A week in tech

China

Internet
• China Southern said it has sold more than 16 million e-tickets, a figure that accounts for over $1.2 billion in online sales, since it launched the service six years ago. The Guangzhou-based carrier said it is selling an average of 570,000 electronic tickets each month, accounting for at least 20 percent of its total sales. The firm said it has sold some 600,000 e-tickets in March, accounting for over $41 million in sales. Online ticket sales for the airline reached 400,000 in February, while some 500,000 tickets were sold in January, which brought in $31 million and $50 million respectively. China Southern was the first Chinese airline to sell airline tickets online in the year 2000.

• Sina announced the signing of a deal with the Association of Independent Music (AIM) to offer music and video clips from music companies in the UK via a UK Music area of the largest portal in China. The deal is seen helping develop a potential market for live performances, downloads and ring tones featuring music from the UK. Currently, Sina has about 180 million registered users, which are expected to help spread music of AIM members in China. The deal is supported by government agency UK Trade and Investment and was brokered by AIM's consultants in China.

Mobile/Wireless
• Huawei Technologies, a telecoms provider of next generation networks, announced the signing of a contract for the construction of a UMTS network with Vodafone in the Czech Republic. Under the deal, Huawei will provide a UTRAN system based on the new generation Node B technologies for Vodafone's operations in the Czech Republic. The signing of the contract marks the beginning of cooperation between these two companies after Huawei was chosen as one of Vodafone's preferred suppliers in November 2005. A top official also said the Czech project is the first step in the cooperation between Huawei and Vodafone in 3G network construction. Vodafone, providing mobile services in 26 countries, and working jointly with its partners to provide mobile services in another 31 countries, is considered the largest mobile operator in the world.

• China’s revenues from wireless music are expected to hit Rmb13.5 billion ($1.6 billion) by 2008, according to Analysys International. The report said wireless music subscribers will reach 114 million in 2008, a figure that would make up 20 percent of total mobile phone subscribers in China by that period.

• China Wireless Technologies revealed its plans to launch the world's first dual-mode 3G smartphone by August; an offering that will enable users to connect to a GSM network and a local 3G network and to receive two calls at once. The company noted that even as some firms like Motorola, LG and Samsung have devices that connect to China's 3G standard TD-SCDMA, there is no handset yet that allows simultaneous connectivity to GSM. China Wireless designs smartphones and back-end systems supporting its handsets based on its proprietary operating system tailor-made for various industries.

Software
• Founder Technology Group, a Chinese computer maker, announced the signing of an agreement with Microsoft as part of an overall effort to crack down on widespread software piracy in China. A top official of Founder Technology indicated that the company would be purchasing licenses for a Chinese version of Windows valued at some $250 million over the next three years. The two companies said they also agreed to work jointly in the promotion of the use of genuine versions of Windows. Piracy is always reported to be rampant in China, a condition that has been seen as blocking efforts of Microsoft to post profit in the huge Chinese market. Earlier, PC manufacturer Tsinghua Tongfang signed an agreement to purchase $120 million worth of Windows licenses over the next three years for the Chinese market, a move that is seen as part of a concerted effort in the Mainland to boost the use of legitimate Windows versions.

Hardware
• China’s export of colour TVs increased by 64 percent to 5.8 million in January, with the total value increasing by 68 percent to $610 million, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China (GAC), compared with that in the same period last year. The markets for China’s export of colour TVs were mainly the EU and the US. In that month, with the export to the EU reaching 1.4 million sets, a growth of 70 percent year on year while colour TVs exported to the U.S. reached 1 million sets, a rise of 55.2 percent year on year.

Semiconductors
• Applied Materials Inc., a firm that supplies manufacturing systems and related services to the global semiconductor industry, announced its construction of a global R&D center in Xian, capital city of Shaanxi province. The company disclosed that total investment for the project amounts to $255 million. Upon completion of the center, Xian will become Applied Material’s other global technical center besides its American headquarters and will be China’s fourth-largest semiconductor production site, following the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Bohai Bay locations.

Taiwan

Hardware
• ASUSTeK Computer Inc., a Taiwan-based laptop maker, reported a 42.3 percent increase in its 2005 sales revenue to NT$355.8 billion ($11 billion) from a year ago. The company said its net income posted a 14.4-percent increase to NT$17.2 billion ($529.6 million) over the previous year. In another development, ASUSTek indicated its plans to transfer most of its laptop production capacity from Taiwan to Shanghai, stating that it will invest $50 million in a factory in Shanghai by the end of this year.

Telecommunications
• Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s leading telecom operator, reported a 14-percent year-on-year decline in its net profit in the first quarter March to NT$10 billion ($308 million). The operator attributed this drop to pension payments it made for early retirement and compensation for layoffs. Chunghwa Telecom said its sales in the first three months went up to NT$44.6 billion ($1.3 billion). The company said its sales for March registered a rise of 2.7 percent to NT$14.2 billion.

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