CHINAWATCH China reaches 485 million Inter<strong>net</strong> users as growth slows China adds 27 million Inter<strong>net</strong> users since the end <strong>of</strong> 2010 By Michael Kan, IDG News Service (Beijing Bureau) China added 27 million Inter<strong>net</strong> users over the last six months, bringing the total number to 485 million, but the growth <strong>of</strong> China’s Inter<strong>net</strong> population continues to slow, according to <strong>of</strong>ficial statistics released on Tuesday. The statistics show that between January and June China’s Inter<strong>net</strong> population grew 6.1 percent, a drop from the 9.4 percent increase the country saw during the same period in 2010. In previous years, the growth was in double digits, with China’s Inter<strong>net</strong> population increasing by 20.5 percent in the first six months <strong>of</strong> 2008. The number <strong>of</strong> Inter<strong>net</strong> users in China has more than doubled since the end <strong>of</strong> 2007, when there were 210 million. The figures released in late July came from the China Inter<strong>net</strong> Network Information Center (CNNIC), a non-pr<strong>of</strong>it group with ties to the government. China’s total Inter<strong>net</strong> pe<strong>net</strong>ration is at 36.2 percent, still far behind the US, which is at 77.3 percent, according to Inter<strong>net</strong> World Stats. The low Inter<strong>net</strong> pe<strong>net</strong>ration in China leaves 815 million people who do not use the Inter<strong>net</strong>, according to the CNNIC. Many <strong>of</strong> these people are older Chinese or from the country’s rural areas, and don’t know how to use a computer. Inter<strong>net</strong> marketing research firm comScore has more conservative figures. In May it said the country had 304.2 million Inter<strong>net</strong> users. It counted Inter<strong>net</strong> users as people over 14 who have gone online either through a home or work computer in the past month. Another estimate from com- Score, counting people who ac- cessed the Inter<strong>net</strong> through Inter<strong>net</strong> cafes or public computers, put the figure at 415.6 million. Twitter is blocked in China as part <strong>of</strong> government measures to clamp down on politically sensitive content. But similar services that are domestically run have taken <strong>of</strong>f in the country. The overall number <strong>of</strong> users <strong>of</strong> microblogging services is now 195 million, up from 63 million at the end <strong>of</strong> 2010, according to CNNIC. One <strong>of</strong> the most popular is a Chinese social <strong>net</strong>working service known as Sina Weibo, which reported 140 million registered users in May. 3 Apple’s China sales up six-fold in fiscal third quarter Apple COO Tim Cook said China has been key to the company’s record quarterly results By Michael Kan, IDG News Service (Beijing Bureau) Apple believes it is just “scratching the surface” <strong>of</strong> the Chinese market, as the company’s revenue from the country for the quarter ended June 25 increased by more than six times from the same period last year. Apple COO Tim Cook said the huge growth in “Greater China”, which includes mainland China, <strong>Hong</strong> Kong and Taiwan, propelled the company’s revenues in the market to US$3.8 billion in the quarter. For the past three fiscal quarters, total revenue from China amounted to $8.8 billion. Cook said China was key to the company’s quarterly revenue <strong>of</strong> $28.57 billion, which was up by 82 percent from the same quarter last year. “I firmly believe that we’re just scratching the surface right now,” Cook said <strong>of</strong> the Chinese market. “I think there is incredible opportunity for Apple there.” Apple’s iPhone sales have been a major driver for the company’s booming sales in the Chinese market. For the first three months <strong>of</strong> <strong>2011</strong>, iPhone sales in Greater China grew by almost 250 percent from the same period last year. In 2010, Apple opened two new retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai to coincide with the launch <strong>of</strong> its iPhone 4. The company also launched a new online store for mainland China last October, and started <strong>of</strong>fering its App Store in simplified Chinese. Apple still has a smaller share <strong>of</strong> the China’s smartphone market than its foreign competitors. During the first quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>2011</strong>, the company’s market share was at 8.4 percent, according to Beijingbased research firm Analysys International. Nokia leads with a 22.1 percent share, while the market shares <strong>of</strong> Samsung and Motorola market were 18.1 percent and 12.9 percent respectively, Analysys said. 3 28 Computerworld <strong>Hong</strong> Kong July/August <strong>2011</strong> www.cw.com.hk
www.cw.com.hk July/August <strong>2011</strong> Computerworld <strong>Hong</strong> Kong 29
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