The first iPod nano clone rears its fat head

Of course, we all know that the knock-off producers in China never rest, but this new iPod nano clone you're looking at was definitely turned around in an impressively short period of time. Right now we have only this photo -- apparently taken at a Shenzhen factory for use in piquing importer's interest -- to go on, but it certainly isn't any kind of surprise that the copy-cats have already put the dirty deed in motion. Just remember guys, you're taking food off of Steve Jobs' table... which is made of diamond-studded platinum.

[Via GenerationMP3, thanks BrianB]

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 14th 2007 9:42AM]

Well the original is pretty ugly so what did you expect a knock-off to look like

[Johnny @ Sep 14th 2007 12:54PM]

The nano looks so much better in person. The pics on the internet dont do it justice.It is very thin and i would say it seems better proportioned then the old nano to look at.

[Xzavier @ Sep 14th 2007 9:47AM]

I wonder if that Nano clone is displaying REAL pictures of iPod Nano to try to make itself seem more legit!

[fr0mundacheese @ Sep 14th 2007 9:53AM]

what to do, what to do. an ipod made in china or an ipod knock off made in china?

[rob @ Sep 14th 2007 9:56AM]

Why all the hate towards China from Engadget? Tone it down a little and let's learn to love a little more. Some clones from China are pretty damn good.

[Zoesch @ Sep 14th 2007 10:09AM]

I think the backlash is somewhat deserved, you can't run copying and undercutting everybody and expect to be loved

[slug @ Sep 14th 2007 10:17AM]

haha some... do you not remember the wireless usb drive...

http://cybernetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/FakeWireless.jpg

lol that was brilliant!!

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 14th 2007 12:04PM]

@rob I agree, if people take a look around their home, most of it is made in China. They work in horrendous conditions for 19hours a day for virtually no money so products are pirced at prices we can afford. People should be a bit more grateful. If a few bad eggs are making knock-offs then why does it bother you? They're not going to get rich off it and Apple aren't going to go bust from it. Making generalisations about a nation of over a billion people is not smart. If only people got so angry about illegal wars or third world hunger...

[Jeff @ Sep 15th 2007 1:02PM]

china = communists 'nuff said. Don't give me this boohoo they work in sweat shops. The same people that cry about their conditions don't actually have a solution. Do you want to go into China and topple the government so people can have 8 hour workdays? Right, thought so. Go back to your tofu and please stop playing the "its for the chinese kids" card.

[Jason @ Sep 14th 2007 9:59AM]

wow, looks like the whole CASING is made of lead!

[Homer Cang @ Sep 14th 2007 11:05AM]

HA HA HA! You're funny, man! :)

[chris @ Sep 14th 2007 10:02AM]

fat ugly head. the old nanos are much nicer looking.

[Fraser Drew @ Sep 14th 2007 10:05AM]

To be fair... it had to change, the Nano couldn't stay thing and go video (without a ridiculously small screen). The new nano is a compromise, but i like it (just wish they'd kept the old colours!)

[Alex @ Sep 14th 2007 11:42AM]

Actually they could have kept the old form factor and had the same size screen as the new nanos if they had just rotated the screen.

Here's what it might have looked like:
http://img118.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ipodheronano20070905vm8.jpg

Personally, I don't think the new nano looks that bad, but I would have been more likely to get one that looked like that.

[Don @ Oct 19th 2007 11:39PM]

So true...The new nano is ugly. It's also a step in the opposite direction, and is bigger in every dimension (except capacity, I think).

It's too bad that flipping it sideways (which is what the Zune did so correctly) didn't occur to anyone at Apple.

[kingofwale @ Sep 14th 2007 10:03AM]

now here begs the real moral question.

if this is produced from the SAME manufacture as real Ipods in China, but marketed much lower in price, should we really detest it and call it a "clone"?

After all, it is the same thing without Apple mark-ups

[CHINACOMMIE @ Sep 14th 2007 10:35AM]

I can't imagine that anyone over 5 years old would believe this LAME excuse (except for the shameless chinese, of course), obviously this guy doesn't know much about "the rampant chinese piracy crisis" which costs legit companies around the world more than $600 billion annually.

