卦Trigram 2.0
Asian Snowcrash

I’ve already spoken about why I moved from the old blog address, and mentioned that I split the topics of that one blog between several new, more focussed blogs - of which this is one.

One consequence of moving was that my traffic dropped significantly (only temporarily,I hope!) That made a recent spike in visitor numbers all the more noticeable. The new traffic was all to one post - the one about the Meizu MiniOne being featured in the Straits Times; my post got mentioned in the MeizuMe forum site, which drew a flood of traffic, several hundred visitors over a day or so.

I’m still watching the traffic for a while before i do any detailed analysis, but it’s immediately clear that the interest is concentrated in Europe and the US. There’s some, but not much, traffic from developing countries; almost no-one came from Africa.

Initial summary of my conclusions:

• this traffic came from a fan-site, not mainstream media;
• traffic to my post spiked immediately after the link went up; MeizuMe members are monitoring the site closely for updates;
• the site members are eagerly anticipating the release of the M8, and there is a great deal of speculation over what the phone’s final specifications will be;
• the traffic came largely from developed, mature markets. There are plenty of handphone models available there, and yet these indivduals are interested in a specific model from a Chinese manufacturer.

I find this very interesting indeed: what we are seeing seems to be a ‘cult’ forming, beneath the radar of most analysts. Of course, it’s nowhere near the size, and has nothing like the strength, of the iPhone movement. Furthermore, it draws much of its initial momentum from the iPhone, which has clearly inspired the design. However, to dismiss it as a cheap knock-off clone,as the Straits Times did, is pretty lazy; the M8 is a feature-rich phone that improves on the iPhone in various ways. What exactly is generating the excitement is something to be looked at further. Speaking personally, as someone who is also looking forward to the M8’s release, I find that while the iPhone is very cool, it just doesn’t suit my day-to-day needs; it also costs more than I want to pay, given that I don’t spend much on fashion items, and need features more than I need ‘cool’. This, for example, is why I bought an Asus EeePC rather than a MacBook Air!

Also…. and I speak here as a long-standing Mac fan, I’m turned off by the way Apple seem to be developing the iPhone as a closed system. I know that they’ve turned around, and announced that third-party apps will be allowed soon, but first impressions count, and Apple’s gone corporate; the ‘rebel’ factor has moved to China…

Another notable point about the M8 is that it is Meizu’s first phone; the company is better known as a manufacturer of MP3 players, and is now diversifying into a new product line, bringing a strong consumer base with it.

I think this is an important indicator of future trends. The scattershot design method of Chinese phone manufacturers, which I wrote about on a previous occasion, is generating a lot of niche models. These are already beginning to find a market outside China, and as they become better-known for variety and pricing, their market will grow. Since manufacturing costs are not high - which makes short-run production feasible - I’m thinking of this process as guerilla design for the long tail…

More on this later, perhaps. As for the M8, that Straits Times article wasn’t backed up by anything solid. I’m going to assume that it was filler, since pretty much all of the content has been available online for some time. Regarding the local content, where the author referred to local shops preparing to stock the M8, I was in Sim Lim Square a few days afterwards, scouting out prices for the EeePC, and I didn’t see any evidence of phone shops advertising the M8. That’s not to say that nobody is, but there’s no buzz to speak of. In fact, the MeizuMe forum is reliably suggesting that the M8 won’t hit the market until Q2. Speaking personally, I can’t wait that long, as my current phone is on its last legs… I’m still tempted by the CECT T100, as I am curious about its bioemetric security system….

The Straits Times has a piece in its Home section today on the MiniOne. Apparently, it’s expected to hit the market here in Singapore from next month, and will cost between S$600 - S$700. The author, technology correspondent Alfred Siew, does mention that it will run Windows Mobile, but mostly discusses the similarity between the appearance of the M8 and the iPhone. He’s hardly the first, but goes on to focus on the “Chinese ripoff” angle, with mentions of cheap iPod knock-offs (the Zling Nax I bought in Carrefour would be one example - and it is cheap and shoddy, I agree!). Still, it would have been useful to mention that the M8 apparently will have a lot of differences with the iPhone, and will be superior in some regards (such as the better cameras). The piece is topped by a couple of uncredited images to compare the M8 and the iPhone. Pity, it could have been a lot more in-depth, and taken a look at current Chinese innovation in the mobile market, rather than just going for the cheap shot.

Since Gizmodo is reporting a likely launch date of March 3rd… perhaps I’ll hang on and get one after all once I hit Beijing.

And since I’m talking of Apple and Beijing, MacNN report that the Chinese capital’s first Apple Store is planned to be on Qianmen street - which is to say, the sanitised, faux-traditional shopping quadrant that is being constructed on the ruins of what was a truly old, vibrant community.

I loved the old Qianmen; I’ve written before on my martial arts blog about my experiences, and the great times I had, there. I guess I’ll just have to see what I think of the new one when I get there, but the metaphor of an Apple Store emerging from the ruins of a bustling and ancient part of Chinese history doesn’t need me to labour the point.

I’ve been under the impression that when the iPhone is launched next year in Asia, it will have Korean and Japanese input, but not Chinese. Unfortunately, I can’t locate the source that originally mentioned it. Anyway, it seems there’s already a hack that allows the ‘Sinification’ of the iPhone.

However… this only appears to change the menus. You know what I really want Apple - or someone else - to provide? I mean, come on: this is a touch-screen device. I want to be able to write characters on the screen with my fingers, and to have hanyu pinyin options. No small demand, I know, but with Chinese characters being used all over Asia, even the world, surely there’s a big enough market for someone to develop this…?

New shots of the Meizu M8, aka MiniOne:

A new colour scheme… It seems that the release date has been pushed back to Feb/March next year - around the time I’ll be in Beijing… Pity, had hoped to get one before then… I wonder if it’s any coincidence that the iPhone is due to be released in Asia around the same time….

Update 18 Nov 2007:

This post from Little Red Blog makes me wonder whether the delay is due to licensing issues. On the other hand, Olivia Chung’s article on the liberalization of the phone market - which I wrote about recently - would suggest that this problem should be going away. Anybody know?