Xiaomi Apologizes for Data Access

According to Slashdot, now Xiaomi has apologized for collecting private data from its customers.

From the article: “Xiaomi Inc said it had upgraded its operating system to ensure users knew it was collecting data from their address books after a report by a computer security firm said the Chinese budget smartphone maker was taking personal data without permission. The privately held company said it had fixed a loophole in its cloud messaging system that had triggered the unauthorized data transfer and that the operating system upgrade had been rolled out on Sunday. The issue was highlighted last week in a blog post by security firm F-Secure Oyg. In a lengthy blogpost on Google Plus, Xiaomi Vice President Hugo Barra apologized for the unauthorized data collection and said the company only collects phone numbers in users’ address books to see if the users are online.”

Goodbye, Wangba

China has roughly 135,000 Internet cafés with an average of 80-100 seats each. The usage of I-cafés has steadily declined as the penetration rate of home PCs with broadband connections has increased, and as mobile gaming has taken market share from PC gaming.

However, as Niko has mentioned in our analysis in the past, strong demand for I-café gaming exists among MoBA gamers, such as those who play League of Legends. This interesting photo history of I-café usage posted on ChinaSmack.com shows images that many foreigners will find enlightening with regard to Chinese I-cafés.

iDreamSky Goes Public on NASDAQ

Leading Chinese mobile games localization company iDreamSky, a company that helps many foreign mobile games access the rapidly growing Chinese market, has publicly listed its shares on NASDAQ. The company raised $115 million in the first day of trading.

China Regulates IM Services

The Chinese government has passed a regulation that will require users of instant messaging services to use real names when registering in an effort to hold users responsible for content. Marbridge Daily provided some of the policy guidelines.