China's Influence on Global Technology?

I came across a really interesting article on CNET about China's influence on global tastes in the motor industry. China has recently overtaken the US as being the biggest automotive consumer industry. You might think, so what? China is on the other side of the world but consumer demands in China reflects what the consumer gets in the US.

I found this to be really interest. CNET mentions that car manufacturers have coined the term - 'C-Factor' in relation to this new found influence. I think this speaks volumes of the new position Asian countries find themselves in - specifically China and Taiwan.

Traditionally, Japanese and South Korean businesses are reverred for their technological expertise and approach to economy and business. Everyone is well aware of the technological power houses that dominate the tech landscape: Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and LG to name just a few. But in recent years we have seen the rise of HP, Apple and Dell, Western technology companies that continue to thrive. However, even more recently we have seen the growth of two new East Asian countries within the technology market - China and Taiwan.

China's technology industry has recently been making a lot of headlines internationally due to the controversial tragedies at Foxconn, manufacturers of Apple products amongst many other products for leading technology companies. China's Lenovo PC manufacturer is now in the top 4 selling companies and will continue to grow.

Taiwan doesn't normally get the same amount of headlines as China but its technology industry is making business headlines as it continues to rapidly grow. Acer has become the second biggest computer manufacturer - leap frogging Dell to reach the coveted spot. Although this is somewhat dismissed by Dell (who wrongly or rightly claim it is profit not sale numbers that count), it is still a huge achievement. I guess what it shows is that the technology industry is a continually changing landscape. It will be interesting to see how/if the C-Factor and T-Factor affects other industries such as food, health and so on. Ultimately though, it will be interesting to see if these new companies can continue at the pace they are currently at and if they can stay ahead of the competition once they reach the top.

(Image credited to here)

Apple iAd Network

Apple has announced that the launch date for the iAd mobile advertising network will be July 1. Why is this platform different from other types of advertising that one can find on the Internet or by watching television?

As Steve Jobs said in his last presentation in relation to the Iphone OS4: “What we want to do with iAd´s is to deliver interaction but also deliver emotion.”

It is a well-known fact that interactive ads on the web are not capable of delivering emotion. On the other hand, television ads are capable of delivering emotion but not interaction. Apple wants to sit in the middle and deliver interaction and at the same time emotion. This is the reason why this new feature by Apple is so important. Users can interact with advertising through distinct features such as: full-screen video, audio, games, maps, and more. It is also very important to note that one does not have to leave the application that they are currently using. By simply clicking on an (x) on the top left corner of their Iphone, the phone goes automatically back to the application the user was using before clicking on the ad.

Apple is also trying to help developers and this is the reason why they have decided to give 60% of advertising revenue to developers. This product will be available for iphone and ipod touch users and it will truly change ads in the mobile industry.