Keepin' it real fake, part XCIX: HTC Touch clone by Santek is almost Meizu good

It's so much harder to poke fun when a clone manufacturer gets this close to the real thing. Santek's SSG730 runs Windows Mobile 5, bills itself as a "samrt phone" and of course has other minor hardware differences from the HTC Touch, but we've gotta respect Santek going the extra mile here with the inclusion of a fingerprint reader. There's also a surprising amount of hardware left intact, like GPS, Bluetooth, a WiFi option and a 2 megapixel camera. The split screen is kind of odd, and we're not even positive it's touchable, though we'd venture a guess that it is with this kind of commitment to fakery.

[Ike Turner @ Dec 5th 2007 10:24AM]

Them Chinese thief's gone get sued t'il starvation one day....their time will come...

[JohnTitor @ Dec 5th 2007 12:20PM]

yeah, like China is actually gonna enforce that...

[Temple @ Dec 5th 2007 1:17PM]

Well, HTC is a Taiwanese company with very close ties with China .

[mrpaco @ Dec 5th 2007 10:30AM]

Are you sure that "split screen" isn't just a really bad attempt at adding screen glare via Photoshop?

[Nick @ Dec 5th 2007 11:16AM]

i agree its just a really bad attempt at photoshop.

[spass @ Dec 5th 2007 11:25AM]

They might be spending millions developing a product like this.
They should be able to spare a few hundred extra dollars on a decent Photoshop job.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 5th 2007 10:41AM]

You'll be in "KEEPING IT REAL FAKE XXXXXXXXXXXXX" before China stops copying sh*t.

Listen...as long as this thing has a decent web browser, bloetooth, wifi, cellular gsm phone, organizer and graphical keyboard YOU WILL GET ABSOLUTELY NO COMPLAINT FROM ME.

knockoff Chinese megapixel cameras SUCK though because all they do is make a diode without attention to lenses and software.

[Luke @ Dec 5th 2007 11:39AM]

Damn right.

Everyone needs to get themselves some 'Bloetooth'

DEFINATELY right about the camera on that one.

Sorry, I'm a pretty tenuous person. :)

Yeah, don't you think that the 'split screen' thing is just a VERY bad design flaw of a screen reflect, EVERYONE seems to be hopping on THIS design feature.

[joe23521 @ Dec 5th 2007 11:49AM]

Luke "DEFINATELY" should not be picking on other people's spelling.

[Peter Balogh @ Dec 5th 2007 1:38PM]

http://www.d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y.com/

[Datacide @ Dec 5th 2007 12:21PM]

I lost my HTC Touch a few days after getting it. Maybe I'll pick up one of these instead of paying Telus another $600 for one that doesn't even include wifi...

[Michael S @ Dec 5th 2007 2:44PM]

I've been wanting a phone for a while with this "bloetooth" technology I keep hearing about.

[Iain @ Dec 5th 2007 4:13PM]

Flashpoint, I think you're confusing 'Chinese camera manufacturers' with Kodak, Casio and Samsung...

[Dr. Z @ Dec 5th 2007 10:46AM]

What do you expect from a "samrt" phone?

[Chird @ Dec 5th 2007 11:06AM]

I think it means it's soooo smart that correct spelling isn't necessary

[Matthew Hilario @ Dec 5th 2007 12:42PM]

ya so samrt, originality isn't necessary either,

[NovaLand @ Dec 6th 2007 1:08AM]

It doesn't matter since according to pmptoday it has some widows mobile nr 6.. i wonder what happened with her other 5 mobiles, and why is she a widow? I, as a male, wont touch that phone - EVER!

[Clayj @ Dec 5th 2007 11:24AM]

XCIX, huh? Next one will just be "Keepin' it real fake, part C", I guess.

[Mark Richardson @ Dec 5th 2007 11:59AM]

Yeah, try doing a search for "Keepin' it real fake" and look how many different ways Engadget believes you can order your Roman numberals.

XCIX, XLIV, LXIV, XLI, LIX, XLVI...

http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=Keepin%27+it+real+fake

[Jacob Kennedy @ Dec 5th 2007 12:46PM]

All of the schooling I've ever had says that XCIX is the correct version of 99. Your examples are all proper numbers too:
XCIX - 99
XLIV - 44
LXIV - 64
XLI - 41
LIX - 59
XLVI - 46

I think Engadget may have this one right, Mark.

[Mark Richardson @ Dec 5th 2007 1:41PM]

Jacob, I stand corrected! Evidently my memory is too short and I've been out of school too long. My apologies, Engadget!

[Flashpoint @ Dec 5th 2007 1:19PM]

typos aren't my fault. I'm using one of those tinyassed mac keyboards.

[Mark Richardson @ Dec 5th 2007 11:54AM]

"The split screen is kind of odd"
Guys. Seriously. How could you possibly believe the screen was split? It's a crappy photoshop job.

"and we're not even positive it's touchable"
How could you possibly not know whether it has a touchscreen or not? It runs WM5 and only has a d-pad and answer/hangup buttons. Do the math.

Somebody woke up on the stupid side of the bed today.

[mmh @ Dec 5th 2007 12:32PM]

Someone sure did.

[Mark Richardson @ Dec 5th 2007 1:44PM]

Hmm... I'm going to assume you're referring to my Roman numeral gaffe. If so, touché. But if not... well then I just don't know. What I said was pretty obvious.

[TheCow5 @ Dec 5th 2007 12:17PM]

I would like to know the differnces on price, are the fakes/copys Three Quarter the price or more.

[Tonicboy @ Dec 5th 2007 12:20PM]

Wow, they've managed to make a render that looks EXACTLY like the original product. That is some really amazing engineering.

[snitch @ Dec 5th 2007 1:21PM]

well the real HCT Touch is not to good ether so why would they try to copy it?

[Drew @ Dec 5th 2007 1:28PM]

Howmuch would this ocst?

[OnZeFly @ Dec 5th 2007 1:30PM]

Ain't HTC Touch already a clone ??

[Mark Richardson @ Dec 5th 2007 1:45PM]

Nope, it ain't.

[Alan Strangis @ Dec 5th 2007 5:00PM]

"Ain't HTC Touch already a clone ??"

*snore*

[palehorse @ Dec 5th 2007 2:50PM]

All I care about is cost. If it's half of what the regular Touch costs, or less, then I'll gladly fork over some change to be their guinnea pig.

$600 phones are simply out of reach and unjustifiable for the middle-class family man...

so, how much is it, and where cna I get it? I went here, but it doesnt list any retailers:
http://santek.en.alibaba.com/product/50397098/200863152/Smart_Phone/samrt_phone_SSG730.html

[Cesar Cardoso @ Dec 5th 2007 4:36PM]

You should buy in large quantities - 1000 or more.

[palehorse @ Dec 5th 2007 6:27PM]

LOL! Ya, right! Maybe if I get 999 pre-orders...