Meizu M8 MiniOne to debut at CES in January?

Listen fellas, are you sure you want to venture onto US soil with this thing? Compared to Meizu's native China, the US is a haven for intellectual property protection -- and as far as we're concerned, not a single tweak done to the M8's design since its intro has ventured far enough from the iPhone to keep Apple's sharks lawyers from circling. Nevertheless, Chinese site CNMO reports that the M8 could make its first real, actual public appearance (as opposed to the countless renderings and dummies the company has produced so far) in Sin City itself as part of the CES festivities in early January with retail availability as early as February. That would put us just shy of a full year since the M8 was announced, and probably just weeks (if not days) before Apple gets an injunction against sales here. Just a guess.

[Via myminiOne and Meizu Me]

[kerunt @ Nov 26th 2007 2:04AM]

No, you're NOT first.

[thomas @ Dec 24th 2007 5:38AM]

Meizu's clone is hot... but is missing one key function the DigitalRise D99i and D69i have... the Shake Control function... youtube vid is on this page...

http://www.chinagrabber.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1403

only thing is the D69i is a dual band phone... at $239 not a bad deal...

[TheCow5 @ Nov 26th 2007 2:06AM]

Is there a price and detail technical data on this.

[Cunthor @ Nov 26th 2007 4:36AM]

The girl photo is from a photographer found on Deviant Art website. I kinda doubt he allowed this being used for a ripoff brand player...

[allislost @ Nov 26th 2007 2:09AM]

who's the girl in the M8 picture?

[thef1re @ Nov 26th 2007 2:12AM]

wow, does it matter....? All really is lost...

[thepolytheist @ Nov 26th 2007 4:36AM]

Looks like Apnea to me.

[Adrian @ Nov 26th 2007 9:18AM]

That's a picture of Apnea by Lithum Picnic. See: http://public.fotki.com/lithiumpicnic/prints_for_sale/8x12_naturalhistory.html

[Joseph @ Nov 26th 2007 2:12AM]

will probably sell well in Asia.

[allislost @ Nov 26th 2007 8:55PM]

damn... what's wrong with trying to know?

btw i thank the rest of you for the answer.

[Ypoknons @ Nov 26th 2007 2:15AM]

Honestly, I think that button "m" in the middle is the big hardware design violation. Change, and I get the feeling that Apple won't be able to protect "rounded edge rectangle with big screen". Just leave the current design for the Chinese market, where the iPhone isn't officially available.

Software is the next problem.

[TheCow5 @ Nov 26th 2007 2:15AM]

Found some info on it and wondering why in hell is Apple pissing me off by trying to stop the sale of this.

- ARM11 533MHZ (perhaps Samsung S3C6400) processor
- 128MB DDR SDRAM cache (two 16 512Mb chip components 1024Mb 3 2)
GSM+EDGE+WCDMA
- WIN CE6.0 based on the Windows CE kernel FOR MEIZU M8
- Video decoder CODEC (Possible Samsung S3C6400 built-CODEC)
- 3.32-inch TFT VGA （720 x 480） 16 million colors Touchscreen
- 3 megapixel camera and a .3 megapixel VGA for conferencing (Autofocus, no flash)
- 1600mAHBattery : 1600mAH
- Bluetooth (with GPS access) , Line Out with DMB support, Wi-Fi connectivity with wireless card
- Plays 30fps 720 x 480 AVI, MPEG4, WMV videos and other mainstream video formats, even Real player through decoder, also video recording, and digital TV and GPS through DMB with downloadable maps.

Dimensions: 105mm*57mm*11.5mm(H*W*T)
Display: 3.32-Inch 16-Bit (720x480 px) TFT Screen
PC Interface: USB2.0 Ultra Fast Data Transfer
Flash Memory: Built-in basic Memory (4GB/8GB)
GSM + SCDMA Networks
Bluetooth Support
TV-out Support
Line-in Support
Video Playback: MPEG-4/H.263/H.264 at 30FPS
3.0 MPx + 0.3 MPx Dual Cameras (Optional)
Video Conferencing (Optional)

Operating System: Windows CE 6.0
Processor: ARM11

[deslock @ Nov 26th 2007 6:43AM]

Wouldn't your anger be better directed at Meizu for creating such a blatant ripoff? And you're assuming that this thing will ever be released... all we've seen so far are CGI renderings (and there are rumors that it's simply a publicity stunt that won't ever get manufactured).

