Here at dotMobi, we've been so busy preparing for the availability of our new Chinese IDN / keywords bundle next week that I didn't realize how quiet we've been on our blog.
The dotMobi / Huarui bundle of keywords and Chinese-language .mobi domains will be available beginning at 4 a.m. UTC on October 29, 2009, and will finish at 4 a.m. UTC on November 28, 2009. Immediately after on November 28, general registration will commence, and the keyword / Chinese-language .mobi domain bundle will be available at standard prices.
As you might guess, doing business in China is a unique experience, which is why this has absorbed much of the dotMobi team's time. But one very big plus we have by being an Ireland-based company is help from Enterprise Ireland, who work around the world to develop Irish businesses internationally. Their help was extremely valuable in preparing to bring our first China-specific service to market.
To kick-off the launch activities, there was a formal signing ceremony in Beijing on October 13, 2009. Below is a photo from the event. In front on the left is Yang Zemin, President of the China Academy of Telecommunications Research (CATR), and on the right is Trey Harvin, CEO of dotMobi. Behind them, left to right, are Ambassador Declan Kelleher, Ireland’s Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, Minister Billy Kelleher T. D., and Hugh Cooney, Chairman of Enterprise Ireland.
Hi interesting news. Just to clarify, the sale of Chinese domains here presumably means International Domain Names (IDNs) ? Until now you in .mobi could only register a Chinese name in pinyin (Roman alphabet). Does this mean IDN registrations will follow in other scripts or languages such as Cyrillic?
Posted by: Clubland | 29 October 2009 at 11:37 PM
Yes, Chinese .mobi domains here means IDNs (noted above but maybe not as clear as it could be.)
dotMobi will follow this with IDNs in other scripts but we don't yet have a formal release schedule.
Posted by: Vance Hedderel, Director PR & Communications, dotMobi | 30 October 2009 at 03:58 PM
Great progress for dot.mobi! Now the German speaking countries are waiting for their IDNs ä (ae), ö (oe), ü (ue). Looking forward to the next steps.
Posted by: Schlagzeilen | 31 October 2009 at 09:36 AM