6 Must-Read Tech Stories in China This Week

iPhone? iPhone iPhone; iPhone iPhone iPhone. iPhone! But iPhone? Yes, iPhone. Here are your top stories for China this week.

1. iPhone, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone!

Yes, this week the iPhone 5 was announced, and we talked quite a bit about what that means for China, and then I whined about about how we talked about it too much. All in all, a productive week for Apple coverage.

2. Google lays the smackdown on China’s Aliyun OS

On the same day as Apple’s new device, the Acer A800 was due to launch, but the whole thing has been postponed, possibly cancelled forever. Google’s central argument is that Acer is a part of Google’s OHA of Android partners, and so shouldn’t be making devices for Alibaba’s Aliyun OS. Here’s a timeline of events:

• Friday 2pm: Our exclusive hands-on review of the Acer Aliyun OS phone.
• Friday 6pm: But… The launch event was cancelled, with Alibaba alleging it was due to Google putting pressure on Acer.
• Saturday AM: By the time we woke up on Saturday, Google had sneakily spilled the beans late-night Friday US time, saying that the Aliyun OS is a non-compliant form of Android. But Alibaba hit back by exclaiming, “Will someone please ask Google to define Android.”

3. Alifest, Alifest!

Speaking of Alibaba, we hit up Alifest and listed to its founder Jack Ma talk about the company and dispense advice to entrepreneurs. This week we also heard about Taobao’s international expansion, and Alipay’s speed on mobile devices.

4. No 4G Soon For China

We heard a grim pronouncement from MIIT this week: China isn’t getting 4G anytime soon. As if that weren’t grim enough, we also heard from China Mobile that there’s little chance the company will be offering the iPhone 5 officially.

5. WeChat Hits 200 Million Users

What the whaaaaaat? We knew WeChat was a beast, but that’s just crazy. In honor of this accomplishment, we also took a look at WeChat’s keys to success.

6. 360Buy to Expand into Games