Chinavasion Bulletin *Christmas Edition*

What’s been happening in the world of Chinavasion this week?

Reasonably cool over here in South China, but we certainly aren’t suffering from the epic snow that much of the Western world has! I kind of miss it to be honest, although I’m sure I’d be saying differently if it was I who was stuck in endless tailbacks on the motorway!

Festive spirit is still running at about 1 out of 10 over here, but such is life for expats in a foreign country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. I am gearing up with mince pies, egg nog and mulled wine for tomorrow, as well as traditional (as we can make it) Turkey Christmas dinner. It’s just that when everyone around you is carrying on as if it’s any other day, it dulls the ‘special feeling’ somewhat!

Nonetheless, I really hope that you all have a wonderful day and get something good out of tomorrow, whether it be a lovely gift or just spending time with loved ones.

China is a pretty closed country. That’s the common view, but in fact China’s global activities are increasing steadily and BBC article casts some light on their role in Africa. Friend or foe? Well, over the years many countries have arguably taken advantage of Africa without giving much back, but the Chinese are helping to build a lot of infrastructure.

We were pleased to see the Octopus – Attachable Battery for iPod and iPhone featured in the mighty Gizmodo. You can read the Gizmodo Octopus review and see what they had to say.

It certainly is a unique charger that literally sucks onto the back of your iPhone – neat!

As it’s the end of the year I have done the predictable and written a 2 part blog exploring my top 10 gadget picks from 2010, but with a twist. I’ve picked some of the world’s most famous gadgets from big names and given you their far more reasonably priced equivalent from your very own Chinavasion!

In Part 1 I looked at phones, tablets and some other juicy gadget lovelies and in Part 2 I followed up with camcorders, watches and other ‘must have’ items.

If you disagree with my picks, what were your ‘stand-out’ gadgets from 2010? We’d like to hear from you, so get in touch with us through the blog, Facebook, Twitter etc. You can also vote below to tell us which of my picks are your favourite!

Adrian’s Pick Of The Week

It’s too late for a stocking-filler, but this Digital Alarm Clock with Thermometer and Blue Backlight is a snip at just US$3.99!

What’s so special about it? It’s got all of the usual functions, but also has a thermometer which, with just one glance, can help you decide what you’ll need to wear today. Best of all is its cool blue surround light.

At this price you can easily throw a couple into your next order as a gift for friends, or if you’re a reseller as a free gift for your valued customers!

Remember, keep checking the new products page for the latest releases, especially if you’re reselling!

Here Are Some Of The Customer Questions We’ve Been Asked Recently:

“How come the shipping rate on your website is higher than before?”

Chinavasion won’t change the shipping rate for no reason, it is just because couriers such as DHL, UPS and Fedex did their annual price readjustment at the end of this month and they also adjusted the shipping cost in accordance with the fuel price on the market.

“It seems that Chinese New Year is approaching, do I need to buy some extra stock?”

Certainly, this is the right time that you need to make more purchases for stock before Chinavasion’s New Year Holiday. We do have staff on duty during that period, but you don’t want to delay your business even for one second, right? So play safe and bring in extra stock of your most popular items and accessories.

“I got a broken package today, what am I going to do with it?”

Regrettably some packages can get damaged in transit, however shipping companies would take full responsibility for such dead-on-arrival packages provided that good proof is presented to them. So the only thing you as a receiver need to do is to keep the whole package as it is when you received it, take pictures of the broken box and send them to us. We will handle the rest and try to get your money back from the shipping service.

Android App Of The Week

Gingerbread KeyboardThis Android’s newest updated keyboard. “Big deal,” you might say. “It’s only available on 2.3.” But you’d be wrong there my friend. This app allows you to put this excellent keyboard on any Android phone running 2.1 and above.

Why is it excellent? Well, it’s more accurate when it comes to picking up your touches, has better auto-correct and typing numbers and symbols is far faster. Why wouldn’t you want this keyboard?!

It is available from the good people at XDA developers, so just open that link and follow their easy instructions.

And Finally…

All that remains is for myself and everyone else at Chinavasion to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Thank you so much for your support this year and for choosing to read this blog! We’ll be in between Christmas and the New Year, so look out for more gadgets and blogs!

Chinavasion Bulletin Christmas Edition