And who knows if it'll actually work well? And what has Apple actually done to try to stop it that has you so angry? (AFAIK, they haven't done anything yet)

Meizu could certainly create a tablet that looks different if they wanted to.

[Iain @ Nov 26th 2007 9:44AM]

@deslock: why would anyone be angry at Meizu?

Ok, so it looks like an iPhone but that's where the comparison ends - if the M8/MiniOne actually makes it to market with specs similar to the ones listed, it will be a greatly superior device.
What sense is there in being angry at a company for improving on someone else's product? All they're doing is helping the customer, providing them with a choice which has a superior feature-set.

All that and you're not tied down to one network on a grossly-overpriced tariff amd have to shell out for the phone on top of it.

The iPhone's a rip-off and I, for one, can't wait for a decent alternative.

[James Cameron @ Nov 26th 2007 3:59PM]

I'm glad I hold off on the Iphone. I'm looking forward to next year and see how well this phone will stack up against the iphone and other phones. I think their hardwares are impressive but I have a feeling their softwares will be very lacking. But that's very fixable.

[deslock @ Nov 26th 2007 4:04PM]

> @deslock: why would anyone be angry at Meizu?

I don't think anyone should be angry over this at all, but TheCow5 said he's pissed at Apple because he thinks they're trying to stop this from coming out (though AFAIK they haven't done anything to stop it).

So *if* TheCow5 is going to be angry at someone over potential legal battles, then he might as well be annoyed at Meizu since they chose to create a blatant knock off instead of building a tablet with those specifications that didn't look *exactly* like the iPhone. But then it wouldn't have worked so well as a publicity stunt for Meizu.

BTW, your comments about it being a huge improvement are premature. Sure a 720x480 screen would be some tasty, but so far we've only seen CGI renderings and until we actually get to try one, we won't know how usable the interface will be. A pressure-sensitive touchscreen doesn't work as well for finger input and the WM environment isn't setup for so few hardware buttons, so there are reasons to be skeptical.

[Iain @ Nov 27th 2007 8:04AM]

Ok, that's fair. You're perfectly correct in that Apple haven't done anything about the release of the MiniOne/M8 yet and, so, TheCow's anger towards them is mis-directed.

I'm not sure that I agree with the statement that he should direct his anger towards Meizu though.
Yes, they're making things hard for themselves by making the MiniOne/M8 so similar to the iPhone/iPod Touch but that's not an entirely-bad thing IMO - after all, looks are one of the iPhones biggest (only?) plus points. Better it looks a lot like the iPhone than it looks ugly, IMO.


Also, to be fair, I did say IF the MiniOne/M8 makes it to the market with those specs.
And, yes, obviously it also depends on it being easy-to-use as well.

[w00t @ Nov 26th 2007 2:17AM]

What a shitty rip off.

It doesn't matter how it looks or the features, it runs windows so the user experience sucks and costs more than the iPhone :)

Will sell well in China though because it's a chinese product. Nothing else going for it. I hope apple bring them down for this severe lack of originality and innovation!

[w00t @ Nov 26th 2007 2:19AM]

Ok I'm gonna take some of that back. They have innovated, just look at those specs!

I reserve judgement for when I get to play with one then :P

[euclid @ Nov 26th 2007 2:20AM]

Silence!

[riggs @ Nov 26th 2007 8:57AM]

how bout just stfu altogether?

[mr. mario @ Nov 26th 2007 12:21PM]

"Shitty"...?
Damn, you are one lucky bastard to have been able to get your hands on one.

I mean, who would call something that they've never used "shitty", right?

Please tell me how you got those hookups so that I, too, may get to preview these items.

idiot.

[D.L. @ Nov 26th 2007 2:21AM]

Don't they need FCC approval?

[Jerry @ Nov 26th 2007 2:28AM]

I'm gonna buy one... don't care if I have to import it. I can do loads more with Windows Mobile than anyone can with the damn iPhone, even with a hacked one. Windows Mobile isn't perfect by any means, but neither is the iPhone. With that said the iphone interface is quick slick and if you can give wm6 a similar look and feel to the iphone but retain the flexibility (and not to mention full exchange support) of wm6 then I'm in heaven, oh and the beefed up specs sure help.

Oh and yes I'm an MS fan, I'm also a hard core dev and an apple hater (only because of the lack of power user support / extensibility, but I will say that apple does know how to make pretty products, even if they're "dumbed down"... so flame on. :-)

[mike @ Nov 26th 2007 8:55AM]

Dude, there is no such a thing as an MS fan. We use MS products love them and not thank MS for them because this products are like an integrated part in the human life cycle.If you say I am a Microsoft fan its like saying I am a big fan of electricity or sound waves or something like that...

