China has been known to be a place where locals would try to develop clones of authentic peripherals which pose as an alternative for people who cannot afford the original. And as far as headcount is concerned, it is not surprising to find over a million of them in China. Add to the fact that these figures may as well be too modest!

Although it has not yet formally entered China, the number of iPhones entering the Chinese market through various channels has reached over one million. Telecommunications consulting service company Ovum recently released a report that says it has taken little more than a year for sales of the iPhone to double in the Chinese market. However, compared with the popularity in China, iPhone sales in North America were exceeded by RIM’s BlackBerry for the first time.

At the end of 2007, consulting firm In-stat pointed out that the unlocked number of iPhones in the Chinese market reached 400,000, which means that within just more than a year, iPhone sales in China had increased by 2.5 times. Ovum estimates that if China Unicom introduces iPhone officially, sales in China will rise in a straight line.

Now is that good or bad? You be the judge.

(Source) China Stakes

Tags: Apple, BlackBerry, Business, China Unicom, chinese market, clones, consulting firm, consulting service, estimates, headcount, iPhone, iPhone, iphones, north america, one million, peripherals, popularity, RIM, straight line, telecommunications, where locals

Another classic game is going to be available for the iPhone soon. Thanks to the efforts of First Star Software and Chillingo, Boulder Dash will be soon playable on iPhones which was first seen via Apple. First Star Software has re-engineered Boulder Dash for the iPhone and iPod Touch to make use of “multi-touch; ‘pinch’ zoom; the ability to switch between portrait and landscape modes on the fly”.

The major hurdle for this game to make it to the iPhone is one of controls. Past iPhone Boulder Dash clones have failed to successfully make this transition. In the original version, quick joystick control was required to navigate some of the more complicated mazes. First Star Software has chosen to go with a variety of control options to accommodate different players.

There are two virtual pad controls and one swipe control. Virtual control pads offer the up/down/left/right buttons in a standard plus-sign configuration (screenshot) or divided (screenshot) into separate up/down or left/right controls. Meanwhile, the swipe controls allow you to swipe anywhere in the direction you want to go. Swiping and holding allows you to continue moving in that direction.

(Source) Touch Arcade

Tags: Apple, boulder dash, Cell Phones, classic game, clones, control options, first star, hurdle, iPhone, iPhone, iphones, joystick control, landscape modes, Mobile Software, original version, screenshot, star software, transition, virtual control, virtual pad, zoom