Krista - iPhones in India flop

According to a BusinessWeek article yesterday, iPhones are not selling well in India which can be an indicator that they won't do well in China either.

Apple's iPhones have been sold in India since last August but sales have been very low given the 20 million new customers that Indian cell-phone providers add each month. The price may be a consideration as the iPhone is 1/3 the amount as the new Indian-made car, Nana costs. At $700 each (price is determine by local partners, not Apple) it is expensive compared to $199/mo with a 2 year contract in the U.S.

The article also mentions the slowing global economny as a factor and that the iPhones can be unlocked and used on competing networks.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2009/gb2009041_266236.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_global+business

Kerry- Mobile Marketing

Verizon, AT & T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile have agreed to to improve mobile marketing by working with the Mobile Marketing Association to lower costs for marketing and lead to a more consistent user experience. While working with the MMA to streamline the the process of getting marketing content out to the users.

The rule has 5 objectives:
- Promote a consistent consumer experience
- enhance efficiencies for marketing campaigns using short codes
- cut the time to market for campaigns
- ensure consistent monitoring and auditing
- cut operational costs

This all came about when users had been tricked to subscribing to services from text messages and jokes. They were charged on their bill for these services. They are looking to get subscribers approval or an opt in/opt out procecuders in place.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/162224/us_carriers_join_to_improve_mobile_marketing.html

Liz - China

Regarding Google and China - Google is fighting hard to dominate in China and surpass its #1 rival, Baidu. The downside to Google's new music offer is that the music may not be the latest release considering most record companies will wait before sharing music & profit w/Google. Baidu currently has a music sharing feature, mostly illegal since Baidu is being sued by a number of record companies. To stay ahead of Google, I imagine Baidu will approach most record companies about a new music sharing deal. And most will partner w/Baidu - they have more to gain with a partnership and by sharing profits.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/31/google-baidu-music-markets-equity-china.html


On another note, I thought it was interesting that the Chinese web portal and social network operator Tencent financially relies more on the selling of virtual goods rather than advertising . It sells about $750million in virtual good a year - instant messaging upgrades, wallpaper, etc. Online advertising is a very small portion if its overall revenue (10%). This is a little outdated but 88% of Yahoo's total revenue in 2006 came from marketing.


http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/19/china-social-media-tencent-technology-paidcontent.html

Mark - Did Conficker start in China?

I'm sure many of you have heard about the virus going around called "Conficker". It was believed that this virus had originated from either Europe or Russia, but there is now a new rumor that the virus code is very similar to the Nimda virus that occurred in 2001. The Nimda virus had supposedly been developed in China, so now there is now reason to believe that their might be some connection between the two viruses because of the similar code that was used. Even with this rumor, officials have still not been able to locate the creator of this virus, but at least now they have some assistance in narrowing down where to block the return of the virus. Make sure you all delete your cookies and don't open any strange emails!

More on this article

Connie - Google to offer free music downloads in China

I found an interesting news item today about Google and Chinda. Apparently, Google and the major music labels have found an alternative way to monetise digital music: advertising.

Google has announced that Chinese users of its search engine will be able to download around 350,000 songs from partners EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal - all free, licensed and legal.
Revenue will be generated for the service from advertising, which Google will in turn share with the four major record labels.

According to the article, the deal will not be replicated in other countries. One wonders if this will eventually be offered in other countires.

To read the rest of the article, click on this link:

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/google-offer-free-music-downloads-china-96591

Shane - Google in China

Through a previous class I had learned about Google's entry into China and the many troubles they were having after doing so. Google, as most people know, promote themselves as being the most complete search of the information you are looking for on the web. China, however, has the most control over information that its occupants receive than any other country. The trouble they had was that if they didn't enter the Chinese market they were missing out on a huge piece of the worlds population. However if they were to enter the Chinese market the Chinese government was only going to allow them to display certain content that they deemed appropriate. In doing so they would be going against their mission statement and what they stand for. Read more through the link...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4645596.stm

Denis - Legal and Ethical Aspects of the Internet

The Internet allows consumers, businesses, and industry to do many new things in unique and efficient ways. The technology around which it is built is also changing and advancing rapidly. A source of concern is that the legal and ethical developments regarding the Internet are not able to keep up with the fast pace of technological change.

http://www.tekxam.com/StudyGuide/concepts/Ethics-and-Legal/TekXam_Legal_and_Ethical_Study_Guide.html

This website is a tutorial that touches on the main areas of legal and ethical concern that have emerged so far, the ways in which they are being dealt with, and the implications for providers of technology related services and products.