Explosion predicted in Myanmar's mobe and slab markets - analysts
Market watchers are predicting an explosion in the handheld device market in Myanmar, driven by rapid infrastructure building, government reforms and the new mobile operator licensees Telenor and Ooredoo.
Smartphone shipments will grow nearly six-fold to around six million in the next four years, while the number of tablets in …
Hong Kong's data centres stay high and dry amid Typhoon Usagi
When Typhoon Usagi rattled into Hong Kong last week, complete with winds over gale force 8, the city state’s data-centre managers had nothing to fear. Typhoons are a regular part of Hong Kong life and local bit barns are designed appropriately, El Reg was told.
Nevertheless, we were was curious to find out exactly how facilities …
That's a money spinner: iPod wheel patent bout bags bod £2m from Apple
Fruity tech titan Apple (2012 profit: £25bn) has been forced to pay out £2m to a Japanese inventor - after a Tokyo court found its iPod click wheel design infringed his patents.
Cupertino’s learned friends have been fighting this legal battle in the Land of the Rising Sun for the past six years. It started when Norihiko Saito …
China's lifting of internet blockade denied by state media
Hopes that the Chinese government was about to relax its strict internet censorship regime in Shanghai appear to have been dashed after state-run media ran stories denying previous reports.
An “exclusive” from Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post on Tuesday, referencing anonymous government sources, claimed that the Great …
Icefog hit-and-run hackers uncovered in Asia
Kaspersky Lab has uncovered a new APT campaign aimed at pilfering secrets from governments and supply chain industrial, military, media and technology companies in Japan and South Korea.
Icefog features many of the key attributes of targeted attacks, including the spear phishing email lure to gain a foothold in the victim’s …
China ready to unblock access to Facebook, Twitter et al
The Chinese government may have finally relented in allowing unfettered access to previously blocked sites such as Facebook and Twitter, but only for users within the newly-created 28km2 Shanghai Free Trade Zone.
Anonymous government sources told Hong Kong newspaper The South China Morning Post that senior leaders in Beijing had …
Report says PRISM snooped on India's space, nuclear programs
NSA spooks risk alienating yet another US ally after new documents released by whistleblower Edward Snowden apparently revealed extensive surveillance of Indian domestic politics as well as the country’s nuclear and space programs.
The top secret document, obtained by The Hindu, suggests American spying activity in the sub- …
DeputyDog attack targets latest IE zero day
Security researchers have spotted two new targeted attack campaigns aimed at organisations in Japan, China and elsewhere in Asia, one of which exploits a zero day exploit in Internet Explorer revealed only last week.
Operation DeputyDog is targeted at “entities in Japan”, using the IE vulnerability CVE-2013-3893 which Microsoft …
Windows Phone overtakes Apple's market share ... in India
Windows Phone has confounded the sceptics by beating iOS for the third consecutive quarter to take second place in the Indian smartphone market, but analysts have warned handset branding will be key to its future growth there in the wake of Microsoft’s Nokia buyout.
Redmond was quick to issue a release online this week, touting …
Korean stealth-scraper plans will turn 450 metre tower INVISIBLE
The South Korean government has given the go-ahead for the development of a 450 metre tall skyscraper with a difference – at certain points in the day it’ll be able to turn itself invisible.
City Tower, to give the erection its official title, will be the landmark centrepiece of Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) near …
Google driver flees after Street View car crashes
A Google Street View car managed to crash into three other vehicles whilst out snapping pictures on the streets of Jakarta last weekend.
The Google logo-emblazoned Subaru hatchback was driving through the outskirts of Indonesia's capital when it hit one of the city’s ubiquitous public minibuses, according to AFP.
After …
'Honker Union' sniffs 270 hacktivism targets
Infamous Chinese hacktivist group Honker Union has shortlisted a whopping 270 Japanese targets for attack today - the anniversary of the Manchurian Incident, which was the precursor to the Japanese invasion of China.