[Jerry @ Nov 26th 2007 2:11PM]

Odd, I was under the impression that we all had free will meaning that one could be a fan of whatever one wanted to be. Seeing as how there are tons of "Apple fans" couldn't there also be "MS fans"? You're logic is completely flawed. I am a fan of Microsoft, because of all of the changes they have made to better themselves and clear up the bad image that they gave to themselves a decade ago. They have made leaps and bounds in new innovations as well as even adopting open file standards. Comparing MS to electricity or sound waves is completely off base. You could compare computers as a whole to electricity or sound waves, but last time I checked MS, as big as they are, are still not a force of nature. Either way, I am also a fan of electricity and sound waves and light waves, and even computers!

[Jeff @ Nov 26th 2007 2:28AM]

Guys...this is a powerhouse of a phone. Its all the good features and there in the form factor that we would like them...if they weren't ripping off the iphone, they'll probably be ripping off HTC, Nokia or likewise...just because its a Chinese company...it automatically equals ripoff...amiright?

I'll buy one next year in Beijing for sure. GPS is what's a seller for me.

[w00t @ Nov 26th 2007 2:35AM]

It doesn't have GPS, just bluetooth support for it...

[Jeff @ Nov 26th 2007 3:28AM]

Yes it does w00t, check this very recent PowerPoint.

Oh and for the rest of you guys, notice how Meizu isn't some small 500 sq ft shop in Southern China. They actually win awards...they're a Chinese Apple.

http://www.meizume.com/showthread.php?t=4392

[w00t @ Nov 26th 2007 2:35AM]

Hrmm... a couple of complaints about typing on this judging by specs and pics...

They keyboard isn't quite qwerty and I'll explain why.

They have a standard touchscreen, which means it can only detect a single press and cannot detect the *size* of the pressure area only a single point which makes it inaccurate. This is why touchscreen phones come with a Stylus.

This means they could not get away with keys as small as on the iPhone, so qwerty wouldn't fit (they moved some keys above for an extra row)

Yuck... it is a shame because it has some great specs.

[Billy Kincaid @ Nov 26th 2007 6:04AM]

Yeah, the "non-QWERTY" keyboard is my only gripe so far. I can try to get used to it, but I dunno.

[kelven @ Nov 26th 2007 3:22AM]

copy 手机中国？？？why?i don't understand,engadget usually get the fist news,why???

[Sean @ Nov 26th 2007 4:09AM]

I wonder if they paid Canon to use the image that they Photoshopped onto the screen? It's a example image provided by Canon on their website, IIRC it was for the original 1D. Why would you buy something from a company like this that just rips off other people hard work?

[James Cameron @ Nov 26th 2007 3:59PM]

The clothes that you wear. The chair that you're sitting on. The house that you live in. The monitor that you're looking at. The mouse that you're using. And etc...they are either ripoff or carbon copy of another product. Not sure how or why you are supporting them.

[Max @ Nov 28th 2007 10:06PM]

If the iPhone is different enough from the LG Prada to not be a rip-off, then this looks different enough for me. I'm tired of the iPhone and every idiot in the country owning one. I want a touchscreen smartphone that isn't doled out by the nazi regime, so the more to the market the merrier. I can't wait for the Motorola Rokr e7 (hoping it's not vaporware)... and I had a touchscreen pda phone with a 2mp camera and mp3 player and web and whatever else a year or so before the iphone even came out. Apple made some innovations with the iphone, but they didn't invent it - anything awesome they put in there should be in every phone. Not everyone wants a damn iphone or an apple product.

[derX @ Nov 26th 2007 3:34AM]

OKay, first, I am going to start off here by stating the obvious:

This phone is only called a rip off because it was...you know...ripped off.

*lady in crowd throws shoe*

OKay, now, the reason for stating the obvious:
See, the connotation of a rip off is a bad one; it is that said ripper offer has just took some pre-existing thing, in this case the iPhone, and just made its own copy of it. What makes this case so absurd is that specs wise (or at least hardware wise), the M8 is better than the iPhone.

So we have a case of:

rip off > original

Absurd? Plenty. Bad? HELLZ NO!

Just as the iPhone has prompted other manufacturers to step up their games, maybe Meizu will prompt other ripper-offers *coughs*Samsung*coughs* to step their games up, too. In consequence, we'll be in a golden age of technology, with the black market of bootlegged devices as good or better than their muses.

