Earlier this week, Chinese manufacturer Dakele unveiled its second generation flagship smartphone – Dakele 2. In English, “Da-ke-le” is a transliteration of “Big Cola,” which of course has nothing to do with Coca-cola. The translation can also means “Big Happiness.” For those who failed to pronounce the word Dakele, you can simply call it as Big Cola Phone 2 or Big Cola 2. Last year, the Beijing company released the cheapest 5-inch smartphone on the market with a uncommon screen size of 3:2 ratio at 960 x 640 pixel resolution. The highlights focused on switchable custom Android ROMs and the super low price at 999 yuan (USD$160). About 300,000 units were sold and it received some market attention, but the overall sales was not that strong compare to Xiaomi phone or the Meizu MX. And due to the rebranding of knock-off manufacturers, there are also several similar 5-inch smartphones on the market with advance specification at a good price to compete with Dakele. After 6 months, the company has geared up again and introduced their second-gen model with quad-core chip, HD screen and new custom ROM, to face a new challenge on the new segment of giant-size phone …
Baidu, the Chinese search giant, has set up a research lab dedicated to “deep learning” — an emerging computer science field that seeks to mimic the human brain with hardware and software — in Silicon Valley, not far from Apple headquarters, in addition to a facility back in China. Much like Google and Apple and others, the company is exploring computer systems that can learn in much the same way people do. Apple uses deep learning techniques in the iPhone’s Siri voice recognition system. And Google has worked similar concepts into its own voice recognition system as well as Google Street View. Baidu just released its first voice search service last year based on deep learning, and it claims the tool has reduced errors by about 30 percent. Baidu first opened its Cupertino office about a year ago, bringing in various other employees before its big move into deep learning. The new research lab could be a way for Baidu to attract top talents. The company just hired its first researcher in Cupertino, with plans to bring in several more by the end of the year. Baidu truly understand, if you want to compete with Google, you need to set up shop in Google’s backyard.
Mao Zedong, the founding father of the communist China, once said that the Chinese and North Koreans were as close as “lips and teeth.” The close relationship are seemed to be getting over now. On Chinese social media, China’s netizens express a rather different view on North Korea. Most Chinese people are ditching Kim Jong Un and its country, in stark contrast to the government’s official line with regard to its longtime ally. Chinese scholars and analysts also increasingly express open frustration with the young leader’s behavior. China and North Korea have historically enjoyed close diplomatic relations. During the Korean War, China assisted North Korea, sending as many as 3 million soldiers to support North Korean forces fighting the South Korean. China also provides about half of all North Korean imports, which include mineral fuels and oil, machinery, electronic, vehicles and raw materials. However, in recent years there has been growing concern in China over issues on North Korea’s nuclear weapons. It remains to be seen whether Beijing intends to continue the reluctant of cracking down on its unruly ally.
The piglet, which has two heads, two ears and a shared eye, was born in a Chinese village of Jiujiang in Jiangxi province, southeast China. The little piggy was supposed to be sent for slaughter, but the owners said they wanted to care for it instead. A local vet said the rare deformity meant the animal would find it difficult to survive. The piglet’s condition is known as polycephaly. It is the result of when an embryo begins to split into twins but the process then stops in its early stages. The mutation, occurs across animals, including humans …
A phone accessories shop in Hong Kong has given customer some demo on what is called the strongest screen protector on earth. Hitting real hard on an iPad mini with a hammer and not cracking the screen made us want to discover more information on this super protective screen protector. It seems that the shock proof film is came from a Korean brand known as “ARK”. The used materiel is called polyethylene terephthalate which provides ultra shock absorption. The protective is so god damn strong that it even can survive through iron beads dropping test (one more video after the break). In the mean time, the film only supports the screen size of iPhone 5, new iPad, iPad mini, Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, price ranging from HKD$148-$198 (USD$19-25.50). If you use this film on your smartphone or tablet, you properly won’t have to worry about any reasonable bump or drop.
According to a news report from Hong Kong’s press, North Korea is interested to purchase domestic submarines that is manufactured by some enthusiast from China. Last year, we had covered a story on a Chinese laid-off man who build his own DIY submarines for sale. The 38-year-old man, named Zhang Wuyi, opened a factory to build small submarines in Wuhan, central China. He has not much engineering background but designs the submarines from his ‘imagination’. The diving transport has everything needed for simple underwater work, such as grabbing and lifting, emergency oxygen reserves as well as an underwater video camera for monitoring, it cost only about US$31,000. The news has widely circulated and many buyers approached Mr. Zhang, willing to order his domestic submarines. One of the buyer claimed to be a representative of North Korea, consulted about the purchase. Zhang did not obtain a production license from the authorities, as a result no trade was made …
There are so much news from China that passes by that we couldn’t possibly cover it all. Here are the Chinese tech news that have left behind because we’re just too busy or too lazy to post. There are stories on HTC’s facebook phone, Apple banned Chinese e-book app, the sales number of Xiaomi phone and so on, check them out after the break. Video for this week: the Chinese really love to watch Jon Stewart making fun on North Korea. Hope everyone have a fresh start to your week and enjoy using you favourite gadget.
Chinese sportswear brand Qiaodan Sports, which was sued by Michael Jordan last year for unauthorized use of his name, has filed a countersuit against the basketball legend, demanding that he apologize for damaging the company’s reputation. The Fujian-based company has also requested US$8 million in compensation. A Shanghai court accepted Jordan’s lawsuit last year, though there has yet to be a hearing as the parties have sought to resolve the dispute out of court. In December last year, Qiaodan Sports hinted at a countersuit after expressing frustration over the lack of progress in negotiations, accusing Jordan of trying to drag the case on indefinitely to damage the company’s business and impeded its IPO. Qiaodan Sports pointed out that under China’s civil law, only foreign nationals living in the country can enjoy the protection of naming rights, meaning Jordan, who has never lived in China, does not have the right to sue …
[UPDATE] An incredible pickpocket in central China’s Henan province has been caught on camera stealing a phone using a pair of chopsticks. He was lifting the phone from a woman’s pocket as she cycled along a busy road. Photographs show him running after the unsuspecting cyclist. The thief was later seen examining his gains before selling the phone, which is a Xiaomi Phone 1s, in a nearby second hand shop for 60 yuan (US$9.6). A passer-by caught him in the act and photographed the whole incident and posted the pictures on Chinese social media. Pressured by the circulating news reports after the picture was widely circulated, the thief turned himself into police. You can watch the gif animation on the stealing act after the jump.
Apple authorized service providers in China have not implemented the company’s revised after-sales policies, and some have publicly opposed them. Apple promised that all repairs to faulty devices will be carried out using new parts and repaired devices will offer a new 1-year warranty from the service date. The new policies have met a mixed reception from those who have to carry out the work, however, one major reason being that there is a serious over-demand for phone repairs. Apple currently has only eight directly run maintenance points located in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen. Due to the limit of Apple Stores in the country, it has further authorized more than 500 maintenance points in over 270 China cities. According to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, China is expected to sell as many as 40 million iPhone in 2013 alone, which means one maintenance point in China is serving nearly 80,000 users. Among the expected 40 million new iPhone users, it still doesn’t include the large number of devices from grey market …
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