Watch: TCL Product Placement in Upcoming ‘Iron Man 3′

Randy Cheung, Apr 9, 2013 12:39 PM, 424 views, Got something to say ?,

TCL, the Chinese electronics and home appliance company, has a product placement deal to appear in Iron Man 3 movie. Everything from Tony Stark’s motion panel device to his huge 4K Smart TV will be came from the Chinese company. Alcatel, a smartphone brand from TCL, has announced that the One Touch Idol will be also “featured” in the film. The company is one of several Chinese companies (along with Huawei and ZTE) hoping to find space in an already crowded U.S. smartphone market. Alcatel is trying to find a niche as a mass-market brand that can offer perhaps not the latest and greatest, but a lot of technology at a good price. That’s something that can even appeal to superheros. TCL has released some EXCLUSIVE footage regarding its product placement, so far we can see, Tony Stark is not using the Alcatel’s gear, an anonymous jounalist and his buddy James Rhodes (War Machine) are dealing with.

Silicon Valley Just Couldn’t Live Without Chinese Tech

Star Chang, Apr 8, 2013 8:03 PM, 400 views, 1 Comment »,

US congress recently signed into law to restrict government purchase of computer equipment and other IT gear manufactured in China. Silicon Valley is now taking issue with the restrictions. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and ten technology trade groups representing some of the large U.S. tech companies, including HP and Intel, fired off a letter to congressional leaders voicing their concern. Tech companies don’t want the language to be included in future spending bills or be expanded to cover other federal agencies. They’re worried an FBI review of tech products would hurt sales to government agencies. U.S. tech companies also worry the spending bill’s language could also cover their subcontractors in China and routine purchases of laptops or other technology. Retaliation is another potential worry, the trade groups warn that China could easily demand similar reviews for items imported from the United States. The tech firms are hoping that lawmakers will “review the security implications and competitive impact” of the provision as it currently stands, and ideally come up with a less clumsy solution. Practically, Silicon Valley’s interest is profit and stay competitive on price, many foreign tech companies just couldn’t give-up the world factory.

Lenovo Announces 30-inch AdobeRGB Display For Professional Photo Editing

Star Chang, Apr 6, 2013 12:28 PM, 255 views, 2 Comments »,

Lenovo hasn’t been known for the quality of the display panels they put in their product lines. Ever since the Chinese PC maker took over IBM’s computer business, those ThinkPad laptop haven’t been a favourite to serious professional photographers, due to poor contrast and brightness and low color fidelity. It’s certainly surprise to hear Lenovo announced a professional 30-inch LCD display which will cover 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color gamut, which is a color space good for desktop publishing and digital printing. The new ThinkVision LT3053p display has so far only been made in Japan. The display sports a resolution of 2560 × 1600 pixels, promising crisp images and create a lot of area for photo and video editing. The monitor will start shipping from April 11, 2013 at a retail price of $1599 in the US. There is currently no information about the availability for other market region.

Canon Chooses Batman to Endorse IXUS Digital Camera in China (Video)

Randy Cheung, Apr 4, 2013 6:23 PM, 275 views, Got something to say ?,

Celebrities are making millions of dollars endorsing various gadgets. Whether or not these expensive ad campaigns actually work is hard to know, but what is certain is that most Chinese companies will continue to empty their wallets in order to get hot celebrities to promote their products. Canon is somehow breaking the rules in China. The Japanese camera maker has chosen Batman to endorse its IXUS digital camera in Chinese market. Everyone know smartphone is eating up the market of portable digital camera, so Canon has decided to change their marketing strategy, by getting a super hero from DC comics to promote their camera could create some ’shock’ to consumer. Canon believe their small camera is performing well in the night scene, which in line with the characteristics of Batman. You can check out the TV commercial after the break to see how Batman hide a 10X super zoom camera inside his utility belt …

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Spying Who ? China to Launch High-Res Earth-Observation Satellite

Randy Cheung, Apr 4, 2013 12:08 PM, 203 views, Got something to say ?,

China will launch the first satellite for its high-resolution system for Earth observation this month. According to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, examinations of the satellite “High Score 1″ and its carrier rocket have been completed and the satellite is now in the launch stage. The system will mainly provide services for the ministries of land, agriculture and environmental protection, and is expected to help predict natural disasters. It will also enhance China’s ability to obtain high-resolution imaging data and accelerate its development of satellite application technologies. China plans to launch five to six satellites before the end of 2015 in order to build a spatial, temporal and spectral high-resolution observation system. It is inevitable that the U.S. will be concerned about the China’s increasing activities in space, as a threats to its intelligence satellite system.

