38 Tech Stories in Asia You May Have Missed

Google took two major blows in China last week. First, Sina dropped Google as its default search engine and second, Google failed to meet the 31 March deadline to submit its map service license in China. It is very likely that Google will have to ceased its map business in the country.

It was also a busy week for Baidu as it closed its e-commerce site, tackled Wenku’s piracy problem and also launched a new feature which allow users to microblog through its search box.

In Indonesia, telecom giant, Bakrie Telecom announced its plan to invest $11.5 million in startups. The highlight, however, was its vision to combine all subsidiaries into an integrated corporation. We also saw Geisha, an Indonesian music band, launched an online concert through video streaming powered by Facebook and Twitter.

The Cricket World Cup was buzzing loud as we witnessed and celebrated India’s Cricket World Cup victory in home soil. Both Facebook and Twitter went wild as the world celebrated its victory on social media.

Japan remains at the recovery stage as Starbucks and Twitter-sourced “Quakebook” join forces to help victims.

Last week’s featured start-up includes eEvent, PriceArea, Cacoo, Scoop and NulisBuku. Here are 5 must-read Asian tech stories and another 26 below to get ready for the week ahead.

(1) Google Map in China: Google has failed to apply for a license, and that “Google Maps is very likely to cease operations in China

(2) Asia’s Mark Zuckerberg: Jack Ma’s fight to win back trust is inspiring and motivating

(3) 32 Start-ups to Watch in Asia: Catch some of the hottest start-ups in Asia in this list.

(4) World celebrated India’s Cricket World Cup Victory: The world has gone wildly happy for India on Facebook and Twitter.

(5) Baidu to Acquire English Search Engine: Baidu is seeking to acquire an English search engine. It’s true, we confirmed it with Baidu.

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(6) Microblogs: The Third Favorite Online News Source in China