[Jamar @ Sep 14th 2007 10:53PM]

Actually, I go for this. It's the same thing without Apple markups... and without Apple firmware. You get to see the bitrate of your music, you get to play WMA /WMV, DivX/XviD and OGG, text, pictures, among other formats. And you get FM Radio with recording.

[quiksr20 @ Sep 14th 2007 10:04AM]

Because nobody loves a totally ripped off design. China tends to have no originality they just blatantly rip off other peoples work and cheaply at that with little quality.

[Mike @ Sep 14th 2007 11:07AM]

I hope Apple goes after them with everything they have and the US imposes Chinese trade sanctions until they are in compliance with US copyright law...

[Johari @ Sep 14th 2007 11:32AM]

Have you seen China's BMW X5 ripoff?

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/12/rumormill-china-automobile-almost-kicked-out-of-frankfurt-show/

[jilie @ Sep 14th 2007 10:13AM]

it's better then the original!

[Natedog @ Sep 14th 2007 10:17AM]

That was incredibly fast...

Once again, my guess is that this thing's features will put the iPod to shame... but nobody will care, because brand loyalty is more important than bang for the buck... and competition is bad for the consumer...

[Gus @ Sep 14th 2007 10:44AM]

while i agree that the 'features' will put it to shame, there's always a reason why people go back to the more pricey original - quality

take my meizu music card for instance. it looks pretty much exactly as the first gen nano but shorter, supports OGG FLAC WAV, plays video, has a built in radio. BUT, just as thomas trautman says, you don't get to use functions like album art and doesn't sync with itoons (not that i use it, i like hwo the meizu acts as an external hard drive), and the sound is quite horrible with a LOT of 'noise', and don't even get me started with the buggy and user unfriendly menu system.

so my point is - in most cases, you DO pay for what you get (hence i-audio's are so expensive... mmm... but they're just so damn good)

[Natedog @ Sep 14th 2007 4:33PM]

Amen to the iAudio, I've been trying to convince all my friends to get it. As I've said plenty of times on Engadget, the D2 is one slick device. Wouldn't trade it for anything, especially with larger SDHC cards coming.

[Truth Hurts @ Sep 14th 2007 10:20AM]

Rampant Chinese piracy costs us more than $600 billion annually.

[Alan Partridge @ Sep 14th 2007 11:58AM]

Just a guess... you watch Fox news don't you?

[Thomas Trautman @ Sep 14th 2007 10:20AM]

I actually saw these listed by the china wholesalers before the apple release.

They are getting wise to the fact that it is required for them to disclose that these are not ipods.

I bought some clones that look like the nano only with a 1.8" screen, radio, voice recorder, 2gb of storage, e-book reader, movie player, photo viewer...

The player is not that bad, but it is not an ipod. The firmware is not as pretty. The music selection is some what limited. You don't get album art, or ability to play new music only. As a music player, not bad at all.

Definitely not an original design, but the term "knock-off" implies it is cheap reproduction. This isn't the case. These things are built as solid as the apple counterparts. Likely by the same employees.

More photos can be found below and complete review can be found below:

http://parmaonlinesales.com/storefront/2007060716/Portable-Audio-Video-Reviews/mp4.html

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Sep 14th 2007 11:33AM]

It is a knock-off, because it is just copying someone else, and it is most definitely NOT built by the same employees. Anyone who thinks that is kidding themselves. Even if it were the same company making it (which isn't completely impossible given how big some of these manufacturing companies are), they wouldn't build the knockoffs in the same plant, because Apple (like any other customer) visits the plant from time to time and they couldn't risk the knockoffs being seen by Apple.

[Jamar @ Sep 14th 2007 10:57PM]

Oh, it most definitely *is* built by the same people. You don't actually think Apple execs fly over from the States to look, do you? It's probably Apple China employees; and those people can easily be paid off (it's how business works in China; a little money makes things easier on you).

Funny anecdote- I once saw someone try to take one of these knockoffs to an Apple Store for repair.

[Colin B @ Sep 14th 2007 10:28AM]

Why does it look like one engadget's cake contest entries? One lick and that screen image would come right off.

[MatthewJ @ Sep 14th 2007 10:29AM]

looks like its made of cake

[oshean @ Sep 14th 2007 10:50AM]

What I want to know is how knock-offs can hit the market so quickly. Does the iPod manufacturing boss-man share/sell copies of the technical manufacturing plans with his buddies?

