Keepin' it real fake, part LIV: yet another iPhone rip

Surprised? We aren't; we were actually waiting for these to start hitting dodgy vendors the world over. It seems that Fujian Huamin Import and Export Company Limited has an iPhone for you -- if you are willing to accept a poor quality substitute (note the tape on the camera lens in the gallery) that may or may not actually ship, that is. We won't regurgitate the specs for this device, but suffice it to say, they are miraculously similar to what we have seen from Apple (multi-touch included.) But like a car wreck, we can't help but peek -- so feel free to hit the link for the rest of the misery goods.

Gallery: Keepin' it real fake, part LIV: yet another iPhone rip

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[humpty @ Apr 17th 2007 2:26PM]

Why are people all of a sudden so EXCITED about carrying around huge PDA sized phones with large power hungry screens that are fingerprint and scratch magnets?

[Jeffrey @ Apr 17th 2007 8:33PM]

If Apple does it, it must be right!

[kadajawi @ Apr 17th 2007 3:51PM]

Uh... nope, I've been excited about this sort of stuff for quite a while. My phone is even phone booth sized (ok, almost). I think touchscreens are the way to go with phones, they are simply awesome and terribly useful.

[Court K @ Apr 17th 2007 7:16PM]

It's not a PDA sized phone. Lay a Motorola Razr on the table. No look at it from the side. Pretty thin huh? Well the iPhone is thinner than the Razr! Now lay a motorola Q on the table. Amazing! It's even thinner, then lay an iPhone next to it. Even thinner! Also realize that the phone is smaller than the motorola q in width and height, and if you've seen a Q in person you realize how small that is.

This isn't like a windows smartphone, it's smaller than a razr

[Ravi @ Apr 17th 2007 2:33PM]

Hmm...I think I want to order one..

[Sam @ Apr 17th 2007 2:38PM]

Given the sheer unattainability (high price, single carrier in the US, and no pending unlocked versions) and the lack of compatibility with third party applications (no Outlook equivalent on the iPhone), I'd rather have a well-crafted clone ANY day...Chinese or otherwise

[Kyle @ Apr 17th 2007 2:39PM]

I'd easily buy this if it had multi-touch as you say. Who cares if its not overpriced apple hardware, Id be a great cheap toy to mod, etc.

[Nando @ Apr 17th 2007 2:40PM]

I'm just hoping that Apple releases an iPhone Nano.

[Steal Everything @ Apr 17th 2007 2:41PM]

Chinese - Always the immitator, never the innovator

[kadajawi @ Apr 17th 2007 3:53PM]

Remember the Japanese? They started by copying too, and look where they are now ;)

And btw., I think China has a greater history than America. ;)

[Lucas Tam @ Apr 18th 2007 1:33PM]

Uhhhh... never the innovator?

Paper, Gunpowder, Civil Service, Money, Printing, Restaurants, Cast Iron, Fireworks, Rockets, Martial Arts, etc etc...

Ummm practically the basis of Western Civilization is based off Chinese inventions ;)

[Kieran @ Apr 17th 2007 2:59PM]

I really doubt that thing has multi touch input, the specifications on the read link seem to be for the real iphone, as it says it's running OS X and has google maps, two things that a chinese rip off would never have.

[Dave Evans @ Apr 17th 2007 5:12PM]

I think you mean gun powder, not paper...

[George Liu @ Apr 17th 2007 3:13PM]

@Steal Everything

What are you talking about? They evented paper!

[Chrisphillers @ Apr 17th 2007 3:51PM]

ermm really?;)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper

[George Liu @ Apr 17th 2007 3:13PM]

oops invented I mean.

[Rusty @ Apr 17th 2007 3:32PM]

Oh the humanity! Enough of the damn iPhone already. Three posts on the first page about it? How about sticking this crap on Engadget Mobile where you would actually think most of it should belong.

[Gruff @ Apr 17th 2007 3:37PM]

@Sam:

The key phrase in your post is "well-crafted clone". To that I say (sincerely), "Good Luck!"

[Chris @ Apr 17th 2007 3:55PM]

er, because the invention of paper has a lot to do with the current state of piracy in China today. :)

[barry @ Apr 17th 2007 3:24PM]

@ Chrisphillers

Wikipedia still says Paper was invented by the Chinese. what's your point?

it doesn't matter. i'm moving to Shanghai in August and can't wait to get knockoff stuff.

