ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most rapid developments in adoption and usage patterns for mobile or cell phones can today be observed in Southeast Asia, where the Japanese and South Korean markets for mobile telephony are already mature, and where the Chinese market is set to overtake them very quickly in terms of quantity but perhaps also in terms of technological sophistication. It is therefore important to observe the developing uses of mobilephone-based communication and to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese approach to mobile technologies, across a variety of social, commercial, and offi cial domains. As approaches to mobile telephony mature across these domains, the technology itself is gradually fi nding its place and role in Chinese society-a role which may vary signifi cantly from that in other societies. This social construction of technology is necessarily an ongoing, never-complete process negotiated between everyday users, corporate service providers, and government regulators.
