Kai Mai's Blog - Take Back the Web - Nodes for china

China Mobile's Mobile Market(App Store) Report for Nov, 2009 - No Advertising Allowed in Apps

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:07:40 -0800

I've meant to write about China Mobile's Mobile Market(aka "app store") Report for Nov, 2009 when it first came out.

I finally got the chance!

Mobile Market has a approval process. The approval rate in Nov is 49.66%. 40.17% of the rejection was due to basic functionality not working. 29.84% of the rejection was because of apps not conforming to Mobile Market's standards.

One of Mobile Market's standards is no advertising inside apps(see page 6 of the report). Chinese don't have the habit of paying for software & apps. So China Mobile just shuts down one possible revenue stream for developers.

Tags: china mobile china-mobile app-store

Notes on Meetup: Non-Profit, Rural Development, Land Right, Microfinance in China

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:17:36 -0700

Here are my notes from the meetup "Non-Profit, Rural Development, Land Right, Microfinance in China" on Oct 7th, 2009 in Redwood City, California:

A common theme is that the two presenting organizations are foreign NGOs(non-profit organization) in China, so they are not required to partner with local governments. They hand-pick their local partners and provide better transparency on their funds and operations in China. In contract, local NGOs have to work with local governments which have little accountability. Also, there's no tax saving for donors in China for charity-giving.

Tags: china meetup wokai rdi land right microfinance non-profit

Notes from Importing/Sourcing from China – Gotchas/Lessons Meetup

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:58:18 -0700

I organized the meetup Importing/Sourcing from China – Gotchas/Lessons on Aug 27th. The speakers Wensheng Li and Andrew Rizzo shared great insights, many tips, gotchas and stories. Be sure to check out their presentation.

Here are my notes:

Sub-contracting is dangerous as you don't know about the actual supplier, thus cannot ensure quality.

Alibaba has a gold supplier certification programwhere each gold supplier is inspected thoroughly by Alibaba's inspectors.

Tags: china meetup import business

The Other Real News of China Unicom Eunuch(Wi-Fi less) iPhone: China Unicom Owned App Store

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:53:54 -0700

Today, so much coverage has been focusing on the official announcement of iPhone and China Unicom deal to bring iPhone to China at the end of September. The first version of iPhone in China is confirmed not to have Wi-Fi but WAPI(A China home-grown wireless standard). China Unicom has denied about pre-ordering 5 million iPhones for 10 billion RMB(14.7 billion US dollars) and said the number of iPhones to be ordered depending on the market demand. The rumored price for a 8GB iPhone is 2999RMB with a pre-purchase of 3000RMB phone service credit.

Tags: china mobile iphone china-unicom wifi appstore itunes china-mobile android

The Other News of China Unicom Eunuch(Wi-Fi less) iPhone: No iTunes, No App Store

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:37:03 -0700

On July 31st, 2009, Sina Tech presented some images of iPhone that will be sold through China Unicom in China. There are lots of English news coverage. But all the news focus on iPhone of not having Wi-Fi.

Hello? That's not the only news! The China Unicom iPhone does NOT come with iTunes or the App Store.

One reason can be that iPhone(already) mandates anything over 10MB(lots of gaming apps exceeding 10MB) needs to be downloaded via Wi-Fi which won't be present in iPhones sold through China Unicom.

Tags: china mobile iphone china-unicom wifi appstore itunes

China Earthquake: 11-year Old Boy Carrying 3-year Old Sister to Safety Zone

Sun, 18 May 2008 23:34:46 -0700

Sichuan Earthquake:

11-years old Zhang Zhi from Bei Chuan carried his 3-year old sister Zhang Han on his back, starting at 5 in the morning, walking for 12 straight hours to Mian Yang safety zone. They walked together with their elderly grandpa and grandma to escape from the hardest hit area.

Their parents are working outside of the region.

Zhang Zhi said he loves his little sister very much.

Original story in Chinese with pictures:

昨日下午5点，记者第三次深入北川县城核心现场，发现一股从背后深山逃出的人流�

Tags: china earthquake disaster 2008 sichuan

English Diary of a High School Student Surviving 2008 Sichuan earthquake

Sun, 18 May 2008 21:50:09 -0700

"The earthquake destroy our hometown. We have nothing now. Many people have no home. Many children become a lonely. This is happen on 2008.5.12. In that time, we are just have the first class in the afternoon. The earthquake came too quick and have no expect. It was very fear. But I saw the death people, my heart is hurt, I cried, have no cry sounds except tears.

After earthquake. We all have nothing. It is the ChangHong Company give us the help. They give us food, water, and clothes. The important they will rebuilt the Bei yi Zhong. They give us help. We will not forget forever."

"the Bei yi Zhong" means Bei Chuan First Middle/High School.

Tags: china earthquake disaster 2008 sichuan

Please Donate for China EarthQuake Disaster Relief

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:43:21 -0700

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Central China on May 12, 2008.

The death toll has risen to 21,500. Thousands of people are still missing, and thousands of people are homeless. The death toll is expected to rise above 50,000.

You can view the complete slide show

Tags: china earthquake donation disaster 2008 sichuan

One Month Off To China in May

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 19:21:39 -0700

I am taking next month (May) off to head back to China.

I will travel to Beijing, Henan and Guangdong(Canton).

It should be a great vacation as I anticipate visiting old friends, doing plenty of great sightseeing, and having fabulous food.

Tags: china travel