Meizu M8's New Interface Almost Makes Me Want It

Meizu M8, maybe the most legendary knockoff gadget around, maintains its "inspired" tradition with a refreshed UI that feels faintly of the Palm Pre in terms of graphical styling. I like it, even if I know, really, I'd hate it. More »

Meizu Pondering Follow Up To M8 With 3G, GPS And a 5-Megapixel Camera

Despite years of unfulfilled hype about the M8 iPhone clone, it appears that Meizu's CEO Jack Wong is talking about a new installment that may or may not include 3G, GPS and a 5-megapixel camera. More »

Meizu's M8 iPhoneclone UI Demoed, Looks Cloned Indeed

Meizu's fabled M8 iPhoneclone may indeed be soon on sale, but until now we've only seen bits and bobs of its user interface: Now Meizu is demonstrating this with a neat little animation site. And guess what? Go on, you'll never guess! ...It's a pretty similar beast to the iPhone. There're some tweaks and differences of course, but Meizu's taken inspiration from Apple pretty deeply into their own design. We'll just have to see what it looks and feels like in the flesh to see exactly how similar it ends up being. [Meizu via Engadget]

Meizu's M8 iPhone Clone To Hit US Shores by Christmas Eve

We recently mentioned that Meizu's M8 iPhone clonephone was really coming to the shops in China at the end of the year, but according to the head of the company, things'll be happening a bit sooner than that. More »

Meizu M8 iPhone Clone Hitting China, India In December

Meizu's iPhone copycatting M8 cellphone is to be vaporware no longer thanks to GeekITstores, who will be launching it in China then India from December onwards. The 8GB model is apparently due to cost somewhere between $380 and $470, and will be launched with "complete fanfare"...presumably because it's the "iPhone killer," or so says the press release. In fact, GeekITStores really seem to love the device, saying it was looking for a "better, cheaper alternative" to the iPhone for Indian customers. Read on for the press release. More »

Meizu M8 Captured On Film: Realer Than Big Foot But Not Nearly As Interesting

Remember the Meizu M8? It was the iPhone clone, the one that we were all excited to see...back in 2007. Now that Apple's added 3G to the mix, expanded storage and lowered the price with contract, the prospect of a (still unreleased) 8GB iClone has gotten a whole lot less enticing. But just for those who thought Meizu could never do it, here's a decent walkthrough of their interface. Please note, however, that the clip contains some suggestive images of (underage?) females that you may not want to play at work. Stay classy, Meizu! [via Electronista]

Meizu M8 iClone Finally Coming in August?

Meizu will finally release the iPhone-wannabe M8 in August, according to a cryptic message board post by CEO Jack Wong. The first version will have 128MB RAM and an unspecified amount of storage, and a second version should ship in October with 256MB RAM and 8GB on-board flash. The funniest part? The M8 will cost around $320, or $120 more than the AT&T subsidized 8GB iPhone 3G here in the US of A. Luckily for them (and us) this probably won't see its way outside of China. [Meizu via Electronista]

Meizu Adding Live Messenger to iPhone Vaporware Clone

The apparently incombustible Meizu CEO, Jack Wong, has just announced that they are going to add Live Messenger to their M8 cellphone, the rather pathetic and sad motherboard that wants to be an iPhone clone when it grows up (if it ever gets released). In other words: new vaporware announced for vaporware. The usual cynics are probably asking themselves "why should I care about this crap?" Which is exactly what we are asking ourselves right now. [Meizume—thanks Heartwork]

Meizu MiniOne UI Updated

Meizu's CEO, Jack Wong has just posted a whole bunch of new images, all showing a tweaked UI for the hotly anticipated iPhone-esque cellphone. It is not a massive rework of what we have already been shown, but the pictures showing a new color scheme and number pad should keep the fanboys happy, even if the iPhone reference has incensed them with rage. On a side note, Meizu's MiniOne is a bit iPhoneish, no? Jump for a ton of visual eye candy. [Meizu Forum; Thanks, Alvin]

