China now has 564 million Internet users
China's Internet population reached 564 million at the end of December, an increase of 26 million over the past six months, according to a non-profit research group in the country.
China's Internet population reached 564 million at the end of December, an increase of 26 million over the past six months, according to a non-profit research group in the country.
"Communist Party", "Coup d'etat" and "Democracy and Freedom" are just some of the long list of search terms blocked on the Twitter-like microblogging site Sina Weibo in China. But a new service, FreeWeibo, is trying to pull back the government's control over Internet content by providing unfiltered searches on the microblogging site.
Access to Google services in China appeared to return Saturday morning after they were blocked briefly as the country prepares to appoint new leadership.
A workers' rights group has slammed what it called the "iPad mini manufacturer" for maintaining poor working conditions at a factory in China.
A year-long investigation by a US congressional committee has reportedly concluded that Chinese telecommunication equipment vendors Huawei Technologies and ZTE pose a security threat to the nation, and the committee is advising U.S. firms to buy networking gear from other vendors. But analysts say the committee's investigation is motivated more by politics, while doing little to safeguard U.S. telecommunication networks.
PC maker Acer has allegedly canceled the launch of a new smartphone using a Chinese-developed mobile operating system because Google threatened to cancel the company's license to use the Android OS.
Acer was originally scheduled to hold a news conference on Thursday to launch its Acer A800 smartphone for China. Making the handset different from other rival smartphones is that the device uses the Aliyun OS, which was developed by a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
Acer, however, abruptly canceled its Thursday event, with a company marketing director declining to elaborate on why. But soon after, Alibaba addressed the cancellation, stating it was because Google threatened to cancel Acer's license to use Android on its other handsets if the company went ahead with A800 smartphone launch, according to a company Internet posting.
In the posting, an Alibaba spokesman states that Google's action is "clearly unfair to consumers and we are concerned about the impact on customer access to competitive products."
Google declined to comment on the "accusations" brought by Alibaba, a company spokesman said in an email.
An Alibaba spokeswoman also declined to offer further comment.
Acer marketing director Muriel Kuan said staff is communicating with company headquarters on the matter, but Acer had no comment. Kuan would only say the event was cancelled for a "special reason," without elaborating.
Acer's A800 smartphone is to be sold through a retail shopping site under Alibaba Group. But sales for the handset have yet to start, according to the phone's product page.
Acer's use of the Aliyun OS would have given Alibaba a better-known vendor to back its mobile operating system. Previously, the Aliyun OS was only installed on phones from Chinese local handset vendors Tianyu and Haier.
The Aliyun OS can run both Android apps, and so-called "cloud apps", which are Web-based and stored on remote company servers that can also leverage services from Alibaba's own e-commerce business.
China's Huawei Technologies, best known as a telecommunication equipment supplier, is making a greater push into the server market as the company faces the challenge of boosting its brand awareness among enterprise customers.
Apple has threatened to take legal action against a little-known Chinese firm for inflaming an ongoing dispute over the iPad trademark, alleging that the company's founder and its lawyers have made misleading statements that could damage the U.S. tech giant's business in China.
Lenovo's profit in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 grew 54 percent year-over-year, as the company saw growth in many key markets.
After facing a disappointing financial fourth quarter, HTC has reviewed its under-performing products from last year, making changes in design and components for its future smartphones, according to its CFO Winston Yung.
Beijing city authorities are requiring users of China's Twitter-like microblogging services to register with their real name identities, a move that could scare off the websites' users, according to one analyst.
A Chinese court has rejected Apple's lawsuits to gain control of the iPad trademark in China, while a little-known Chinese firm raises the stakes and seeks to ban the iconic tablet from being sold in the country under the iPad brand.
Microsoft will start allowing developers to preview Windows 8 Embedded in the first quarter of next year, with plans to eventually release its embedded computing products in the quarters following the Windows 8 desktop version launch.
A cloud development zone being constructed in the Chinese city of Chongqing has drawn scrutiny for an alleged plan to offer uncensored internet access, but only for foreign businesses.
A third employee had died from injuries caused by an explosion at a factory of Foxconn in Chengdu, China, the company said on Sunday. Initial findings show the blast was caused by "combustible dust in a duct."