We spotted some fun new vending machines for magazines in Shanghai metro stations – an easy and fun way to grab a read before a commute.

The machines are well lit and include titles such as Marie Claire, Elle and Elle Men. We’re interested to see if this kicks in elsewhere. For previous reports on vending machines: crab, fresh fruit and subway souvenirs, and fresh fruit juice.

Once upon a time, 80s youth used to pay 19 RMB to play at Be For Time tea houses with an all-you-can-drink menu. Recently, we checked out one of the popular spots in the Zhongshan Park area of Shanghai to see how game bars have changed. Located in a normal apartment on the opposite side of Cloud Nine shopping mall, the bar was full of young people playing Killer of Three Kingdoms (aka KTK or 三国杀 in Chinese). Entrance and drinks is now 35 RMB but – as you can see – cups are also printed with characters from KTK.

FreeCondom is Beijing’s newest hit app – financed and launched by the National Population and Family Planning Research Institute. As a sexual health initiative, FreeCondom does exactly what the name implies: offers a selection of free condoms. Users can select up to three packs (each holding ten condoms) delivered once every two months for a 1-2 RMB delivery fee.
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On a Sunday in September, Hong Kong Plaza played host to Shanghai’s first Fashion’s Night Out. The event, sponsored and organized by Vogue, began in New York City three years ago as a remembrance of 9/11 and to promote the retail industry. This annual event keeps shops (generally luxury brands) open late. In Shanghai, participating shops included Longchamp, MCM, Coach, Tiffany’s, Ugg, and more.

In New York City, Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) takes over the Soho district in Manhattan. Stores, from Kate Spade to Gap to Nine West, host their own events and promotions throughout the evening. Celebrity appearances, cosmetic make-overs, live music, and free food draw queues of eager shoppers.

Shanghai’s first attempt did not have the pizzazz (crowds or events) that we have witnessed in NYC but we are keen to see more at the next event. Jia you Shanghai!

Xiaomi, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, just released its first Android-based smartphone for delivery in October. With 300,000 pre-orders placed in just 34 hours, the company has had to halt additional orders for the time being. What makes the brand’s first product so enticing is its price – and functionality. Unlike Apple’s extremely popular iPhone offering, Xiaomi’s M1 has a 1.5-gigahertz (GHz) dual core processor and can run two operating systems at the same time (Android and MIUI). Our trendspotter Genie was so excited to get into the queue that she uploaded a screenshot to her Renren account, sharing her upcoming purchase with her friends (picture above).

Xiaomi’s CEO explains how the phone is specifically tailored for the market on TechRice, a China-focused technology site.

From the article:

“Lei Jun (the CEO) has a clear challenge for the rest of local Chinese mobile manufacturers makers: ‘My phone is quality and yours are Shan Zhai.’

The next bombshell Lei Jun dropped was pricing, at an incredible RMB 1999 Chinese consumers can expect to buy a Dual-Core 1.5G smart phone with more tailor-made features than any other phones available in the local market. This was certainly mostly unexpected prior Lei Jun’s announcement. Especially when other local smart phone makers are targeting their initial offering price around RMB 2500. The Chinese smart phone market will be facing a shake up when Xiaomi Phone launches for sales in October.

Apart from the local competitors, the higher end foreign smart phones will also face considerable pressure from this competitive pricing that can only be regarded as the initiation of a possible price war.

Just a few weeks after hearing about the innovative shopping in Korea subway from BBC News, we are excited to discover the technology applied by the online grocer Yihaodian. Shanghai commuters can find it in metro stations now.

As BBC reported,

Mobile technology is far more advanced in Korea, where Tesco this week unveiled a trial aimed at commuter shopping. Instead of opening up outlets, they’ve placed electronic posters along the walls of subway stations for a ‘shopping wall’, made to look like brightly-lit supermarket displays.

Click on the barcode, place your order, and it will be delivered to you when you’re home from work in the evening.

Move over Japan, China seems to be making steady strides on the vending machine front. We have already reported on crab vending machines (check out our previous report on it ) and novelty machines carrying mementos, fresh fruit and tickets. Now we see a fresh fruit juice vending machine.