Android in Mainland China

[nonotz]

Hello there ,
im currently in Jakarta Indonesia and there's no problem whatsoever with Google and its Minion

the prob is ,
im moving to china next month ...

i know theres problem between google and china government

the question is :
- Will any google related app works there ? (Gmail , Talk , Maps , Market , etc.... )

 

[Guamguy]

They would, if they're not being blocked at that moment. If not, there are a lot of downloading substitutes. Unlike in the US, Android in China has grown to become Google independent. Baidu, and all these Chinese SNS and IM services, apps and games, have their own independent download sites. China Mobile for example, has its own app store on its Android phones aka OMS or OPhone. Likewise with China Unicom. Since mainland China makes ---and uses--- a lot of cheap Android tablets that don't have the Market, an app ecosystem independent of the Android Market has evolved, and there are many download sites. However, there is also the increased risk of viruses and trojans, in fact the one main reported one came from China and is meant to deliberately target downloaders.

Its easy to beat the GFW however. You have to find a VPN provider and set up a VPN account. Use this to enable your VPN settings on your Android. There you can access US based services freely including Google, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. I am assuming you are familiar with the concept of Virtual Private Networks.

 

[mikedt]

Hello there ,
im currently in Jakarta Indonesia and there's no problem whatsoever with Google and its Minion

the prob is ,
im moving to china next month ...

Welcome to the club.. hahahaha.

i know theres problem between google and china government

the question is :
- Will any google related app works there ? (Gmail , Talk , Maps , Market , etc.... )

Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Maps and Buzz all work OK in China. If you bring an Android device 'with Google' into China, Android Market works, but it's free apps and games only. Android devices sold in the mainland, have their own systems of distributing apps and games, along with the occasional malware...oops. NO Google Docs or Youtube. Google.cn does give away free MP3 music, which is very nice of them, this can be downloaded directly and played on Android devices

 

[nonotz]

Its easy to beat the GFW however. You have to find a VPN provider and set up a VPN account. Use this to enable your VPN settings on your Android. There you can access US based services freely including Google, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. I am assuming you are familiar with the concept of Virtual Private Networks.

yes , im familiar with VPN
but is it really necessary?

since mikedt said that it worked just fine ....

Welcome to the club.. hahahaha.

Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Maps and Buzz all work OK in China. If you bring an Android device 'with Google' into China, Android Market works, but it's free apps and games only. Android devices sold in the mainland, have their own systems of distributing apps and games, along with the occasional malware...oops. NO Google Docs or Youtube. Google.cn does give away free MP3 music, which is very nice of them, this can be downloaded directly and played on Android devices

nice to hear that ... (relieved big time )

the apps issue shouldnt be a big prob since its an android
apk is scattered everywhere

btw , what's your provider there?
and what provider do you suggest ? (in term of data speed , quota , etc. )

 

[mikedt]

yes , im familiar with VPN
but is it really necessary?

A VPN is necessary if you wish to use Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and that sort of thing. I don't use these. EDIT:- I will also add that the free Wordpress and Blogger sites are also censored in China, but again I don't use these.

Many of the free photo sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket are also blocked, or at least partially blocked by the GFW. This seems to come and go, depending on location and ISP.

Apple's MobileMe with photo and video sharing, web hosting, etc, is freely available in China. As this is a paid service, presumably people are not using it for hosting politically sensitive material.

nice to hear that ... (relieved big time )

the apps issue shouldnt be a big prob since its an android
apk is scattered everywhere

btw , what's your provider there?
and what provider do you suggest ? (in term of data speed , quota , etc. )

My home internet is a 2MBit China Unicom DSL. Didn't really have much choice here as it's paid for by my employer.

For wireless comms and internet, you have a choice of 3 carriers:-

(1) China Telecom CDMA/EV-DO. I have a 3G USB modem dongle with them, coverage is great, can usually get 2-4Mbit speeds. Prepaid for the amount data want to use. 200RMB for 6GB.

