Gizmodo: copycat

With No Real Apple Netbook on the Horizon, Chinese Create Fake One

Elaine Chow — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:30:00 EDT

Sure, you could always wait for Apple to release its first netbook (if they actually do). But over here in China, when we want something bad enough, we go and make it ourselves.

That's right, manufacturers in Shenzhen have gone and created their own netbook. And in true copycat fashion, it has a hilariously inverted fruit adorning the top cover.

Spec-wise, the WF188 actually isn't too bad. It has a 10-inch LED display with a resolution of 1024 x 576, a 1.3Ghz Via Nano processor with the VIA VX855 chipset, and a max of 2GB RAM. You can even choose between getting a 160GB hard drive or an up to 64GB SSD. Bluetooth, 802.11b/g wireless, and 3.5G HSDPA connectivity are also on board.

Thing is – despite the logo, the WF188 only runs either Windows XP or Linux. But hey, if you can Hackintosh a Dell Mini, getting OSX on this thing is just one other ingenious pirated solution away. [Netease]

Made-In-China Handset Turns iPhone Into a Clamshell

Elaine Chow — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:15:00 EST

We've seen our fair share of phony iPhones here before, but this is the first time I've seen a company take a more ingenious approach to copycatting and, I dare say, I wouldn't mind if the real iPhone took a page out of this guy's book one day. I introduce you to the iPhone Flip.

The phone measures 105 x 53 x 17mm, and weighs roughly 110 grams. It comes with a .3MP camera, a 2.6-inch screen with a 240 x 320 resolution, the ability to play mp3s and mp4s and some “built-in” games.

Also note the plastic “brushed aluminum”, almost-but-not-quite Macbook Air look and the adorable Apple icon on the front. It lights up! You can see the exact amount of LEDs underneath! How cute! It can be all yours for roughly $100. How's THAT, economy? [Shanzhaiji]

iFauxne Of The Day: The Sciphone V188

Elaine Chow — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:30:00 EST

One of the most hilarious things I've seen in China is the number of small cellphone companies churning out perhaps less-than-genuine iPhones. Though originally nothing more than crappy shells with barely a sliver of the original's functions, now many of them boast specs that'll actually cause you to give them a second look—including, if you're lucky, touchscreen goodness! Today we look at the Sciphone V188.

At 116 x 62 x 16mm, the Sciphone is just a tad thicker than its Apple-made counterpart. Despite that, you get a slightly smaller screen (at 3.2-inches) and much less resolution (240 x 320 pixels). Still, there's multitouch, which makes it a step above most fakes out there!

And the Sciphone includes a couple of things the iPhone doesn't have: a removable battery (rated for about 120 to 180 minutes of talk time), dual sim cards so you can receive two numbers worth of calls at once and... three pages of menus. I guess when you can't load apps from iTunes, the company has to provide them for you from the get-go.

Cost of the iFauxne: 700 yuan ($102.50) [Shanzhaiji]

Fake Water Cube Building Spotted in Sichuan, China

Elaine Chow — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:00:00 EDT

We've long known about certain companies in China “borrowing inspiration” from more well known gadget makers, but it looks like architects aren't safe from copycat syndrome either. Check out this spa building in Chongqing, the capital of Sichuan (where the earthquakes happened), which looks a little like it may have been designed by someone with just a little bit of Beijing Olympics mania. Hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? [Shanghaiist]

BlackBerry Storm Tech Manual Offers Proof of iPhone Inspiration

Elaine Chow — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:35:50 EDT

It's probably not a surprise that RIM definitely had iPhones on the brain while creating the new (and pretty awesome) BlackBerry Storm—but who knew they'd make it this obvious. In the vodaphone technical specifications manual, the company's Storm is sporting a very familiar OS, and it's definitely not the regular BlackBerry's. Hmmmm. [BlackBerry UK]

http://www.gimundo.com/ Saw a link to an...

s0crates82 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:41:02 EDT

http://www.gimundo.com/

Saw a link to an article on this site on Digg. What's up with the URL? Do they report on quality products like Magnetbox and Sorny?

BenQ Mobile Internet Device Running Linux

blongo3 — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:30:31 EDT

BenQ was hitting the floors of IDF showing off a new UMPC (although they call it a 'mobile internet device'). While it may look like just a poor attempt to capture iPhone/iPod touch hype, it was surprisingly running Linux. Could we be moving towards a non-Microsoft based ultra-mobile future? [JKKMobile]

Japanese Sophia Nani Is A Full Touchscreen Phone, Media Player

kthompson — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:04:15 EDT

It would seem that a certain black-and-silver phone has attracted a bit of a following in the design department. The Japan-only Sophia Nani, launching next week, sports a massive 4.3" touchscreen TFT display running at a crisp 800x400 resolution. A digital TV tuner rounds out a complete multimedia package, but one crucial feature will inevitably doom this newborn phone to the "design-only" box: Windows CE.

Yes, the beauty of the Nani is deceiving. The onboard WiFi capabilities will be handicapped by a sub-par web browser and multimedia capabilities will be bogged down by Windows Media Player 10. While the dual cameras are a unique addition (VGA in front, SVGA in back), the Nani boasts a simple Micro SD card slot in lieu of a more robust storage option like a hard drive. While it certainly won't challenge anything else out there for dominance of the phone/PMP market, the Sophia Nani is proof of the new design direction cell phones are heading in. [PMP Today]