------------

Let's be honest, here. Am I not the only one who wants to see a Meizu/Apple showdown? Steve Jobs looks like he has a mean hook, no?

[batfastad @ Nov 26th 2007 4:36AM]

I bought an 8GB Meizu miniplayer back in March - the best portable music player I've ever owned. Absolutely awesome.
Whether they can deliver a decent phone is another thing though.
This should sell well, especially since it's running Windows Mobile so you can almost do what you want with it (including run Doom!).

Shame it's just one big touchscreen though like the iphone (ibrick). Touch sensitive stuff sucks for portable electronics - always the first thing to fail. Especially on something that takes as much abuse as a cellphone.

[IndiaTech @ Nov 26th 2007 4:42AM]

@Jeff
Dude, the link to all the "Awards" that Meizu won... Well they are all bunch of Chinese "Awards". I doubt they won anything from an "Independent" and International Organization. More or less some local Chamber of Commerce Awards.

As for Apple taking Meizu to court...
Well to start with, Meizu is a "Big" Chinese Enterprise. Communism 101. EVERYTHING is owned by the Govt. So more or less the Case will be Apple Inc V Republic of China. And you definately DON'T want to do that. I mean if if your product reads, "Designed in California, Assembled in China"
And as for ripping of Design...
To quote Picasso, "Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal..."

[Harry @ Nov 26th 2007 6:55AM]

Quote [Communism 101. EVERYTHING is owned by the Govt. ]

Not true. In China there are state-owned enterprises (such as Sino Pec) as well as privately-owned companies. (MeiZu, Huawei, Lenovo).



Yes, the government exerts substantial powers on all aspects of the economy. But powerful controls by no means indicates complete ownership of all economic entities.



I doubt MiniOne will ever reach the US of A market. In the unlikely event it does, the minute fraction of profit Apple lost to MiniOne may not justify the cost of a corporate lawsuit. Finally, if our fruit behemoth does suit MeiZu, I suspect the Chinese government will stand by Apple's side to win the impression of a supportive attitude towards protecting intellectual property rights.

[tekdroid @ Nov 26th 2007 9:23AM]

Harry @ Nov 26th 2007 6:55AM

Not true. In China there are state-owned enterprises (such as Sino Pec) as well as privately-owned companies. (MeiZu, Huawei, Lenovo).
----------
Ownership

As of May 31, 2007, 39.6% of Lenovo is owned by public shareholders, 42.4% by Legend Holdings Limited, 7.9% by IBM and 10.1% by Texas Pacific Group, General Atlantic LLC and Newbridge Capital LLC. Because the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Chinese government agency, owns 65% of Legend Holdings, effectively the Chinese government owns about 27.5% of Lenovo and is the largest shareholder.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo_Group

Dunno about the other companies, but Lenovo is still fairly substantially tied to the Chinese Government.

[joe23521 @ Nov 26th 2007 9:56AM]

IndiaTech, there's just a slight difference between "The Republic of China" and "The People's Republic of China." Details, I know.

[IndiaTech @ Nov 26th 2007 4:07PM]

@Joe
Sorry abt that. I usually prefer to refer Republic of China as Taiwan.

[deslock @ Nov 26th 2007 1:06PM]

Anticipation is high for this phone, and on paper it looks amazing. However, until we actually get to use it, we won't know:

1) Performance. The specs look great, but even with a lot of memory and a fast CPU, WM can be pretty sluggish.

2) Reliability. Again, WM can be temperamental (especially when it comes to alarms and syncing).

3) Durability. Without a capacitance-based touchscreen, it'll probably be fragile (especially of the screen isn't recessed).

4) Ease of use. The HTC Touch models have made some improvements to the WM interface, however, a pressure-sensitive touchscreen doesn't work as well for finger input and the WM environment isn't setup for so few hardware button.

[Intercooler @ Nov 26th 2007 8:55AM]

Re: iPhone ripoff & Apple legal action
-what part of iPhone design to you see in the M8? get your facts right!
-it's 'similar' to the iPod TOUCH design, but iPod TOUCH isn't a phone, whereas the M8 is a Phone. That's the biggest hurdle for Apple's legal action. How can you sue a phone for looking like an mp3 player?

Re: Windows Mobile sluggishness
-Do your research! M8 runs on Windows CE 6.0. It's not the same as Windows Mobile 6.0 which is based on Windows CE 5. So don't go comparing M8 to other Windows Mobile products.

