China Watch Blog

China Watch Blog has learnt that China’s mobile Internet market added 21 percent in the first quarter from the same period last year to 30.6 billion yuan (US$4.9 billion), an industry report said.

The number of mobile Internet users increased 5.1 percent from that of a year ago to 450 million due to the rising popularity of smart phones and tablet computers, research house Analysys International was quoted as saying in a report in a Shanghai Daily report.

Mobile shopping has boomed this year with a transaction volume of 10.8 billion yuan in the first three months, more than the total of 10.5 billion yuan for all of 2011 as online vendors rushed to appeal to smart phone users.

China Watch Blog has learnt that simplicITy computers will launch on April 24 in the UK the HOMEKEY – a memory stick which transforms PC’s for less than £70, making them so easy to use that the system can justifiably claim to be revolutionary.

Homekey

Sorry, I cannot confirm whether it is true or not as I have received the HOMEKEY for testing. However, simplicITy claims that it is aimed at the 8.5 million people in the UK who have never used a computer or have given up trying. They find conventional software too complicated and computers too expensive. The HOMEKEY overcomes both of these obstacles.

Memory sticks are conventionally used to store data. simplicITy computers has done something very different with them. They have loaded a USB key with their own easy to use software, the simplicity ENVELOPE, and built in video tutorials presented by Valerie Singleton.

What makes the development of the HOMEKEY so unusual is that it has been designed specifically to be used in just about any existing PC. It can provide a way to reuse many of the millions of computers that end up on the scrap heap each year. The HOMEKEY makes it possible to give these machines a second life, saving on the cost of computing and reducing the cost of waste.

Retailing at £69.95 the simple to use software combined with recycled machines can cut the price of a computer massively making it possible to get the majority of that 8.5 million on to a computer. This is hugely important if the Government’s ambition to get everyone online is to be achieved.

Now children and grandchildren can pass on their used computers to loved ones knowing that with a HOMEKEY they will be able to master the computer quickly. It will also benefit anyone living in residential care, social, sheltered or supported housing, enhancing their independence and reducing their isolation. Even children having difficulty with computers can use the HOMEKEY.

As Valerie Singleton, celebrated broadcaster and a founding director of simplicITy says: “ It’s a major disadvantage not being able to use a computer or the internet, but with the HOMEKEY, a complete beginner – or someone who has given up because normal PC’s are too complicated – could be sending an email or exploring the web in less than an hour.”

China Watch Blog has learnt that the Australian competition regulator will take Apple to court for allegedly making misleading statements about the wireless internet capability of the third generation iPad.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accused Apple of breaking the consumer law by promoting the new iPad as being able to connect to high-speed 4G mobile networks using a sim card.

The ACCC says the new iPad does not work on any Australian 4G network.
It is seeking an urgent court order to force Apple to correct its advertising and make refunds to customers.

The ACCC will make the application in the Federal Court in Melbourne this morning.

California-based Apple announced last week that it sold three million of the latest tablet computers in its first weekend on the market – the strongest iPad launch yet.

The latest case is not the first time Apple’s technology has landed in Australia’s courts.

The firm is locked in a legal battle with rival Samsung over tablet patents, part of a wider global tussle over supremacy of the $100 billion market.

China Watch Blog has learnt that China has lowered the import tariff on computers and video camcorders from 20 percent to 10 percent from Thursday, according to a circular on the website of the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

This ended months of debate over the fixed 1,000 yuan tariff on an iPad computer imposed by China’s customs authorities.

Under the new rule, the tariff paid on an iPad will range from 300 to 500 yuan.