China's Internet population, the largest in the world, continues to grow at an exponential pace, jumping 29 percent year-on-year to 384 million users, thanks mainly to rapid growth in the mobile phone arena.

Mobile phone users surfing the Internet rose 106 percent, to 233 million, thanks to the launch of 3G networks in the nation. China's overall population is about 1.4 billion.

Online commerce in China totaled 250 billion yuan ($37 billion USD).

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Google has delayed the release of two Android-based smartphones in China, both of which were supposed to launch tomorrow with China Unicom.

The phones were from Motorola and Samsung and Google did not say how far back the phones would be postponed.

The latest fallout from Google's threat last week to remove its service from China, the company said it would be "irresponsible" to release the phones in China, given the uncertain future.

Samsung, Motorola, and Unicom all declined comment.

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BGR has posted some details for the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 firmware update from "Apple sources."

Says the site:

* There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
* "A few new ways" to run applications in the background — multitasking.
* Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven't had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
* The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will "put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers" more than any other phone to date. Everyone is "really excited."
* The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.


The firmware update should be official next week.

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According to VG247, the upcoming Sony PlayStation 3 motion controller will be called Arc.

The new "wand" has yet to be officially named, and so far it has only been known as codename "Gem." President Kaz Hirai had said last year that the wand would be available by March, but the company has now changed its timetable to just "this year."

The Arc will include a wand, with a trackable ball on top. It will work with the PSEye.

As is standard, Sony said: "We don't comment on rumor or speculation."

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In March, the founders of the giant public torrent tracker The Pirate Bay announced their plans to release a virtual private network (VPN), allowing for users to browse the Internet anonymously.

This morning I received an email stating the service has gone live. Says the email:

A while ago you showed an interest in our VPN service, Ipredator (www.ipredator.se)!

The service was at that time in a beta phase and we hope that you got a chance to use the service already. If not, we would like to tell you that it's now open for everyone!

For only 149 SEK (that's about 15 EUR / 21 USD) per 3 months you will get safe, encrypted communication between you and the internet, with no logging of the data transferred. It's of our utmost concern that you can use the network without anyone deciding what you're can communicate about.

Ipredator is not only another VPN-service. It's also a statement. Right now we're developing a new tool to make it harder (or impossible) for the government of Sweden to tap into their citizens traffic. Our goal is making people have the ability to use their democratic rights, without a fear of repression.

So, the more people that actually use the service, the better. We will get funds to build more tools and at the same time the users clearly show that they want to be anonymous. It sends a very clear message to the politicans!

Please invite your friends if they need a service like Ipredator, and tell people about the reasons why they should be allowed to communicate without a third party listening to their conversations... The most important thing is to actually make people aware of the situation.

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Sony Asia has announced that it has launched the PlayStation line of consoles in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The PSP, PS2 and PS3 are now available in Vietnam, which becomes the 8th country in Sony Asia territories to get the consoles.

The slim PS3 will sell for VND 9,990,000 ($540 USD), the slim PS2 will sell for VND 4,490,000 ($243 USD), and the PSP-3000 model will sell for VND 5,990,000 ($324 USD).

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Microsoft and Disney are currently in talks over offering ESPN content through Xbox Live, although the sources say a deal is not imminent.

If completed however, ESPN would live stream certain sporting events, and will likely cost an additional fee on top of the current XBL Gold subscription.

"Microsoft could also create some interactive games in association with ESPN," say the sources.

XBL currently has over 20 million active Gold subscribers.

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Yun Can Meng, of the UK, has been sentenced to one year in prison this week, after pleading guilty to illegally importing R4 flash carts into the country.

Meng imported 26,500 of the cards, and was arrested after a raid by the the Entertainment and Leisure Software Association's (ELSPA) Crime Unit, Hull City Council Trading Standards Department and the Humberside Police force.

Flash carts allow for users to run homebrew on their DS devices, as well as play pirated games.

Says ELSPA Director General Michael Ralinson: "Our crime unit is pleased with the outcome of this trial and pleased to see the Court of Appeal's copyright judgement is being robustly enforced. Intellectual property (IP) theft is an important issue for the country's videogames industry - as is protecting it."

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Apple has set January 27th as a day for a "special event" in which the company is expected to reveal the long-hyped tablet which has so far been given the name "iSlate."

The rumored device will have a 10-inch screen among other notable features but the WSJ has posted today that the large publisher HarperCollins is negotiating with Apple to make e-books available alongside the launch of the tablet. Details are still shaky but it seems that HC will set the prices of the books, which will include added bonus features, and Apple will take a percentage of sales.

The books will likely be sold through iTunes.

The "bonus features" will include videos, author interviews and social-networking applications. Prices will jump from standard $9.99 to $14.99-19.99.

The tablet is expected to ship in March, with a price tag of about $999 USD.

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