Cops Shut Down Meizu's CeBIT Booth for Ripping Off Apple

It looks like we weren't the only ones not impressed with Meizu's M8 iPhone ripoff — its booth at CeBIT was shut down by the local police and all products and promotional materials were removed. Yikes! Apparently some other booths were shut down as well, as this was part of a wider initiative to protect patent and copyright owners. What does this mean for the fate of our favorite junk copycat Chinese ripoff phone? Time will tell. Stay strong, my friends. More »

Meizu M8, Something You Burn in a Paper Bag on Someone's Porch

Engadget scored some time with a Meizu M8 mini One prototype board at CeBIT. And even while this demo is not constrained by the size of the M8 final hardware, the experience leaves a lot to be desired. The touchscreen has major, persistent lag issues (though Meizu claims it's a demo hardware issue) and, as you'll see, the software is too buggy to last two minutes before crashing. While we've been looking forward to Meizu's iPhone knockoff for a long time now, we're wondering if it's not too early for our anticipation to throw in the towel. [engadget]

Meizu M8 Goes on Sale to Suppliers?

The much hyped Meizu M8 seems to have gone on sale to suppliers via Alibaba. The companies listed to be holding stock are Fujian Huaxia Trade Co., Ltd, Samsin Trade Co., Ltd and Fuzhou ZhongTianLi Trade Co among others. Update: An Adminstrator over at Meizume, the Meizu fan's forum, ensures us the M8 is not out yet. Further, it is stated in the post that the release of the M8, whenever that should be, will only be made official on the Meizume forum. Nothing is mentioned regarding the new white paint job the M8 in the above image is sporting. [Meizume] More »

Meizu Patents the Knock-Off

The Meizu M8 may not seem like the most...original concept on the market, but that hasn't stopped the company from pursuing a patent on the device. Filed back in February 2007, Meizu proclaimed to the world that, sure, their M8 may be just an iPhone clone. But clones have rights too, dammit! [meizume via wired]

Meizu MiniOne M8 iPhone-Clone Triples Buttons, Tries to Patent It...in China?

Meizu's CEO dropped an interesting nugget about the hardware of the highly anticipated MiniOne M8. Apparently, the smartphone will feature three physical buttons, as oppose to a single one right in the center. That means it will differ from another phone that it bears a striking resemblance to. AND they're trying to patent this. AND that is going to do them a lot of good in native China. Of course, the new information means any screenshots we have seen of the hardware in the past are now inaccurate, from the front at least. More »

Actual Meizu M8 Image Surfaces

The folks over at Meizu have decided that it's finally time to unveil actual shots of the Meizu M8 iPhone-inspired phone, and they've got some low quality shots to prove it. You can see that it's got a miniUSB port, a camera just like where the iPhone's camera is, and button placement just like the iPhone. The only major difference that we can see between this and the iPhone is that it's entirely black instead of silver. That's about it. [Meizu via MeizuMe]

Rumor Smashed: Meizu Didn't Rip Off Artist For Phone Renders

Despite making a Meizu phone that looks way too close to the iPhone to be a coincidence, the latest news about Meizu ripping off an artist to pimp their work is off-base. It's true that someone placed Deviant Art artist Lithium Picnic's photo onto a Meizu M8, but it turns out that the image was actually rendered by a fan on Meizu's forums. Not that it makes things any more legit, but Meizu themselves aren't to blame for this round of appropriating someone else's work and calling it their own. [Meizu]

Meizu M8 Gets New Look, New Price

Our favorite iPhone iClone, the Meizu M8, has gotten a face lift and new price. But interestingly enough, the M8's design (aside from growing 1/10 of an inch) has been altered to look less like the iPhone, ditching the shiny, metallic edges and rear for an iPod Touchesque charcoal shading. In fact, it looks almost just like the Touch. But I thought I was buying an iPhone knockoff! But no complaints, since the new pricing information has been released. More »