The group singled out Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office and other ministries, …
China's 'Big Vs' disown selves online to avoid new gossip laws
The Chinese government’s unprecedented crack down on online rumours is forcing some of those with verified accounts on the country’s hugely popular weibo microblogs to lower their profile by giving up their verified status.
The “Big Vs”, as they have become known in the Middle Kingdom, are those high profile Sina Weibo users who …
NORKS fingered for APT on South Korean think tanks
Security researchers have unearthed yet another highly targeted advanced persistent threat (APT) attack, this time launched by suspected North Korean attackers against a small group of South Korean think tanks.
The Kimsuky campaign, which can be traced back to April this year, was analysed by researchers at Kaspersy Lab in a …
One more thing ... Beijing green lights iPhone in China
Apple's infamously stage-managed launch events have been upstaged by China's government, which let it be known the fruity phone company has been granted a license to operate its new iPhone 5S and 5C models on China Mobile’s forthcoming 4G network after its Beijing launch yesterday.
The Ministry of Industry and Information …
China tunes out Soundcloud for a weekend
Fans of online music sharing platform Soundcloud living in China were left scratching their heads over the weekend after the site appeared to have become the latest blocked by the authorities.
TechInAsia was tipped off last Friday that the site was down.
Although Berlin-based Soundcloud would appear to pose little threat to the …
Apple's no-news Beijing event leaves it adrift in China
Apple’s Beijing iPhone event on Wednesday has just ended with no new announcements for a market it desperately needs to succeed in, and prices for the new 5C higher than Americans will pay for the high-end 5S.
The fruity tech titan was rumoured to be ready to announce a long-awaited tie-up with China Mobile, the world’s largest …
Fujitsu femto boost promises to double LTE speeds
Japanese computing giant Fujitsu has taken the wraps off new capabilities designed to combat radio interference and boost the speed of its LTE femtocells by as much as double.
Femtocells are often advanced as a way to improve the reach of mobile networks, as by placing the small cells in homes or businesses wired backhaul can …
Jail time promised for false tweets in China
Use of social media in China just got more dangerous after the country’s Supreme Court announced tough new guidelines which could see untrue posts which are viewed more than 5,000 times land their author in jail for several years.
The court document stated that any post containing so-called “online rumours” viewed 5,000 times or …
Indian spooks snooping without ISP knowledge
India's authorities are carrying out wide-ranging and indiscriminate internet surveillance of their citizens thanks to secret intercept systems located at the international gateways of several large ISPs, according to The Hindu.
The Chennai-based paper claimed after an investigation that Lawful Intercept and Monitoring (LIM) …
Hack Yahoo gave up to China is released from prison
Chinese journalist Shi Tao, who was arrested in 2004 after Yahoo China handed over key data to the authorities, has been released from prison 15 months before the end of a 10 year sentence.
Writers’ group the Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC) announced the news and called for the release of others in a similar position.
"We …
China's corruption crackdown killing off Unix
China's crackdown on Bo Xilai and other scandal-hit Communist Party outcasts may be making Unix systems less attractive behind the Great Firewall.
That's the opinion of EMC's president for Greater China, Denis Yip, who last week told attendees at an EMC Forum event in Hong Kong that the “political environment” across the border …
Panasonic to build Toughbook-style smartphone
Panasonic has become the latest venerable Japanese electronics giant to abandon the consumer smartphone market, with the firm set to concentrate its efforts on producing a “Toughbook” handset for business use.
Company president Kazuhiro Tsuga told Reuters that it will continue to sell consumer handsets in emerging markets under …
myOpenID to close down for good in February 2014
MyOpenID, a major provider of open source authentication system OpenID, is set to close for good on February 1st 2014.
The free service, provided by self-styled “social login” firm Janrain, was first launched back in 2006 as a way for users to authenticate easily by using just one log-in across a range of sites.
However, the …
China, India the key to Micr-okia's fate says IDC
The mega-markets of China and India, and more broadly the rest of the Asia Pacific region, will be key to Microsoft’s success in the handset space with its newly acquired Nokia assets, according to analyst IDC.