US Wants Sprint-SoftBank Deal to Avoid Using Huawei or ZTE Network Equipments

Star Chang, Mar 31, 2013 9:35 PM, 232 views, Got something to say ?,

According to WSJ, the U.S. government is seeking oversight of network-equipment purchases as a condition for approving Japan Softbank’s $20 billion acquisition of U.S. phone carrier Sprint Nextel, a move that appears to be aimed at keeping out Chinese suppliers Huawei and ZTE. Negotiations are continuing on the U.S.’s conditions for blessing the Sprint deal, but the government is expected to require the companies to notify it when they plan to buy equipment for the core of their network and to cooperate if any national-security or public-safety considerations arise. Because of concerns about violating trade rules, any constraints wouldn’t specifically exclude gear from Huawei, which Softbank has used in its home market of Japan …

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Sony-Olympus Deal Held Up by China Regulator

Star Chang, Mar 30, 2013 5:25 PM, 160 views, Got something to say ?,

A joint-venture deal between Sony and camera & medical equipment maker Olympus has been delayed because of Chinese regulatory approval. Olympus, which is recovering from a huge accounting scandal, said in a joint statement with Sony that the deal was held up over approvals from an unspecified authority. Both firms declined to elaborate on specifics of the delay. But sources confirmed to AFP that the hold up was linked to Chinese regulators. The issue comes at a time when Japan and China are embroiled in a tense territorial spat over at Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. Sony has investd US$532 million in Olympus as part of a drive to tap the lucrative medical equipment market. Both companies had initially planned the launch of a joint venture from April 1. The delay must be frustrating to SONY and Olympus. Last year, China also held up the Google-Motorola deal. The reasons behind were due to bureaucratic sluggishness than outright opposition to the deal, as google and Chinese government are not in a good terms of relationship. The territorial dispute between Japan and China has now created a serious impact on commercial activities.

Chinese IT Equipment Makers May Lose Business in the U.S.

Star Chang, Mar 30, 2013 2:45 PM, 470 views, 5 Comments »,

US Congress quietly tucked in a new cyber-espionage review process for government technology purchases into the funding law signed this week by President Obama, reflecting growing American concerns over Chinese cyber attacks. The law prevents NASA, and the Justice and Commerce Departments from buying IT equipment overseas unless federal law enforcement officials give their approval. The assessment must include “any risk associated with such system being produced, manufactured, or assembled by one or more entities that are owned, directed, or subsidized” by China. The provision underscores the increasing concerns the U.S. appears to have with China. The impact on Communist China could be great. According to congressional research, the U.S. imports a total of about $129 billion worth of “advanced technology products” from China …

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China Will be The Next Market for Microsoft’s Surface Pro Tablet

Randy Cheung, Mar 30, 2013 11:19 AM, 183 views, Got something to say ?,

Microsoft’s hybrid tablet the Surface Pro may hit the Chinese market on April 2. The software maker announced the news in a blog post on Chinese social media SINA Weibo, but has not yet revealed the exact pricing. Microsoft China has not confirmed any specifics about further launches for the Win8 tablet. The move follows a recent partnership with popular Chinese online seller Tmail to launch an additional online store in the region. The Surface Pro was launched in the United States and Canada in early February, but most of the customers couldn’t get their hands on devices due to lack of supply. The sales of Surface RT in China is really terrible from what we heard and Microsoft is hoping consumers in the largest market can help to boost up their sales. We just hope the launch of Surface Pro in China won’t be facing another supply shortages …

You Can Now Stick a QR Codes on Chinese Tombstones

Randy Cheung, Mar 30, 2013 3:17 AM, 384 views, 1 Comment »,

Chinese mourners now have a new way to remember their loved ones who have passed on by scanning QR codes that are displayed on tombstones. Through the use of QR codes that are displayed on a tombstone, Chinese smartphone users can scan and learn more about the individual’s past and what they did while they were alive. This high tech feature is now available on tombstones located at the Shengjiang cemetery in Shenyang, capital of north-east Liaoning province in China. According to the cemetery manager, there are already over 10 people who have signed up for the brand new service to have the barcodes added to the tombstones …

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