing Xperia P models really weren't cutting it, Sony has just previewed a new color option -- pink. The device made a brief appearance at Sony's Weibo event, matching the metallic finish of our review model, but throwing in a little extra feminine charm. No news on release regions or dates, but given the Asia-centric reveal, we suspect it's unlikely to be gearing up for a world tour.
[Thanks Kihoon]
Filed under: Cellphones
Sony Xperia P blushes in metallic pink originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Never mind Huawei's 6.68mm-thick Ascend P1 S or Oppo's 6.65mm-thick Finder, because the record's about to be beaten yet again by another Chinese manufacturer. Codenamed "Athena," this mysterious ZTE phone's been getting a fair bit of attention on Sina Weibo with its 6.2mm slimness claim, all thanks to a keen terminal device strategy director from the company. While Mr. Lu hasn't delved into specifics, what we know so far is that Athena will feature a 720p display, Cortex-A15 chip (a source of ours said it will be multi-core) and up to 64GB of internal storage, as well as a "Miflavor UI" -- something that we've already previewed on the Era at MWC -- to go on top of Android 4.0. Lu also hinted that there will be several color options, but we're more than happy to nab that black kevlar edition in the above shot (and someone should tell Motorola to take a look at this). Two more pictures after the break to keep you busy for the time being.
Continue reading ZTE teases 6.2mm-thick 'Athena,' crams in 720p IPS display and Cortex-A15 chip
ZTE teases 6.2mm-thick 'Athena,' crams in 720p IPS display and Cortex-A15 chip originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just when you'd warmed to the idea of three navigation buttons on HTC's One lineup, the company went back and re-added a fourth button to the row -- in mainland China, anyway. To follow the debut of its Desire (aka Dragon) lineup, HTC has introduced a One S variant that it designed in collaboration with Sina Weibo, the country's most popular alternative to Twitter. The phone sports a dedicated Sina microblog button, along with a set of bundled software from the popular weibo service, but otherwise remains true to its namesake. The handset will be available in both black and gunmetal blue enclosures, and will sell for 4,688 yuan, or approximately $740. Our associates at Engadget China recently snagged a hands-on with HTC's latest, and have provided a video tour for English audiences to enjoy. Take a peek after the break.
Continue reading HTC and Sina Weibo debut One S with dedicated microblog functions (video)
HTC and Sina Weibo debut One S with dedicated microblog functions (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Weibo services 'punished' for Beijing coup rumors, comments temporarily disabled originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkTech In Asia | Xinhua | Email this | Comments