Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Internet Usage in China is in Booming Trend
According to the study, usage in the countryside is growing much faster than in urban areas (60.8% year-on-year compared to 35.6% in cities), the numbers of bloggers has increased to +162 million, and accessing the internet through mobile phones is still immensely popular. CNNIC reports that 117.6 million people accessed the internet using their mobile phones last year, up 133% from 2007.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The U.S. search giant Google Inc. is planning for a joint venture with a Chinese online music company that would permit it to provide free licensed music downloads in China. This is significant in Google's push to counter leading Chinese search engine, Baidu.com, which already provides links to download sites.
According to PaidContent, "Google is in the late planning stages of a JV with Chinese online music company Top100.cn, a Beijing-based site that currently sells licensed music downloads.
According to Wall Street Journal The service, which is likely to offer access to tunes from three global music companies as well as dozens of smaller players, could start in the next several weeks barring any last-minute hiccups. The music pact marks a turning point in Google's battle with Baidu to gain dominance in an Internet market that is soon expected to surpass the U.S. this year in number of users.
This move may help Google position itself vis-a-vis locally-favored Baidu.
