china

LAS VEGAS--We've seen more than a few innovative, stylish keyboards at CES this year, but few can claim to be pieces of furniture.

Meet uChair, the keyboard that lets you type in true comfort. It's basically a recliner with a split keyboard embedded in the armrests.

You sit back, adjust the headrest, pull up a screen, laptop, or tablet attached to an articulated bracket, and get to work. Or fall asleep, depending on how comfy you find it. … Read more

The mystery of whether Apple will come out with a lower-priced iPhone has taken a new twist.

The Reuters news agency this morning cryptically withdrew a story it had written yesterday pegged to remarks purportedly made by Apple's Phil Schiller in China. That story had been based on a report in the Shanghai Evening News, which Reuters said, ever so tersely in a short replacement post, "was subsequently updated with substantial changes to its content."

That was it -- "substantial changes," with no elaboration. Intriguing, yes. But also frustratingly vague.

We spent a good part … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook is in China talking with the country's largest carrier.

A China Mobile spokesman told Reuters today that Cook visited the carrier's headquarters this morning to meet with Chairman Xi Guohua and discuss "matters of cooperation." The person would not divulge the nature of those discussions and what the companies might cooperate on.

Cook was discovered to be in China earlier this week when he met with Miao Wei, head of the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. That discussion centered on mobile communications, Apple's operations, and the technology industry … Read more

Foxconn is cooperating with Chinese authorities investigating allegations that executives at the electronics manufacturer received illegal bribes from supply chain partners.

The company, which produces consumer electronics for companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Sony, said in a statement that it brought in law enforcement officials to work with an internal audit team investigating the charges "against a number of Foxconn employees."

The statement comes after Taiwan-based Next Magazine reported that a Foxconn executive had been arrested in September as part of the allegations. When queried by CNET, a Foxconn representative declined to address whether an … Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook has once again flown to China to meet with government officials there.

Miao Wei, head of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, today met with Cook to discuss the country's tech industry, mobile communications, and Apple's operations, the government organization posted on its Web site. Bloomberg was first to report on the news.

Cook's latest visit to China comes less than a year after he made a relatively public tour across the country. During that stint, Cook met with a number of Chinese government officials. He also visited a Foxconn iPhone … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Robots that wash your windows are another dream of domestic automation, but most early models involve a cumbersome two-part unit that goes on both sides of a pane.

At CES 2013, China-based Ecovacs is showing off a new version of its Winbot window washer, one that doesn't require a magnetic support on the other side of the glass.

Just stick the Winbot 7 series on the window, press start, and it starts moving up and down. That's a lot easier than handling two machines. … Read more

China Mobile, the largest carrier in China and what would be the crown jewel for Apple, might be suffering by not offering the iPhone to customers, an analyst claims.

In a note to investors, Evercore Partners analyst Rob Cihra said that he believes "China Mobile could be starting to need the iPhone more." He pointed out that China Mobile's 3G market share was down 7 percent year over year to end 2012 at 37 percent. The company's chief competitors, China Telecom and China Unicom, combined for a 7 percent gain to land at 63 percent.

"… Read more

Already considered a potential threat to U.S. national security, Huawei is again finding itself under scrutiny, linked to an offer to sell embargoed computer equipment to Iran.

A major partner of the Chinese telecommunications gear maker offered to provide 1.3 million euros ($1.7 million) of Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran in 2010, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. However, Huawei says neither it nor Hong Kong-based Skycom, its privately owned partner, provided the equipment to Mobile Telecommunication Co of Iran, known as MCI.

The proposal focused on expanding MCI's subscriber billing system and included at least … Read more

Apple's iPad Mini is creating a frenzy among Chinese tablet buyers, according to Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White.

Checks of retailers in China and Hong Kong show "an insatiable appetite" for the Mini, leading to a supply shortage, White said in an investors note out today. Stores in China are out of stock, while those in Hong Kong are sold out of nearly all flavors of the 7-inch tablet.

The iPad Mini is proving much more popular in China and Hong Kong than its bigger 4th-generation brother, which remains in stock.

"Prior to the China … Read more