Streaming Hong Kong’s Latest….on YouTube

OK, it’s not all of what’s going on in Hong Kong, but it provides some content that others in HK see day in and day out, so it gives an inkling of an idea of what’s going on in HK:

http://www.youtube.com/user/nowtv

http://www.youtube.com/user/RTHK

http://www.youtube.com/user/tvb

http://www.youtube.com/user/appleactionews

http://www.youtube.com/user/hkheadlinenews

http://www.youtube.com/user/hkreportermyradio12

http://www.youtube.com/user/EMPMarketing

http://www.youtube.com/user/hkatv

http://www.youtube.com/user/hkejvideo

http://www.youtube.com/user/HKMediaAsia

http://www.youtube.com/user/komanhei

http://www.youtube.com/user/OpenUofHK

http://www.youtube.com/user/WeekendWeekly

Most are from established organizations in HK or original sources, so there should be no issue of legality here.  Sometimes ATV has some good stuff from a handful of their original programmers – perfect for YouTube.  HKMediaAsia provides trailers of the latest movies in HK – Yahoo HK has it but due to the location of the server, it sometimes doesn’t offer the best viewing experience.

AppleActionNews has the most “outrageous” news segments, often becoming news itself.

American Eagle Outfitters Opening in Hong Kong March 11 and 12!!

One less reason to buy “American” things back to HK…

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703890904575296792387833232.html

New Website to Book Hong Kong Hotel Rooms

Everyone knows that you can book a hotel room in HK using mainstream sites such as expedia.com or travelocity.com.

The advent of daily deals and discount sites has prompted several HK hotel sites to pop up.  I have reported and used frequently hotel.hk as a point of reference, since prices listed on this website reflects travel agency prices.

Recently I also discovered another website that has comprehensive pricing and searching capabilities:

http://www.hotelinhongkong.net/

Hotel.hk also revamped its website to allow for extensive searching.  Happy comparison shopping.

 

Hong Kong’s IT/Phone Sites

Hong Kong’s IT/phone discussions mostly take place offline – meaning HKers buy magazines, discuss phones among friends and family.  I haven’t seen a lot of “online action” in this regard.  But turns out there are still a few websites that touch on these subjects:

- RingHK.com

- ePrice.com.hk

- http://www.hksilicon.com/kb/

Streaming From….

The whole Internet world seems to be marching toward streaming content – no more VHS, DVD, or box set – on-demand streaming is the way to go.

Some new “spots” have popped up in light of this trend:

Taiseng MyTV - http://mytv.taiseng.com/

Not exactly a groundbreaking offer, but Taiseng is brave enough to put all of its fairly recent content on its website.   You can try it for two weeks  and the subscription fee (I think) is $11.99 per month + tax.  Just like its predecessor, some of the time-sensitive content is not as up-to-date, so you will have to adjust for that.  I still wouldn’t go for it unless it provides same-day content as HK on demand + live news channel.

創富坊 – TVB’s answer to MSNBC  http://mytv.tvb.com/news/moneysmart/live#page-1

Sometimes they have headline news, which is more updated then the once-a-day 6:30 newscast.  It is on only when the stock market is open (9:30 AM – 12:30 PM, 2:15 PM – 5:15 PM local time during weekdays).  Good alternative if you buy stocks in Asia.

 

 

Watsons Hong Kong’s Loyalty Program – FREE Stuff!

Watsons Hong Kong (www.watsons.com.hk) took out a multi-page ad in HKHeadline today (10/8 Friday HK time) touting its loyalty program.  Curious and knowing this is Watsons’ defensive move against Mannings’ “Little Manning Girl” ads, I checked their website.   At the site you will see a revamped site with:  a lifestyle magazine (http://www.watsons.com.hk/webhk/zht/BreathMagazine.html) with surprisingly amount of content (36 pages!) I must say – too bad latest issue only August 2010 though; very comprehensive information on membership information, point redemption information, etc. (http://www.watsons.com.hk/membership/chi/about_card.html).

I would recommend anyone who is going back to HK (even for a short period of time) to fill out a form to get this card because Watsons gives you 800 points just for filling out a form.  If you look at the picture below, you will see that you can get either FREE portable tissue packs (500 points) or sanitizer gel (400 points) or even Pringles (600 points)*.

*Disclaimer:  Not advocating anyone to voluntarily give up their personal information, please do this at your own personal discretion and use your best judgement.

At the same time, Mannings also put out print ads on their latest products.  However, when I visited their website and clicked on their link “Health ID” (this is what they called their loyalty program membership card), it just says, “website is under maintenance.  Please try again later.”  Boo.

 

eBooks Are All the Rage

Saw a news magazine episode on ebooks (http://mytv.tvb.com/news/newsmagazine/111626#page-1). Didn’t know Hong Kong Government has been pushing ebooks in the classrooms for at least 8 years now. Discovered author/movie producer/commentator Choi Lang (蔡瀾) being a big proponent of this new medium. Found his website (http://www.chualambooks.com/) and his publisher, which pushes ebooks as a new category of products now (http://www.ebookhongkong.com/book/book06.html). Selection is quite limited, but hopefully it will grow into a power Chinese-language presence on iTunes!

Hong Kong Sites in English

If you don’t read Chinese, chances are these sites will help you navigate HK and learn about what’s happening in the city better:

http://www.hiphongkong.com/

http://www.hkclubbing.com/

History of a Dress, Chinese Style – Exhibit in Hong Kong

Awesome if you are in HK:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/fashion/31iht-FDRESS.html

http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/History/en/ex_special_qp_mar10.php

Tech Related Sites from Hong Kong

Being the electronics trend setter/follower that it is, Hong Kong has no shortage of tech/electronic news to report.  Yet simply because of the ubiquity of technologies, one can easily spot the latest cell phone or electronic gadget without having to pay a visit to “first report” on Engadget or any name-your-favorite news-breaking tech blogs.

However, I am delighted to have found a few sites that report on the latest trends in the context of HK”s tech scene and the latest happenings on startups based out of HK:

http://chinese.engadget.com/category/hk-news

http://unwire.hk/

http://www.852signal.com/