(2) China Mobile GSM/and a 3G technology which is unique to China. My Galaxy S is on this carrier. Only really use for voice and texts, most internet activities done with my phone are via Wi-Fi.

(3) China Unicom GSM/HSDPA. No experience of this wireless carrier. But I've heard both good and bad things about them, good speeds but marginal coverage especially in rural areas, etc.

Most mobile phones in China are on some form of prepaid service... notable exception is the iPhone 4 on China Unicom.

Another peculiarity of wireless service in China. Is that each city and province has it's own SIMs. I have a Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia SIM. If I travel to let's say Shanghai, although my phone will work, I will have to pay much more for service. This is why many phones here have 2 SIM slots.

 

[nonotz]

A VPN is necessary if you wish to use Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and that sort of thing. I don't use these. EDIT:- I will also add that the free Wordpress and Blogger sites are also censored in China, but again I don't use these.

Many of the free photo sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket are also blocked, or at least partially blocked by the GFW. This seems to come and go, depending on location and ISP.

Apple's MobileMe with photo and video sharing, web hosting, etc, is freely available in China. As this is a paid service, presumably people are not using it for hosting politically sensitive material.

My home internet is a 2MBit China Unicom DSL. Didn't really have much choice here as it's paid for by my employer.

For wireless comms and internet, you have a choice of 3 carriers:-

(1) China Telecom CDMA/EV-DO. I have a 3G USB modem dongle with them, coverage is great, can usually get 2-4Mbit speeds. Prepaid for the amount data want to use. 200RMB for 6GB.

(2) China Mobile GSM/and a 3G technology which is unique to China. My Galaxy S is on this carrier. Only really use for voice and texts, most internet activities done with my phone are via Wi-Fi.

(3) China Unicom GSM/HSDPA. No experience of this wireless carrier. But I've heard both good and bad things about them, good speeds but marginal coverage especially in rural areas, etc.

Most mobile phones in China are on some form of prepaid service... notable exception is the iPhone 4 on China Unicom.

Another peculiarity of wireless service in China. Is that each city and province has it's own SIMs. I have a Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia SIM. If I travel to let's say Shanghai, although my phone will work, I will have to pay much more for service. This is why many phones here have 2 SIM slots.

so from your info , my best bet is goin with china unicom for my phone ?

since im going to beijing , coverage shouldnt be a problem (or am i wrong ? )

thx for your quick response though

 

[mikedt]

so from your info , my best bet is goin with china unicom for my phone ?

since im going to beijing , coverage shouldnt be a problem (or am i wrong ? )

thx for your quick response though

As you appear to have a HTC Desire from your profile, yes I think China Unicom is the best choice for your phone. AFAIK their coverage in Beijing is complete, same for most other cities.

I think it's in the rural areas that Unicom's coverage tends to be somewhat less complete than China Mobile. I've seen that even the poorest of peasants use mobile phones, always China Mobile. One can go into some quite remote villages, and one will always find a China Mobile dealer there.

 

[whindam14]

I have a Nexus One, and My VPN works when I'm on Wifi, but when I'm on the China Mobile network and switch the VPN on, nothing works at all. Any solutions?

 

[cdbeijing]

If i travel outside china to the US and roam on a US provider network, is it possible to download skype onto my CHina Telecom android and then be able to use skype when i am back in China?

 

[Guamguy]

That will depend if Skype was blocked or not. I thought the Chinese authorities were going to block Skype.

You don't need to roam on a US provider network. When you travel, just access the Wifi and the Google servers determines your location via the network IP. Remember to set the appropriate location settings. You maybe able to download the apps you need from the Android Market.

 

[s327374]

IM+ seems to work for my Skype accounts.

(in China)

 

[cilshakya]

are there free vpn softwares i can install on my phone to work on either wifi or China Mobile Network? i use freegate for access to beyond the GFW on my computer. What can I do to do the same thing on samsung galaxy fit?

i am a new user of androids and not too familiar with the stuff. but i've been reading forums and just read rooting the phone and installing market enabler to access android market. wouldn't it be much simpler and effective if i could just use a vpn?