Meizu M6 Mini Player SL Hands-on Video

The folks over at MeizuMe got their hands on a new M6 Mini Player SL and compared it to the old Mini Player model. The Mini Player, if you don't remember, is a nano-like competitor with similar features, but a less usable UI. The new version is essentially the same player, except noticeably thinner and smaller, and with some slight new UI features. Take a look at the video (but turn down your volume) to see what's new. [MeizuMe]

iPod Touch-like Meizu M7 Miniplayer Gets Specs, Price

Meizu's at the copying game again, showing off some renders of their upcoming Meizu M7, along with specs and pricing information. We suppose that leaving all the UI work to Apple and co-opting it later allows them to keep prices at a low $100, $110, and $150 for the 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB models respectively. As for the size, it's got a 2.8-inch display with 480x228 resolution and measures 3.5 x 1.9 x 0.3 inches externally. If Meizu can really pull out an iPod touch-like player for $150 with the same UI, they've got a winner on their hands. [Meizu via Meizublog via Uber Gizmo] More »

The iPhoney Award

Judging by the fact that the new Nano looks a bit like an iPod knockoff itself, we thought it would only be fitting to show off the iPhoneys, a contest for those who create the most blatant iPod/iPhone ripoffs of all. Current front runners include the Meizu m8, Microsoft Zune and Teclast t59. They always say good artists copy, great artists steal. [oobject]

Meizu mDock Speaker Dock Coming Soon For M6, M3 Music Cards

Meizu Me reports that Meizu will release a speaker dock slightly reminiscent of iPod speaker docks for their M6 player. The M6, if you recall, is a small nano-ish player that's actually quite good, despite taking much of its design influence straight from Apple. This dock will be 88 grams and measure 208x87x86mm. That's 0.2 pounds and 8.1x3.4x3.3 inches. That weight seems a bit off, but the mDock will have replaceable docks to fit the the M3 Music Card as well. [MeizuMe]

Genuine Meizu M8 Pictures Unleashed in the Wild

We have had a keen eye on the Meizu M8 since it surfaced. Today, real images of the device have come to light. The pictures certainly do not shed any light on the feature set beyond what we know. What we can confirm is that the M8 appears to be every bit the phone sex-god, as we were led to believe by earlier computer generated depictions. Hit the jump to see pictures of the M8's bum and a comparison alongside the company's miniOne PMP. [myminiOne]. More »

Meizu M8 Phone Shipping 8GB First, Gets $70 Price Increase

Meizu's CEO let everyone know (via a forum posting, no less) that their first Meizu M8 MiniOne version will be the 8GB mode, and it will ship for about $400. That's a $70 increase from the previous price data, but is much better than the totally off figures we saw last month. Good news, other models with 3G/3.5G support will come in the second phase of releases. More »

Meizu MiniOne Real Pricing, Availability

Either this site is overcharging by a crapload or the previous pricing was totally off, but the Meizu MiniOne is up to $988 for the 16GB model, compared to $450, which was listed before. What could cause such a rise in price? Hard to say. More »

Meizu MiniOne Out Next Year

Meizu has confirmed that their MiniOne will be released early next year. Meanwhile, importers like Negri Electronics are still listing a December 7th launch date (which looks to be jumping the gun at this point) along with their revealed price of $989. So much for our New Year's resolution of picking up a cheap iPhone knock-off and bragging to everyone that we're better than them. Instead we'll have to rely on booze for feelings of self-worth, just like last year. CORRECTION: Meizu's formerly announced price is $450 for this model. Don't buy from Negri. More »

New Meizu MiniOne Pic Released While World Keeps Watching Mike Matas

Here's a new picture of the Anti-Jesus Phone just released by Meizu's CEO Jack Wong in their bulletin board. Looks like the false prophet wants to steal some thunder off the iPhone launch, because he says that there are more to come very soon. In the meantime, the rest of the world keeps watching some dude in a train again and again. – Jesus Diaz More »

Specs on the Meizu M6 SE Revealed

Remember the $130 Meizu M6 SE PMP we told you about, sporting 8GB of video in a 7mm shell? Good. Meizu just announced more details the unit. More »