China is the number one market for Lumia shipments, with India in second, Vietnam in eighth and Thailand tenth globally …
Citadel botnet resurges to storm Japanese PCs
Citadel, the aggressive botnet at the heart of a widely criticised takedown by Microsoft back in June, is back and stealing banking credentials from Japanese users, according to Trend Micro.
The security vendor claimed to have found “at least 9 IP addresses”, mostly located in Europe and the US, functioning as the botnet’s …
Fukushima sends Japanese IT to the cloud
Analysis The devastating triple whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown which struck Japan in March 2011, has led many IT managers to rebuild their infrastructure with a key focus on disaster recovery and business continuity, according to experts.
It’s an effort which has had obvious knock-on benefits for cloud …
Vietnam crimps online freedom of speech with 'Decree 72'
The Vietnamese government has introduced new restrictions on internet freedom with "Decree 72" – a new law which critics say will encourage self censorship and deter foreign investment.
Brought into force lastSunday, Decree 72 limits the use of blogs and social media to “providing or exchanging personal information”, and …
Taiwan bids to bolster security with free malware database
Taiwan’s National Centre for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) has launched what it claims to be the world’s first free malware database designed to help businesses, academics and researchers better identify and defend against criminally-coded attacks.
The centre, one of the 11 which comprise Taiwan’s National Applied Research …
HTC trio suspected of pilfering design IP
Senior members of HTC’s design team have been detained by Taiwanese investigators on suspicion of defrauding the under-fire smartphone maker and stealing valuable IP.
HTC raised the alarm with Taiwan’s Bureau of Investigators after the suspects – including VP of product design Thomas Chien, R&D director Wu Chien Hung and design …
Nokia's India threat letter: 'It's cheaper to make phones in China'
Nokia’s long-running tax dispute with the Indian authorities appeared to take another turn after it was revealed that it sent the commerce ministry a strongly-worded letter branding India its “least favourable market” and threatening to move production to China.
Written in June, the letter said that the “political risk” of …
Indian IT exporters coin windfall profits as rupee plunges
India has in recent weeks descended into a financial crisis, but despite dire economic warnings, industry watchers believe that the period of instability could actually benefit the country’s IT services giants and their outsourcing customers.
Wednesday saw the Indian rupee fall to another new low, dropping over two per cent to …
China's Baidu builds new type of App Store
Chinese web giant Baidu has unveiled Light App – a new distribution model for mobile applications which could eventually help international developers to better promote their wares in the world’s biggest smartphone market.
Unveiled at the firm’s annual Baidu World event on Thursday, the new system was conceived as a way for …
Chocolate Factory hits the Translate button on Google+
Google+ just got ever so slightly more user-friendly for those following accounts which tend to post or comment in languages which the user doesn't understand, after adding a one-click translate function.
Up until now, users of the Chocolate Factory’s social platform were forced to cut and paste any such text into Google …
India's subidised student tablet lands in US schools
The cut price Indian tablet known as Aakash is now being touted around US schools as the British company which made it looks to save a project beset by controversy and delays.
The low cost tablet from Datawind, a UK-based firm founded in Montreal by Suneet and Raja Tuli, was originally intended for the Indian market as part of a …
Japan's unwanted IT workers dumped in 'forcing-out rooms'
Some of Japan’s biggest technology companies send certain employees to “boredom" or "forcing-out" rooms where they’re forced to undertake menial tasks designed to make them quit.
A New York Times report detailed the experience of 51-year-old Sony employee Shusaku Tani who refused to take early retirement after his position at …
Chinese firm applies for 'Edward Snowden' trademark
A Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company has made a bold attempt to cash in on the publicity surrounding PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden by filing an application to register his name as a trademark.
Beijing-based Hong Yuan Lan Xiang (HYLX) wants to register the name in both Chinese and English for its “top secret technologies …
Vietnamese city drinks the smart city kool aid
The Vietnamese city of Danang today took a major step towards becoming the smartest and most technologically advanced city in the nation, with the launch of a comprehensive Information Technology and Communication Infrastructure System.