[wtf @ Sep 14th 2007 11:09AM]

yes.

[Brendon @ Sep 14th 2007 11:01AM]

If Apple wants to prevent knock-offs, perhaps Steve "Willy" Jobs should fire all his workers and hire Ooompa-Loompas instead.

[Frank Smith @ Sep 14th 2007 11:32AM]

Or Grunka Lunkas.

"They're basically slaves."

No, wait... Steve Jobs has already hired slaves.

[zzebi @ Sep 14th 2007 11:16AM]

"which is made of diamond-studded platinum"

More like Gold Pressed Latinum!
(For all the real nerds.)

[Shin Zearim @ Sep 14th 2007 11:28AM]

Yes more "mp4" players to hit the street.

[bob @ Sep 14th 2007 3:26PM]

@Alex:

+1

Yes! That's *exactly* what they should have done! Bigger screen, and much more elegant.

[anonymouspimp @ Sep 14th 2007 11:46AM]

Probably made in the same factory.

[Bob_C_NJ @ Sep 14th 2007 12:26PM]

My worlds collide, Instapundit linking to engadet!

[The ZeroCorpse @ Sep 14th 2007 1:07PM]

I don't know what people are talking about -- The new nano is sleek and looks great. I have one. It's the perfect size. It's wafer thin. The screen is highly visible, crisp, and looks great for such a small device.

Perhaps some of you would like to go grab a 1st-Gen iPod and play with that, hmm?

I'm walking around with a season of "Weeds" and a large chunk of my music library in my pocket, and it's taking up less space than a few credits cards would. The added functions are worth the upgrade, and once you've actually held one and used it, you see how sensible this form factor is for watching video. I like it better than the 5G iPod I used to have.

[pyxopotamus @ Sep 14th 2007 1:23PM]

If I ever bought one of these things, it'd be dropped and/or lost in about half an hour. Why does everything have to be so small?

[D. A. @ Sep 14th 2007 7:34PM]

I agree with you! You need to see it in person to like it. I went to the apple store and was totally sold out on the new Nano. I will just wait until the touch comes into the store to make a decision, but I've pretty much made a decision. It fits easily in my Bose Noise canceling case.

[wkeller @ Sep 14th 2007 1:30PM]

Just some thoughts on the chinks steeling from Jobs - hardly true. Who they are stealing from are:

School teachers
Nurses
Factory workers
US Banks
Retirees
School and Colleges
US Unions

Anyone or any group who invests - either directly or through their retirement plans - in American industry as well as Apple computer. To blow this behavior off is simply taking money from Jobs displays an amazing ignorance of the US economy.

[Anthony @ Sep 14th 2007 3:41PM]

Your sentiments are laudable. Too bad you come off as a racist &, therefore, invalidate any argument you may have.

[Herbert Neal @ Sep 14th 2007 3:20PM]

I rather buy the knock off just to stick it to Apple

[The ZeroCorpse @ Sep 14th 2007 6:04PM]

...and then I saw the iPod touch and had to have one. Now while I'll still defend the new nano, I have to say the touch blows it away. It's bigger, yes (but very thin), however it's just such a gorgeous piece of kit that I couldn't stop myself from trading up.

And I doubt seriously that any knock-offs for the touch will be anywhere near as nice.

[vkv.raju @ Sep 24th 2007 4:09PM]

Why people act so dumb heads here?

Who is copying who? Like one person said above, China made iPod or China Knocked Off iPod. Did U get anything from that?

I am pretty sure, this version will be less than half the price of the Apple iPod. What do U guys have to say? Why can't apple reduce their profit margins then so that these knock off models are completely and totally knocked off for once and for all!

If Steve can eat your money, let others too have the opportunity.

BTW, did someone force you to buy this model?

[Claudia @ Oct 31st 2007 9:17AM]

And height, obviously. It's also the same depth (.26"). It's slightly larger in area, but that's a good thing--it's not desireable for the display or the click wheel to be smaller, IMO.

More to the point for me, it's still small enough to fit in the change pocket of my jeans. I agree pictures don't do it justice and make it look large and squat. They needed to pose it with a quarter or something.