Attack of the Clones
For every product out there in the marketplace, a similar product stands by its side jockeying for the same consumer dollars. Coke has its Pepsi, McDonald's has its Burger King and the United States has its Canada. Yes, good-natured competition is what makes our economy go 'round. But, in the world of consumer electronics, some companies fight dirty, plagiarizing the designs and ideas of direct competitors. In some cases, the copying is outright theft -- particularly in China, where American patent lawsuits are largely unsuccessful. For your entertainment pleasure, Switched presents this list of the 10 greatest copycat gadgets.
Meizu miniOne
No sooner than two weeks after Steve Jobs officially put the cell phone world on notice with the unveiling of the iPhone did this doppelganger on the left creep out of China. If the Meizu miniOne somehow slips past Apple's stable of lawyers, it's said to be on track to launch at the end of 2007 in China. It'll be stacked with a 720 x 480 display, a three-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. And unlike the iPhone, the miniOne will run on ultra-fast 3G cellular data networks.
The phone's maker, Meizu -- guilty of ripping off Apple designs in the past -- claims to have announced its own touchscreen super-phone days before the iPhone announcement. But as Engadget reported, the miniOne -- originally known as the M8 -- was a very different looking phone at the time of the announcement, and was subsequently given a quick nip/tuck to transform it into this flagrant iPhone clone.
Spotted at Engadget
No sooner than two weeks after Steve Jobs officially put the cell phone world on notice with the unveiling of the iPhone did this doppelganger on the left creep out of China. If the Meizu miniOne somehow slips past Apple's stable of lawyers, it's said to be on track to launch at the end of 2007 in China. It'll be stacked with a 720 x 480 display, a three-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. And unlike the iPhone, the miniOne will run on ultra-fast 3G cellular data networks.
The phone's maker, Meizu -- guilty of ripping off Apple designs in the past -- claims to have announced its own touchscreen super-phone days before the iPhone announcement. But as Engadget reported, the miniOne -- originally known as the M8 -- was a very different looking phone at the time of the announcement, and was subsequently given a quick nip/tuck to transform it into this flagrant iPhone clone.
Spotted at Engadget
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
wow @ May 24th 2007 10:36PM
damn chinese =]
Eriq @ May 25th 2007 3:30PM
Hey, when you're in business to monopolize the market, never cutting the little guys a break, you deserve every shot you take.
Kathy @ May 31st 2007 6:32AM
Well folks......just keep buying chinese products and they will keep doing very well.
Kathy @ May 31st 2007 6:32AM
they continue to rip us off. Their quality is terrible so don't buy it.
Kathy @ Jun 5th 2007 11:26PM
I am making this comment to any and everyone who may be reading this e-mails. No hard feelings but, I am interested in knowing the reason why White People want purchase goods from Black People. A lot of Black People purchase many different goods from Whites, Hispanics, Haitians, Arabs, Chinese and many different Nationalities of People However, when it come to Black People getting Support from any of the above groups of people, It's only a dream! I know nothing is fair in this country, and it's so obvious what is going on, but someone is watching all of the things that are being deliberately done to American Blacks. And It makes me sad to say this, but, I am so happy that I want be one that fill these Biased and Arrogant Shoes.
God Bless America!
Larysa @ Mar 25th 2008 11:02PM
How is it that these companies in China are not prosecuted for patent infringement? China is a country of rip-off artists and should be boycotted by all people who believe it is WRONG to steal intellectual property. The Chinese are thieves that are stealing our future.
BOYCOTT Chinese goods!!!