[Standingfast @ Apr 17th 2007 3:44PM]

Paper WAS invented in China, at wikipedia it says: "Paper is considered to be one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China." Its at the end of the first paragraph.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper

[Chrisphillers @ Apr 17th 2007 3:52PM]

I assumed it was Egypt and so scanned Wiki quickly my mistake and now I look like an Ass. Rather backs up the line "If you assume you make an ASS out of U and ME".

Papyrus is far better anyway.

[Chrisphillers @ Apr 17th 2007 5:02PM]

And your point is? Put a lid in your inflamatory comments.

[o0adam0o @ Apr 17th 2007 4:40PM]

Well some like to have the latest and greatest....others like the imitation and cheap.

Personaly i cant ever get ahold of imitations...but for HALF the price and HALF the functionality...how can you complain?

Last time i checked...piracy never hurt me...money hungry CEOs have tho...they will cut jobs/lower wages before they loose a few hundred thousamd in their own paychecks.

[kadajawi @ Apr 18th 2007 12:25AM]

The point is that in a few years from now, they will invent. Europe and USA should be careful. Even now they have a few brands which produce very decent pieces of hardware like Korsun/Dussun, who have a pretty good reputation for high quality amplifiers, or Meizu, who get inspired by Apple in their designs, but whose products are usually reviewed better than those of Apple.

[Maff @ Apr 17th 2007 5:11PM]

the tape on the camera lens is added at the factory to protect the lens is it not?

[George Liu @ Apr 17th 2007 5:18PM]

@Dave Evans
Yes gunpowder too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Great_Inventions_of_Ancient_China

[Ben @ Apr 17th 2007 5:23PM]

That isn't even CLOSE to a believable fake. It wouldn't be so bad if the stem on the apple logo wasn't backwards.

[benjamin :? @ Apr 17th 2007 5:27PM]

well, at least we have an option not to buy an apple product now,, :p

asides,,, for all those people rushing out to buy their already released i-phone covers, if apple change their specs,, at least you can still use it on the knock-off.

& to top it off,, again,, if theyre not made in the same factory as the real i-phone,, theyre probably made 'up the road' by the factory owners brother.

[Pritesh @ Apr 17th 2007 5:36PM]

Do you even get an actual knock-off? Or could this be a scam to get your money and never send anything? I wouldn't mind getting it if it was cheap, just so I could give it to someone like my sister or something for her first phone.

[pleiades @ Apr 17th 2007 5:40PM]

I can't believe people are arguing who invented paper and gun powder.

yes, chinese invented them both, among a bunch of other stuff.

people can be surprisingly ignorant these days.

[Richard Lai @ Apr 17th 2007 5:53PM]

Just to add to the list, the Chinese also invented the compass and printing. With paper and gunpowder, these make up the famous four.

[TJ @ Apr 17th 2007 6:03PM]

The bad thing about it is even if Apple sue the manufacturer of that product they would most likely loose.

[Leo Lee @ Apr 18th 2007 6:50AM]

You lose for your loose spelling.

[Jamar @ Apr 17th 2007 6:16PM]

Heh- and up until now no one noticed that it says "dual-SIM dual standby" (you can recieve phone calls on either of the two cards in the phone, no need for a software switch) on the box (granted, it's in Chinese, but still, that's what Google Translate is there for).

[mike @ Apr 17th 2007 7:18PM]

"well, at least we have an option not to buy an apple product now,, :p"

just remember this jerk off when you hear 'objective' crticisms of Apple. they release one handheld device and turn the entire industry upside down. And Windows sufferers clamour for fakes of their stuff so as not to ... send Apple money. Genius!

Almost as smart as the geeks who run a hacked version of OS X on a PC and bitch when it doesn't work properly.

[benjamin @ Apr 17th 2007 8:22PM]

yes, because i am very sure that it wont be obsolete by the time it stops working properly

[Linkdumptube.com @ Apr 17th 2007 7:24PM]

There will be alot of similar mobile phones to the iphone coming out soon. I can't wait for the official iphone.