Meizu M3 Get Updated, Slightly

The Meizu M3 is a player that seems like it always had some potential. Meizu must agree (I would hope so) because they have revised the player as the Meizu M3se. All of the changes seem to be of the aesthetic variety. The M3se will be a tad bit (.2 inches) shorter and they have redesigned the touch-sensitive control bar, eliminating the side button and widening the vertical touch-strip. Also the previous glassy surface will be replaced with a brushed metal surface that is less prone to scratching. –Travis Hudson More »

Meizu MiniOne Specs Revealed: It's Actually Got Some Juice

If you thought the only thing going for the Meizu MiniOne was the fact that it looks like an iPhone, well, you'd be wrong. The recently released specs show that it's actually got a lot of stuff going for it besides its software design. More »

Dealzmodo: 4GB Meizu Miniplayer $99

Who'd have thought that the cheapest place you can find a 4GB Meizu Miniplayer was Walgreens. Who knew Walgreens even sold electronics? That's just weird. More »

Meizu M3 Music Card Preview

We're actually fans of Meizu's players, despite (or maybe because of) their similarities to Apple's offerings. Their latest, the Meizu M3 Music Card, has 8GB of storage, 1.5-inch display, FM radio, 20-hour battery life, and a $100 price point. More »

Meizu Minicard Details: 2/4/8GB and Cheap

You know that design winner of the Meizu's design-your-own MP3 player contest? Here's some actual details on it. The player has a 1.5-inch display at a 176x132 resolution, an FM radio, 20-hour battery life, and 2/4/8 GB versions. It definitely follows Meizu's stance on having an iPod-like design but at a much lower price. It will be around $65, $80, and $100 respectively. More »

Sizemodo: Meizu M8 vs. Apple iPhone

Speaking of the rather affordable Meizu M8, here's how that delightful "iPhone clone" stacks up to the real deal. Surprisingly enough, it's actually smaller than the iPhone—no doubt because it exchanges a few key iPhone features for ones even Apple doesn't have. More »

Meizu M8 Pricing Revealed: Most Affordable iPhone Clone Yet

When it comes to affordable iPhone clones, Meizu seems to be leading the pack now that they've unveiled the pricing for their M8 cell phone. The 4GB model with built-in camera will go for $310 while the 8GB version will go for $400. The entry-level model (with no camera) will go for only $195 at 4GB and $285 at 8GB. Compare that to the iPhone's $499/$599 price and suddenly Meizu's option doesn't look so bad. Though it's still an iPhone clone. – Louis Ramirez More »

Franken(P)review: Attack of the iClones

It's like that episode of Beverly Hills 90210 when Brenda and Kelly both say they hate that black dress with the big white bow on it, but then they each show up to the dance wearing the thing. And then they had a pillowfight in nothing but their hot pink scrunchies to battle for my love. Yeah... More »

Enemies Line Up to Beat Unreleased iPhone While Jobs Fixes Tofu Pancakes for Breakfast

Just in case you weren't sick enough of it, Newlaunches has a summary of the top competitors for Apple's iPhone, all of them previously featured in Gizmodo. They start at number 5 with the Meizu we-swear-we-really-didn't-clone-it! M8 PMP, the Windows Mobile 6.0 smartphone that really wants to be an iPhone when he grows up. Going up is the small Neonode N2 which, like the iPhone, lacks 3G connectivity, and the phone that could actually fly if fully open and thrown with enough brute force: the Nokia N95. At the top, the LG KE850 of Prada and Laura Ocaña fame and, finally, the Samsung Ultra Smart F700, the smartphone of choice for korean ninja cyborgs and people with skin allergy to screen-based keyboards. We will have to wait a few months to see which phone really grabs the cash of consumers, but looking at them now, would you sign up for the iPhone or any of these five? – Jesus Diaz More »

Meizu CEO Says They Didn't Copy The iPhone That Much

Despite Meizu's history of "borrowing" design ideas from Apple (their entire Miniplayer series comes to mind) their CEO is denying that the M8 phone is copied from the iPhone. Seems like everyone's denying influence from the iPhone these days. More »