Re: Multi-touch screen
-those claiming that the lack of multi-touch screen will affect the keyboard obviously have only been playing with older generations touch screens with poorly implemented keyboards. It's all in how the keyboard design is made. Unless you have incredibly fat fingers like Homer, there's not much difference between single-touch and multi-touch screens for keyboard input
-utility of multi-touch screen is still very minimal. only resizing things quickly seems to be of any use. prove me wrong by telling me what ESSENTIAL application is there to multi-touch screens?

Re: Specs
3G - I don't seem to remember that in the iPhone

[Unregistered @ Nov 26th 2007 9:28AM]

Will people flock to the iPhone after using this?
Just as people who tried the Nano ripoffs found it so unwieldy they decided to fork out for the real McCoy instd?

[snitch @ Nov 26th 2007 10:23AM]

first off meizu don't even have a real phone, all they have is a piece of paper with everything the first Gen of the iPhone lacks and a photoshop iPhone picture. Sure they like copying everything apple does, like there Mp3 players that looks just like and iPod and may fool one or two people thinking its and iPod, but this time around it won't be this easy and apple proves it by being a software and hardware manufacture and after almost 6 months of release there still things on the iphone that needs to be fix. Meizu its just hardware and this coming junuary if a new gen iPhone is release am pretty sure that they will update there photoshop also

[Mr Corsini @ Nov 26th 2007 9:58AM]

once again the amount of dumb f***ers that post comments actually amazes me. None of you know any of the facts or even take 2 seconds to find out some information. Someone has already said this too....THIS PHONE DOES NOT RUN ON WINDOWS MOBILE. It is a Custom OS bulit on top of a WIN CE 6.0 framework. It has also been reported that there are people from Microsoft, Samsung, COWON and a Motorola design agency working on the M8. (yes thats right). How many chinese knockoffs have engineers from the biggest software company and nand flash supplier in the world working on their products? I hope this phone lives up to the hype and I really hope they sell well. I don't want the fat yanks getting their mits on it anyway, they'll use any excuse to go to court. keep it in china and I will definitely import. YOU WILL NEVER GET THIS TYPE OF CODEC SUPPORT OR OPEN PLATFORM ON AN IPHONE.....EVER. Lets pray it functions well and then we can all buy a proper touchscreen phone without having to pay for apples restricted closed platform and ludicrous contract policies.

[Mr Corsini @ Nov 26th 2007 10:38AM]

thats great if you want to use itunes bloatware, don't want to share music with your friends. Want to have to convert all your files to apples propritery formats, can't unlock your phone with the latest firwmware or it will get bricked. Want to take out a ridiculous 18 month or 2 year contract. Want to send apple your phone and get charged for the privalege when your battery dies. Don't want to do basic functions such as picture messaging.....But hey at least you can pinch your little photos to make them bigger and smaller, that will come in really useful I bet. You will also be 1 of only 20000000000000 people to own one. You know what they say......'think different' and all that. I think i'd probably rather get the m8 when it comes out thanks.

[Mr Corsini @ Nov 26th 2007 10:41AM]

oh and why would they hold bloody conferences about something that will not be released?

http://www.meizume.com/showthread.php?t=4396

your your useless little pea brains

[Neeko @ Nov 26th 2007 10:55AM]

OK ALL YOU HATERS SHUTUP.

Who cares about this "OOHHH ITS A KNOCKOFF, HOW DARE MEIZU COPY OUR BELOVED APPLE" If meizu thinks they can create a better product..GREAT! thats only gonna force these other companies to provide the customers with more innovative and productive products. Iam tired of all these people bitching and moaning about how only APPLE should be able to create a fluckin 3 screen thin media player.

Granted meizu did copy most of their OS design it seems. But Cmon there isnt one thing that this product doesnt do thats (features) not better then your coveted IPHONE. i know its not out yet. But iam sure itll provide us with ways to make it better.

THEYVE given the people what they wanted and added all the features that APPLE refuses to add. Now i know APPLE does hear us complain. They would just rather spread out their $$s worth and add these features later on for higher prices.. Thats fine its their right BUT AS A CUSTOMER FLUCK THAT. I want these features NOW. And if any company is willing to give me a decent product and give me the options i want with the creative usability i am SMART ENOUGH TO USE then BRING it on.

I dont want a DUMBED down version of any product and thats what APPLE puts out.

SO FLAME ON HATERS!