[Dan F @ Apr 17th 2007 8:06PM]

Id hate to say this..but this means china is part responsible for the destruction of rainforests due to the ever increasing demand for paper. From what i can see in this phone...it looks great. I don't care whether apple makes it or not. they introduced a phone with an 8gb capacity...i have never seen any other phone on the market boasting this. SO WHAT if an 8gb sd card has dropped to prices as low as 50-60 dollars (possibly lower?) its in a phone right? wrong. Im making 2 different points for 2 different arguments so im a bit lost now -.- ANYHOO... We have been blind sighted by the fact that apple just made a wide screen touch screen phone with a decent and amount that should have been incorporated years ago, amount of memory. if this phone does that...screw the apple software ill go mod this thing and put winmo or some flavor of symbian on it.

[Austin @ Apr 17th 2007 8:26PM]

The reason a lot of stuff in pirated by Chinese is that American companies (Apple among them) outsource their manufacturing there and pay them very little instead of having it made locally. The folks actually making the stuff often figure if they have the plans and parts for the real stuff, why not throw together fakes while they're at it. While it doesn't justify such behavior, in a way, Apple is bringing this upon themselves by not spending a bit more to have more control of the process.

And just because it's thin doesn't make it not "PDA sized." Remember the Handspring Visor Edge? Just as powerful as other PDAs of its day, and yet it's thinner than the the iPhone. The fact is the iPhone is bigger than most phones, and just as some people prefer having phones with smaller width and height than even the Razr, many will not want a phone that is so big.

[Josef F @ Apr 17th 2007 11:28PM]

"if you are willing to accept a poor quality substitute"

Don't you mean "poorer"?

[Revrant2394 @ Apr 18th 2007 8:44AM]

I can't wait to hear more stories like this, every time a dodgy asian ripoff has more features than the product it's ripping off, I can't help but giggle.

[Joshua Engel @ Apr 18th 2007 9:01AM]

I just ordered 10 of these. They are 300 a piece and will arrive in Brooklyn in a week.( I hope) Email this woman if you want them.黄 跃庭 I know a couple of Gadget junkies with big bucks that would drop a G to have a conversation piece like this. Time to make some Money people. So when the real Iphone comes out you can afford it.

Thanks for the news and the exporters info. WOOO HOOO. I will post real pics when they arrive.

[Joshua Engel @ Apr 18th 2007 9:23AM]

黄 跃庭 ali66_camy @ hotmail.com >

[Joshua Engel @ Apr 18th 2007 9:27AM]

Just got an email from her saying they wont do paypal and want a Money transfer stay away. They are not to be trusted. Damn I really wanted them...

[Jamar @ Apr 18th 2007 10:05AM]

Maybe that's how you Americans do it (PayPal- ewww) but not here in China. Look at eBay China- few people use PayPal and bank transfer is the standard method of payment (a standard reference page would be http://stores.ebay.com.cn/iskype/page3.html - notice the bank account numbers and names listed). When the auction ends, the standard procedure is to look at the auction page for the bank account number and name. Then you do an electronic transfer for the funds requested. Then you get your product. You Americans don't trust each other as much, apparently- we still have COD as a shipping method here as well if you want the product first. That cliche- "When in Rome..."

[Joshua Engel @ Apr 18th 2007 10:13AM]

I asked them for COD and they said no. On there website they sell bootleg clothing and the pictures of the Iphone are Apples and they have a picture of some dude holding the paper cut out. When in Rome... More like when your a smart City boy you never trust bootleggers without 100% guarantee that if you are scammed you still get your loot back. Trust is earned.

[Jamar @ Apr 22nd 2007 12:38PM]

They didn't even offer COD? Yeah, that's suspicious. But requiring a wire transfer alone isn't suspicious if it's the norm where the person's from.

[robertico811 @ May 4th 2007 2:02PM]

haha my boy at work bought like 20 of these thinking he was going to sell them here in the office....LMAO.....mind you we work for cingular in their network services dept. so we deal with all of cingular data/pda phones. lol ...we use them as frizbees behind his back.

[benjamin vogt @ May 9th 2007 11:26PM]

Hi, I just bought This iphone it is very good quality and why do you say there is tape? Its all real!!