Tired of foreign domination of its telecom market share China...

This gives you *grasp* how big China's telecom market is. The number of celphone users in China alone exceeds the population of the entire United States by approaching 2x.



"The number of China's phone users increased 69.092 million to 982.034 million. Of the total phone users, handset subscribers accounted for 65.3 percent.

In 2008, mobile phone users rapidly increased, when February growth hit a monthly record high of 9.458 million. The prevalence rate of mobile phones reached 48.5 sets per hundred people in 2008, up from 2007's 6.9."

More and more TD-SCDMA Android phones are coming to China, this seems to be challenging the old order of GSM-Symbion powered phones.

This is a big deal because China is the largest single handset market in the world. Its mostly dominated by Symbion, with a fraction going to Linux. RIM, Apple is barely starting on the market, and Windows not only failed to make inroads there but even lost some share recently. I can comment that Symbion is vulnerable to an Android invasion. Its also likely these phones would be exported under different names under ODM agreements. So RIM, Apple and Microsoft better watch out.





"Once there was just a single Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. Coming soon, in Australia, is the Kogan Agora. Now reports are pointing to an emerging gadget for China, known for the moment as the "OPhone."
Lenovo Android phone

The Lenovo-badged "OPhone"
(Credit: ModmyGphone)

The site ModmyGphone is showing off a photo of a sleek gadget that it says is a joint effort of Lenovo, the PC heavyweight, and China Mobile, the largest cell phone operator in China:

The latest bit is, the phone is looking good and ready for testing. OPhone is a codename for phones that will be based on China Mobile's OMS (Open Mobile System) which is essentially Android + TD SCDMA (China's home-grown 3G standard).

Another site, ITProPortal, says that the smartphone, with "iPhone-esque minimalist features," is expected to debut in February or March.

The phone is likely to be a strictly domestic product, the reports say. China Mobile's spin on the OS would give it the ability to commission customized phones and would give it leverage in profit-sharing discussions. The mobile operator reportedly had a falling out with Apple over whether China Mobile could make modifications to the iPhone.

China Mobile is a member of Google's Open Handset Alliance, which just gained 14 members, including Vodaphone."



"TechFaith Wireless Communication Technology is a Chinese company which is said to start making mobile devices which will run on Google’s Android OS. Production will start in early 2009. There aren’t that many details to play with yet but we know that TechFaith is usually working with Motorola, LG, Sprint, France Telecom, SK Telecom, CECT, Amoi and Bird. We should get more details in November. I am already starting to thing that TechFaith plus Motorola might equal Android soon!"


This one is already looking for a customer.



G2 mobile phone with Android Interface

Triband phone(GSM900/1800/1900MHz) or (GSM850/1800/1900MHz)
2.8 inch touch screen, 260k QVGA
Android
Youtube, MSN
Bluetooth A2DP
FM radio
Java 2.0
E-book reader
MP4, MP3
Support TF card extend to 16GB max
2.0 Mega pixel camera for Picture & Video capability
Language: English/Chinese
SIZE ( L*W*H ) 107.2*56*11.8mm
WiFi will be built in in 2 monthes



"We told you that E28 a Chinese company might make Android phones. They just happen to demonstrate one (the W2831) at MWC in Barcelona. PhoneMag shot the video below while they were playing with the phone."

The battle of WiMax vs. 4G LTE is starting as to who will network the world.

WiMax has scored some early successes, of all places in Russia and in Central Asia. And what's this, a $1600 HTC phone?



"It appears the WiMAX industry is facing the same problem that afflicts all new mobile technologies: a lack of devices, or at least compelling ones. That was the chief complaint of Sean Cai, deputy general manager of WiMAX with ZTE, during last month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Cai noted that the largest barrier to WiMAX adoption is the lack of end user devices supporting the technology.

That's not to say there isn't a plethora of USB modems, PC cards, subscriber modems and more recently WiMAX-enabled laptops. But where are the sexy game-changing mobile devices? You'll have to travel to Russia to get one of those. HTC in November released the world's first integrated WiMAX/GSM smartphone (an unlocked version costs about $1,600) based on the Windows Mobile operating system. Russian network operator Scartel sells the HTC Max 4G, which enables voice calls on any GSM networks and switches automatically to VoIP on Scartel's WiMAX network."

This is the special HTC 4G WiMax phone only sold in Russia.





"The company said AsiaBell launched a mobile WiMAX service in central Kazakhstan, based on the company’s Broadband Wireless Solution and including an Internet Protocol Multiprotocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) network core, which was integrated with the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

AsiaBell’s Aero service is targeting an area with a population of 1 million people, including business and residential customers.

Russian wireless ISP Scartel is also installing Cisco mobile WiMAX technology for its Yota brand service. Yota WiMAX will be available in parts of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Cisco is providing Scartel with optical transport based on dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM), a high-speed IP/MPLS data network and data centre technology designed to support high-quality video distribution.

In the country of Georgia, mobile operator MagtiCom launched mobile WiMAX based on Cisco’s Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN), integrating mobile voice and WiMAX services into a single, converged network. MagtiCom is currently offering broadband Internet via WiMAX in the capital, Tbilisi, as well as in nine major cities across the country."

Testing of WiMax in China has been undertaken by China Unicom in five cities and 21 provinces in 2007 while ZTE is building one in Africa. What is the Chinese government's policies on WiMax adoption?

@crobato



I have to say, I am really impressed by your extensive knowledge of the industry.:nana::coffee:

its an industry that deserves watching because it will change the world.

Even with the recession, they're not slowing down or stopping. In fact the telecom business still operates like the recession doesn't exist.

One cool looking handset but there don't seem to be plans to export it. You would think its about time they should.

Lenovo X1

I think the explanation is quite simple, Lenovo fears the backlash of people claiming it is just an iphone clone, just based on external appearances. So instead, they will market it somewhere where there are no iphones and where cloning is more accepted. No need to battle apple for market share when apple is leaving a gigantic market for the taking.

Does that look like Apple's interface? I noticed the bar with the flowing widgets goes up and down, sort of like Samsung's Omnia, not sideways like Apple's. Though people are also calling Omnias iPhone clones. I noticed though, there is a menu interface there that is a lot more Apple like (on the phone with the girl in the bikini), with the black background and colorful icons with the rounded edges.

A classic in the Chinese market gets a refresh. The MotoMing A1210.



The now elderly Motorola A1200 MING smartphone is obviously going to receive a refresh. A larger screen, bigger resolution and a 3 megapixel snapper will update the current MING line later this year.

The rumored Motorola A1210 MING is easily the successor of the the Moto A1200 MING, which was announced back in 2005.

The Motorola A1210 MING will sport a 2.8-inch touch display with QVGA resolution, better 3 megapixel camera, FM radio and 64MB internal memory, expandable via microSD slot. The connectivity package includes tri-band GSM with EDGE support, Bluetooth and USB.

The design remains the same - flippable transparent lid with a large touchscreen underneath and the Linux-based OS, we've seen on the other recent members of the MING family.