Could it be? Are Shanzhai phones really on the way out?! Recent trends suggest that these "phoney" items may be on their last legs, which stands in stark contrast to years past, when shanzai phones constituted 20% of all new shipments. Now, they only account for 7% of new factory orders. more ›

Created by Italian developer Molleindustria (other games include deconstructions of McDonald's and the oil industry), the most unsettling mini-game in the app is "Suicides", in which players thumb a pair of rescuers holding a fireman's trampoline left and right, in a bid to save Foxconn employees bent on jumping off of a building to meet their makers. more ›

• HTC Releasing Three Android Phones In China [InformationWeek] "The company will have to remove Google Maps and tailor the operating system on the Hero, Magic, and Click to gain Chinese government approval. HTC will be bringing out three custom-tailored Android handsets for China by the end of the year, the smartphone maker said."
• Official says China's jobless situation 'very grave' despite improving economy [Los Angeles Times] "China's jobless situation is "very grave," with millions out of work due to the global crisis and the threat that unemployment might rise despite recent improvements in the economy, the government said Tuesday. Beijing is trying to create jobs for laid-off workers, new college graduates, migrants and others, said Wang Yadong, deputy director of job promotion at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security."
• Bret Stephens: China’s Pollution Problems Are a Result of Government Economic Control [WSJ] "A funny thing happened on the way to saving the world’s poor from the ravages of global warming. The poor told the warming alarmists to get lost. This spring, the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum, led by former U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan, issued a report warning that “mass starvation, mass migration, and mass sickness” would ensue if the world did not agree to “the most ambitious international agreement ever negotiated” on global warming at a forthcoming conference in Copenhagen. But never mind about that. The more interesting kiss-off took place in New Delhi late last month, when Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that there was no way India would sign on to any global scheme to cap carbon emissions."

Oh look! While we're still waiting for anything besides a rumor that the HTC Magic (G2) Android phone will come to China, Sciphone's released their version: the Dream G2. It's here and, at only 750~800RMB, even cheaper than we originally thought it would be. more ›

China Mobile probably won't be seeing an iPhone in its lineup anytime soon, but it has confirmed that its customers will be seeing a customized version of the sexy HTC Magic. The Android OS-based smartphone will be getting a China Mobile-centric makeover before it arrives on our shores - hopefully that makeover will keep the awesome open-source Android app store. While we're not sure exactly when it'll be available in China, it's rumored to be hitting Taiwan around April. 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 ›