Wuxi is attempting a transformation from a manufacturing hub to a high-tech city.
As a major city in the Yangtze River Delta, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, landed 12 new projects last month including those in electronic information, biopharmaceutics, new energy and materials and outsourcing, totaling 715.7 million yuan.
Wuxi’s development district has already inked an agreement with consumer electronics maker Beijing Huaqi Information Digital Technology Co Ltd, to invest 30 million yuan in a hi-tech manufacturing base.
Beijing Huaqi, maker of Aigo branded electronics, plans to locate its MP6 wireless technology unit in Wuxi.
“Wuxi is one of China’s bases for the ‘Internet of Things’ industry. This is one of the major reasons we chose to locate here,” said Frank Zhou, general manager of Beijing Huaqi’s MP6 business unit.
The “Internet of Things” is a network of web-enabled objects linked together with online services that interact with these objects. Underlying the Internet of Things are technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), sensors and smart phones.
The Internet fridge is probably the most often-quoted example of what the Internet of Things will enable.
Zhou said Beijing Huaqi hopes to leverage Internet of Things technologies in association with its closely related MP6 business.
Beijing Huaqi expects its MP6 business – focused on the firm’s Internet music player – to generate revenue of 2 billion yuan over the next three years. Zhou said the company is eying both Hong Kong and New York as possible future locations for an initial public offering.
Just last year, Wuxi formed new alliances with telecom carriers China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, to cooperate in research and development, project incubation and other commercial applications. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…
Robin Yanhong Li, CEO of Baidu
Baidu, whose name is practically synonymous with Internet search in China, surprised investors when it revealed transition to its new Phoenix Nest system will lead to softer revenues into next year as customers adjust, sending its stock down sharply.
The news was music to others, such as Sina Corp and global search leader Google, looking for a bigger piece of the pie in the world’s biggest Internet market with 235 million search users in June, up about a third from a year ago.
“In the short term, Baidu could possibly lose market share to Google,” said JP Morgan analyst Dick Wei.
“From the end user perspective, they aren’t going to see much of a difference, but from the advertisers perspective, if you look at monetization market share, it (Baidu’s market share) could be a bit lower in the next few months,” he said.
Baidu expects to lose some customers and have lower revenue in the near term after the system is fully rolled out.
Baidu shares, which shed 0.5 percent to close at $432.97 during regular trading hours in New York, fell over 13 percent in after-hours trade to $375.99 after the company gave its revenue forecast that was well below Wall Street estimates. read more at ChinaDaily.com…
Samsung LCD televisions to be produced in China
Samsung Electronics, the largest flat panel maker, said it would set up a $2.2bn joint venture in China to meet growing demand for liquid crystal display panels in the fastest-growing major economy.
Separately, Foxconn, a unit of Hon Hai, the largest electronics contract manufacturer, agreed to set up a $1bn facility for the production and assembly of LCD and LED components in Chengdu.
The investment plans reflect China’s emergence as a key market for LCD panel makers during the global economic slowdown.
TV makers in the country are ramping up production of flat panel TVs, driven by robust consumer demand.
LCD makers have enjoyed higher-than-expected demand this year thanks to Beijing’s subsidies for electronics purchases in rural areas. read more at FT.com…
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) President Lee Joo-jin
Lee said that while the country currently relies on foreign assistance to send a satellite-bearing rocket into orbit, continued research and development efforts and cooperative tie-ups with foreign space agencies should allow it to become more independent.
“In the medium and low altitude satellite fields, the country has reached 80 percent capability vis-a-vis leading countries like the United States and Russia, while the gap stands at roughly 40 percent for geosynchronous (an orbital period that matches the rotation rate of the Earth) and communication satellites,” Lee said.
The ASUS Reader...the new dominant product in the category?
The Times Online reports that the world of ebooks is about to start a new chapter with the arrival of the cheapest digital reader on the market. Asus, one of the world’s biggest consumer electronics businesses, confirmed last week that it is planning to shake up the market in the same way it did when it launched the first netbook — the low-cost alternative to the laptop.
The ASUS device as described offers a significantly improved feature set over its competitors, the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader. The new device features a color screen and a more natural, book-like design. Perhaps its strongest competition (albeit at a higher price point) would be the rumored Apple tablet device, which would offer full OS/X functionality and content available through the well-established iTunes distribution channel.
The Samsung Moment - a new Google Android phone
Moment, a touch-screen handset with a 3.2-inch active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display and a full QWERTY keyboard, will be offered to subscribers of U.S. wireless operator Sprint, starting Nov. 1. This is Samsung’s second Android-based handset revealed this week at the CITA wireless trade show in San Diego, Calif., following the Behold II, which will be available from T-Mobile on Nov. 2.
Samsung and the wireless carriers hope to cut into Apple’s huge lead in smartphone market- and mindshare by popularizing Android.
