Ubuntu Finds A Way Into China

After being a largely Microsoft-dominated market, China has finally made a move to unfetter itself from Microsoft’s chains by opting to sign a deal with Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu. The event was widely reported, and it was speculated that China chose to go with this decision in favor of more home-grown IT alternatives rather than looking to the West. The decision was largely based around the fact that it strengthened and upheld the Chinese Government’s propaganda of introducing an open source software ecosystem in China.

Working in close collaboration with the Chinese government, Canonical is busy developing an operating system which will be based on Ubuntu, and will be renamed as Ubuntu Kylin. Marketed as the ‘Chinese version of Ubuntu’, the software is set to be released to the masses in April 2013, in conjunction with the regular release cycle followed for all Ubuntu products.

Canonical has also received a lot of support from other software development organizations and the development of the Ubuntu Kylin has been a joint venture of the CSIP (China Software Integrated Chip Promotions Centre), Canonical and the NUDT (National University of Defense Technology). So far, it can be seen that Canonical has received huge support and good will from the Chinese Government. The three organizations have collaborated extensively to formulate the CCN Open Source Innovation Joint Lab, located in Beijing, which hosts programmers and engineers from each of the collaborating organizations.

The software of Ubuntu Kylin is said to go above and beyond other desktop and cloud software in catering to the Chinese market by utilizing functions that can support Chinese input. Other Chinese data which is supported includes a Chinese weather indicator, a Chinese calendar and allowing users to search for popular Chinese music and other services from the Dash. Though these features are largely small and may add nothing new, the concept of having a China focused software is rather new.

Future features which have been predicted for the Ubuntu include the addition of the ability to integrate functions and features which enable access to Baidu Maps, shopping services from Taobao, ability to process payments and other procedures with Chinese banks and access to information regarding real time train and flight information. Not satisfied with just that, Ubuntu Kylin programmers are teaming up with WPS in order to develop a system management and photo editing tool that can hopefully also be incorporated with other versions of Ubuntu.

However, a large amount of speculation is going on with regards to the effect this move will have on Microsoft’s hold on the market. China has a software market which was largely dominated at a rate of 91.62 percent by Microsoft, with only 7.17 percent belonging to the OS X and a pitiful 1.21 percent belonging to Linux. It should be interesting to see how the Chinese market receives the new software and how strongly Linux will dominate the market. Luckily, there is an optimistic view about the market’s general reception of the Ubuntu Kylin software.

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Will Apple Conquer The Indian Market?

Apple has enjoyed god-like status in many countries, not in the least thanks to its fan boys and girls. Fanaticism or not, one cannot simply ignore the allure that Apple products have. From iPhones to iPads to Macs to MacBooks, Apple has continued to churn out devices that do the job and look awesome. Of course, haters will be haters and there will always be those who have nothing good to say about the brand.

It is hard to argue when it comes to stats and hard numbers, though. And those are what matter when Apple enters markets. India is one of the biggest markets for electronics, and Apple has not overlooked that. As such, they entered the country not too long ago. Admittedly, they had a rather slow start, but things might have just made a turn for the better for Apple in the Indian market.

Apple’s strategy? To go to the mom-and-pop stores that are scattered all throughout the country. India is a tech-loving nation, both as consumers and manufacturers. They have a huge population, and they are considered the world’s fastest growing smartphone population. Bearing that in mind, Apple has done well to make a push.

While it still ranks second – to no less than Samsung – it does seem that Apple’s strategy is working. Currently, Apple has dedicated franchisees in the country. In order to be competitive and perhaps play catch up with Samsung, Apple needs to adapt to the specific way things are done in India – that is, forget about telecom-subsidized handsets.

According to The Economic Times, Apple is ramping up its sales strategy. It has reportedly asked its franchisees to “scale up their operations”. The plan also involves tripling exclusive stores in the country by 2015, to about a total of 200. Add that to bringing products to family-owned businesses, and Apple might just have a go at dominating the Indian market.

The question is whether or not the Indian market will have the disposable income to devour Apple devices as they come out, which is rather often these days.

So, will Apple conquer the Indian market? Perhaps.

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Does Apple Want in on the Videogame Market?

With all of the upcoming consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, the XBox 720,the PlayStation 4 and the Wii U are going to have some more major competition. The $70 billion videogame market is a large pie that Apple intends to get a big piece of. And it is now being rumored that the company will announce its plans for the Apple Joypad at its annual press event in April.

The reveal of Apple’s console could potentially cause great concern for competitors. Apple is known for dominating any market it sets its sights on, such as when the company blew up the smartphone market with the iPhone in 2007, and then taking control of the tablet market with the iPad in 2010. It’s clear that Apple will not settle for mediocrity or even second best. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo fair against the almighty Apple.

Rumors of iOS Game Controller

Though there are existing game controllers that can be used with the iPad 4 and iPhone 5, none of the currently available controllers were created by Apple.

According to PocketGamer, some executives from Apple were spotted at this year’s Game Developers Conference. The rumor is that they were there conversing with game developers in an attempt to gain support for Apple’s new iOS game controller.

Even before the iPhone 5 launched, there were stories about the company developing a physical game controller for the iPhone. Although there has yet to be a reveal of the new device, PocketGamer recently reported this confirmation. “Long rumoured – and hoped for – GDC 2013 has finally provided confirmation that Apple will release its own dedicated game controller. Of course, there’s no official word yet, but Apple has been active during the conference talking to developers about its plans and ensuring plenty of games will support the joypad at launch.”

Apple and Disney collaborating?

Another report that surfaced this year, hinted at a secret collaboration between Apple and Disney for the creation of Toy Box, and gaming console with numerous mobile and online applications. It has also been said that the console will feature various Pixar and Disney characters that will, for the first time, appear together and interact with each other.

As if Apple isn’t enough of a tech market powerhouse on its own, could teaming up with Disney make them an unstoppable presence in the gaming industry? How do you feel about the rumors, and do you think that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo will be able to keep up?

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