The Chinese tech site DoNews claims to have heard from an Apple engineer who’s working on the Chinese-language version of Siri, the clever voice assistant on the iPhone 4S. From this source it claims that Siri will launch in Chinese next month, and is already undergoing internal testing this month. In addition to understanding and speaking Chinese, Siri will soon also be able to give local information and navigation - something that’s currently limited only to the US. At present, the Siri assistant speaks English, French, and German. So if you're ...
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![Apple’s Siri Can’t Understand Chinese [VIDEO]](http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Siri-Chinese-250x250.jpg)
Feb 8 2012
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Singapore’s Buffet Mania Ranked 2nd in App Store After 10 Days
I love food. I especially love Japanese buffets. So when I came across the Ravesquare team exhibiting at our StartUp Asia Singapore event last week, I had to find out more about their first product, Buffet Mania. Buffet Mania, as the name suggests, aggregates all the buffets you can find in Singapore and lists them according to the type of cuisine — international, seafood, Japanese, etc. When you select a particular restaurant, it will then list all the relevant information such as the description, opening hours, pricing, and the current promotions ...
Feb 7 2012
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Beijing School Begins Using iPads in the Classroom
Using tablets (especially iPads) in the classroom has been a dream for educators the world over for some time now, and increasingly, it is becoming a reality. Although it's extremely uncommon in China, one school -- Beijing's Shi Jia Primary School -- has started using Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPads for teaching. At present, the tablets are used in only one class: Morality and Society. Students use school-provided iPads to do things like create presentations and interact with each other in groups. They're not allowed to download or play games on the ...
Feb 7 2012
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Qihoo Says Apple is Re-approving Its iOS Apps, Drama Over
Yesterday we noticed that all Qihoo 360 (NYSE:QIHU) apps for iPhone and iPad had been removed from Apple’s iTunes App Store, which caused a great deal of speculation online about what was going on. But this morning, a Qihoo representative tells PO that it was something of a mix-up, and that all the apps - such as its 360 Browser for iPad, and 360 Mobile Defender (pictured above) - will be back in Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) store in due course. Speaking via email, a Qihoo rep in its Beijing HQ tells us: ...
Feb 7 2012
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Apple Bans Qihoo Apps From iTunes App Store
. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has apparently banned all iOS apps by the major Chinese web company Qihoo 360 (NYSE:QIHU) in a major embarrassment to the anti-virus and social media company. It is not known what has caused this severe penalty - or if it's a mistake - but Qihoo apps such as its 360 Mobile Defender, and its 360 Browser for iPad, have vanished from all nations’ iTunes App Stores (pictured below). The 360 Mobile Defender website gives the link to its app in iTunes - here - but it is now ...
Feb 2 2012
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Is Apple Going to Sell 40 Million iPhones in China This Year?
Is the iPhone about to explode in China? Morgan Stanley thinks so. The firm released a report yesterday that has since attracted a lot of attention, and more than a little suspicion, from the Chinese tech media. Basically, the Morgan Stanley analyst believes Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) can vastly up its iPhone sales in China, reaching 40 million by 2013, if it can get access to China Mobile's (NSYE:CHL, HKG:0941) subscribers, which has vastly more high-end subscribers than any of the other telecom operators in China. (The iPhone is currently only available ...
Jan 27 2012
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Apple’s Siri Can’t Understand Chinese [VIDEO]
Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) voice recognition feature Siri, which appears on the iPhone 4S, can’t understand or speak Chinese. Perhaps it’s learning. But for now, despite most users probably knowing of this limitation before purchasing, it’s a frustrating omission. That’s probably why two young Chinese nerds made the amusing video, below, about the language barrier that stands between them and their digital assistant. Even without subtitles, you can sense the comedically exaggerated frustration at not being understood by your pricey smartphone. My favourite part is when the guy in the car resorts to a ...
Jan 27 2012
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Japan’s NEC Cutting 10,000 Jobs – Is Apple’s iPhone to Blame?
Some startling news coming from electronics maker NEC in Japan, who reportedly said yesterday that it will be cutting 10,000 jobs from its workforce, with most of those coming from its mobile unit. A report from Reuters cites competition from foreign players in the smartphone space, including Apple’s iPhone, negatively impacting NEC’s business in Japan. The report went on to say that NEC has cut its annual projected sales by almost a quarter to five million phones, and that the company would post a net loss of 100 billion yen (or ...
Jan 25 2012
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Apple Shows Big Revenue Growth in US and Japan, Stays Focused on China
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has announced its financial report for the first fiscal quarter of 2012, reporting revenue of $46.33 billion (PDF) which is a whopping 73 percent increase on the $26.7 billion from the same period last year. The company’s CEO Tim Cook noted that the US and Japan were particularly strong in the quarter, as you can see from the revenue chart below. Cook noted that the company was pleased with new carrier KDDI (TYO:9433) in Japan, and said that in China, China Unicom is still a ‘key partner’ — although ...
Jan 18 2012
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The Makers of China’s Super-Expensive Communist ‘RedPad’ Tablet Respond!
Yesterday, we told you about the RedPad, an Android tablet aimed at China's government officials and priced at an incredible 9,999 RMB ($1,580). Yesterday, the Southern Metropolis Daily spoke to an official RedPad rep and got the full scoop on the device, and also heard the company's official response to many of the cynical questions raised by Chinese net users after the device went viral yesterday. The biggest question, of course, is why the device costs so much. After all, the thing is running Android and boasts modest tech specs; why ...
Jan 16 2012
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With iPhone 4S Totally Out of Stock in China, Gray Market Price Jumps
It's hard to imagine how Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) launch of the iPhone 4S could have gone any worse here in China. First, riots at a Beijing Apple store forced Apple to suspend 4S sales there early in the morning on Friday, the device's first official day of availability in the country. Bitter scalpers then defaced the walls of that store with eggs, leading Apple to suspend sales of the 4S in Apple stores nationwide. Of course, the device had been available from Apple's online store, but no longer. Currently, the Apple China ...
Jan 13 2012
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Scalper Fights Cause One Beijing Apple Store to Cancel iPhone 4S Launch
Today, Apple's iPhone 4S is finally on sale in China. It's been a long time coming, and fans of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) device are clearly excited, as gigantic lines had already formed last night. Sadly, all the fans scalpers who waited outside Beijing's Sanlitun Apple Store waited in vain, as the store has decided not to sell the 4S, at least for today. The decision was reached after last night scalpers in the huge line outside the store got into fights with each other. Likely, it reminded the store's managers of ...
![Japan’s Social Giants: Trends in User Numbers [CHART]](http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_5437-80x80.jpg)
Japan’s Social Giants: Trends in User Numbers [CHART]
Feb 8, 2012
Cazbak Partners With Giant E-commerce Sites, Gives Savings to Consumers in India
Feb 8, 2012
Perx’s ‘Chop Mob’ Helps Coffee Bean Increase 50% in Transaction
Feb 8, 2012
CyberAgent Ventures Invests in Vietnamese Music Service
Feb 7, 2012
DropMySite.com Backups Your Website, Email, and Database in the Cloud
Feb 8, 2012