Despite what many ill-informed Apple fans will have you believe, the "4" in iPhone 4 does not mean that you are capable of connecting to the 4G network, especially if you're in China. Miao Wei, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, says a 4G network is still roughly 3 years off from arriving in China. more ›

We've been updating you with the latest on China's battle against internet pornography, but here's some good old Shanghai Daily reportage on our upstanding city's efforts against e-smut, particularly the type that drops right into the palm of your hand. Over the course of the past year, Shanghai has blocked nearly 1,900 mobile porn sites in an effort to clean up the country's new (and poorly censored) 3G networks. Some mobile customers have complained of receiving up to ten anonymous solicitations a day directing them to mobile porn, to which we say "oh, so that's what those text messages were about." more ›

Since China unveiled its new 3G system earlier this year, it seems a number of perverted entrepreneurs have been utilizing the system to revolutionize the Chinese mobile internet: that's right, we're talking about mobile porn. Since it's easier for them to evade the authorities by changing IP addresses and domain names because of a lack of efficiency in monitoring the new technology, the highly illegal pornography industry in China has increasingly shifted their focus to mobile phones. The authorities are looking into ways to crack down on the porn sites, but as we all know, Chinese netizens are a pretty tough group to control. more ›

Organ trafficking stirs concern [Global Times] "The number of organ transplants from deceased donors in China is only 130 since the first case in 2003, one of the country's leading transplant experts said at a seminar yesterday. About 11,000 transplant operations are performed each year in China, including both living- and all deceased-donor transplantations, including executed prisoners, making the country the second-largest in the world to the US in total number. But that number it is far from enough to meet demand, Chen Zhonghua, the Chinese Medical Association's deputy director for transplanting, said…" more ›

If you've been in Shanghai for long enough you will notice that China Mobile generally has a great deal of outdoor advertising, from billboards to those annoying little screens mounted on the headrest of taxis. As we are draw close to having the conveniences of high speed internet in the palm of our hands, China Mobile has reverted to an older form of advertising on East Nanjing Road. more ›

In case you've been waffling over whether to get a netbook, Shanghai Mobile and Yongle electronic store have both begun selling 3G-versions of the ultraportable computers this week. All of these laptop-lites use the TD-SCDMA 3G standard on China Mobile, the only telecommunications company to offer a 3G network option so far. more ›

While China Unicom may have finally won the iPhone battle, but that the war for control of China's mobile phone market is still far from over. more ›

While the system seems pretty cool, we feel like we've definitely seen that OS somewhere else. more ›

Kaiser Kuo of Youku Buzz writes:

Here’s a short video of a download speed test of China Telecom’s trial 3G wireless network, which is on the CDMA 2000 1x EV-DO standard. (We usually hear about China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network, foisted on them by regulators against their wishes, and the “European” standard WCDMA network that will be operated by China Netcom). more ›

Apparently tmcnet.com reports an announcement last Wednesday that suggests that Unicom will officially be selling the iPhone in China in May to co-inside with the launch of their 3G service. This is welcome news after all the rumors and innuendo that have been going around. Strange thing is, the iPhone page that appeared on the China Unicom website seems to have been taken down. (to look at a screenshot of the page click here). So until we see more news on this, we're not holding our breath. more ›

The iPhone's arrival (particularly the 3G variety) has been the subject of a great deal of speculation of late. Particularly since China Unicom, the only mobile carrier to provide the iPhone supported WCDMA 3G standard, already announced that they will be rolling out their 3G service on the 17th May. more ›

Ladies and Gentlemen, China Telecom has finally officially launched its 3G commercial service in Shanghai! The new 3G network signal covers all urban areas within the Outer Ring Road, as well as towns in suburban areas. The CDMA2000-based (that's the network usually used in Europe the U.S.) 3G network technology promises to be 20 times faster than our current 2G data streams - though whether it will ever reach advertised speeds is up for debate. From today to the end of the month, users who have agreed to use 250 yuan in monthly service feeds could get trial 3G Internet access cards and high-speed wireless internet access for 100 hours a month. Source: People's Daily more ›

While China lags behind the rest of the world in launching it's 3G service, ChinaTechNews.com have reported from an inside source that China Mobile is already gearing up for a 4G service to be ready by World Expo in 2010. more ›

Even with China Unicom basically confirming that they are absolutely talking with Apple, the future of the iPhone in China is still anyone's guess. That's because the company from Cupertino has two choices for who it should throw its precious little moneymaker into. more ›

We've been burned so many times before, so we're taking this with a grain of salt - but China Tech News reports that China Unicom has reached an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone 3G to China by May 2009. If the rumor's correct, then it means that China Unicom will be launching the iPhone the same time it starts up its WCDMA 3G network nation-wide. Apple had allegedly been talking to China Mobile as well, but talks stalled over the tech company's iTunes app business. more ›

If you're one of those people who would like a “lucky number” for your newest 3G phone, China Mobile has started accepting applications in Shanghai for digits that start with 188. The auspicious numbers are supposed to help lure people into joining China's proprietary 3G network, TD-SCDMA. This made-in-China standard is competing with the more mature WCDMA from Europe and CDMA2000 from the U.S. Source: Shanghai Daily more ›

Surprise, surprise! Talks between China Mobile and Apple over bringing the iPhone to China (legally) have stalled yet again - this time over the iTunes apps store. Allegedly, China Mobile is itching to operate the application store itself in a typical ploy to retain as much control as possible. Also, unlike their Western counterparts, Chinese phone users don't typically have credit cards, preferring to pay for things by depositing money into their mobile phone accounts. Add that to already ongoing issues like figuring out which of the three 3G networks the iPhone plays the nicest with, and it's probably safe to say we won't be seeing any Made-for-China goodness soon. more ›

As it turns out, China's 3G licenses will be issued to China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom by Spring Festival. Guangdong Mobile (a China Mobile subsidiary) is already releasing a new set of 3G numbers all starting with "188" beginning this Thursday. In addition GPRS fees will be cut by as much as 2/3 in most cities. According to Pacific Epoch, Shanghai Mobile users can "now pay RMB 5 per month for 30MB, rather than the RMB 5, 10 MB package originally available, while RMB 20 per month gets 150MB, also three times more than before". more ›

A nameless source in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has leaked the news that the three restructured mobile telecommunications carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, will be issued licenses on the same day after a meeting with the State Council today. more ›

From Beijing-based techie Frank Yu: "iPhones for sale in Beijing. 1st Gen 8 gig iPhone USD 735. 2nd Gen 8 gig 3G iPhone USD 1,176. The Older iPhones rose almost 42% since 3G." [Source] more ›

A summary of some of the Shanghai public-transportation-related stories making the news lately:
• An intelligent, wireless signaling and control system already successfully implemented on Lines 6, 8 and 9 will be used for all new lines built between now and the World Expo in 2010, theoretically cutting the lowest time between trains to 90 seconds.
• According to news reports, the new 3G cellphone network being rolled out in Shanghai has complete coverage on all metro lines and at the city's airports.
• The airport authority and police have printed up brochures explaining in Chinese and English what is allowed and not allowed to be brought onto airplanes under the new rules limiting gels and liquids in unchecked baggage.

As the Financial Times reported, April 1 was the day that China Mobile started trials of its homegrown 3G wireless technology in eight major cities, with about 60,000 customers. more ›