The system includes a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), city-wide Wi-Fi access capable of …
China's army releases FPS trainer game
China has launched a first-person shooter titled Glorious Mission Online, that was co-developed by the People’s Liberation Army and offers players a chance to defeat a Japanese invader.
The software is a so-called “red game”, a genre that has become increasingly popular in China in recent years.
These patriotic shoot ‘em ups …
US and China make major bilateral anti-piracy bust
US and Chinese customs officials have joined together on a bilateral anti-piracy blitz that has seen over 240,000 fake electrical items confiscated.
The combined operation came as a result of recent talks between the two countries in which they agreed to work together to stem the flood of pirated goods flowing from China – where …
Scalpers gouge China's fanbois for Genius Bar appointments
Chinese scalpers have found a new way to make a few extra yuan: book up all the Genius Bar slots in the nation’s Apple Stores then sell them on at a profit.
Black market traders are snapping up time slots months in advance and then charging 10-40 yuan (£1-4) for each appointment on third party sites like the popular C2C trading …
Oz defence department: We don't have a ban on Lenovo kit
The Australian Department of Defence has issued an official statement denying it banned the use of Lenovo computers over concerns they contained backdoor vulnerabilities.
A report from the Australian Financial Review last weekend claimed that the ban applied to top secret networks run by the intelligence and defence services of …
Bank of Thailand bans Bitcoin
Bitcoin suffered a major blow to its international reputation on Monday after Thailand became the first country to outlaw the virtual currency outright.
The online-only currency biz had been trying to operate lawfully in the Southeast Asian country, requesting guidance from the Bank of Thailand about which licenses it needed to …
Japanese boffins build 'robotic skin'
Japanese boffins have taken the wraps off what they claim to be the world’s thinnest and lightest electronic circuits, potentially paving the way for wearable healthcare applications and even “robotic skin” in the future.
Tokyo University researchers Takao Someya and Tsuyoshi Sekitani have been running the government sponsored …
Apple: 'Average' iPad toiler does a mere 46-hour week
Apple is under fire again after a new China Labor Watch report accused its factories of committing nearly 90 workers' rights violations.
This time iPhone and iPad fabs operated by Taiwanese manufacturing giant Pegatron are facing the allegations, rather than Foxconn. Apple today confirmed to The Reg that it will immediately …
Western spooks banned Lenovo PCs after finding back doors
Chinese PC giant Lenovo has been banned from supplying kit for the top secret networks of western intelligence agencies after security concerns emerged when backdoor vulnerabilities were detected, according to a new report.
Unnamed intelligence and defence “sources” in the UK and Australia confirmed to the Australian Financial …
Indian military pondered attack on Venus and Jupiter
Some eagle-eyed astronomers have saved the planet from possible nuclear Armageddon after the Indian army mistook Jupiter and Venus for flying intruders from China.
Two star-gazers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore were sent over 1,400 miles to Ladakh near the disputed border with China at the behest of the …
Apple's shock treatment: An authentic charger-spotting guide
Apple has responded to a recent spate of incidents in which iPhone users were electrocuted whilst apparently charging their handsets with a new guide on its Chinese site detailing how to identify an official power adapter. Clicking on a prominent link on the homepage will take visitors to a dedicated web page explaining how all …
MS, Chinese boffins team up on Kinect-powered sign language recog
Microsoft researchers are working with Chinese boffins to tap the XBox 360 Kinect motion sensor's body-tracking capabilities to provide sign language recognition capabilities for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Members of the Microsoft Research Asia team have produced a new paper (PDF, 2 pages, abstract) - Sign Language …
Grey market mobes on the slide as makers go legit
The grey market for mobile phones is forecast to slump by 12 per cent this year, ironically because handset makers can’t compete against an increasingly vibrant trade in counterfeit products, according to market watcher IHS iSuppli.
The analysis firm’s China Research Service has released new data predicting the second …
