Video: Meizu M8 mini One

It's just three screens on a very early prototype, but for those of you who doubt Meizu's ability to bring the M8 to market, we give you -- the video. Sure, Meizu's just rendering three image files as opposed to any real processing. Nevertheless, there's plenty of catchy dialog to hold you over until these pups go live in China sometime around August. Who knew English as a second language could be so fun.

[vivishann @ Mar 4th 2008 6:48AM]

oh,ye!china!well done

[yemingXP @ Mar 4th 2008 6:13AM]

a little disappointed..

[Carbonize @ Mar 4th 2008 6:19AM]

Disappointed in what? Which part of early prototype didn't you understand? Let me help you http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=prototype o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prototype

[yemingXP @ Mar 4th 2008 6:30AM]

the three holes on the top,the three buttons design and the white+black colors really disgusting,you dont feel that ? and their working process so slow....

[Carbonize @ Mar 4th 2008 6:44AM]

Three holes at the top = more volume. Guess you missed the story about people poking holes in their iPhones to increase the volume. As to the three buttons both LG and Samsung use the same layout and a lot of people prefer it.

White and black? The casing? What colour is the iPhones case?

[yemingXP @ Mar 4th 2008 6:57AM]

you man really indulged in the M8,so you'd like to forgive whatever the faults it gots ..

[Carbonize @ Mar 4th 2008 7:00AM]

Not really just pointing out that what you don't like about this design exists in other phones already. Did you comment on the LG Viewty or Samsung Armani phone having three buttons?

And then there is your "and their working process so slow...." comment. IT'S A PROTOTYPE!

[fred @ Mar 4th 2008 8:03AM]

@carbonize

I can make this easy for you so you wont go crazy reading some of these replies.


Apple fans, including the Engadget crew, do not wish to see competition for anything Apple does. EVERY device that is released that could be a threat against an Apple device is automatically attacked and ripped as to put the most negative spin on it before it ever hits store shelves. Look at almost every "smart phone" with a touch screen that has ever been shown on Engadget, and you will see the same responses. Either they try to claim that it is "ripoff", a "knockoff", or some such term in order to dismiss it.

In short, they are running a protection racket so that no one dares considers alternatives to the Apple product.

[Liam @ Mar 4th 2008 9:20AM]

I'd say, though, that this is a genuine rip-off. If it were made in a country with real copyright laws, it would not have got this far. That is saying a lot seeing as it's barely off the drawing board.

Forgetting all that though, this is still quite a laughable effort. They've been touting it for so long... and to what end? I still have my doubts, based on this evidence, that they're actually going to put these things on the market.

[Jeff @ Mar 4th 2008 12:19PM]

@Fred:

I've been begging for an iPhone competitor to come to Sprint, and so far, nothing has. It's not that the HTC Touch is a great phone and the "crazy apple people" are running some kind of protection racket, it's just that the HTC Touch is a turd.

I see what you're saying, and there certainly are some people eager to write off any possible competition as a knock-off, but A.) this M8 is nothing but a Chinese knockoff any way you look at it, and B.) the current iPhone competitors out there really are still behind the game (or playing a different game and so not a good competitor. there are other very nice smartphones out there that DON'T compete with the iPhone on any meaningful level.)

[Brendan Sheehan @ Mar 4th 2008 1:45PM]

That's funny fred. And I likely agree if it wasn't the fact this Meizu continuously copies Apple. The did it with the iPod mini's name a packaging, the did it will a whole lot of iPods at the are doing it with the touch an the iPhone. I'm surprised Apple haven't sued them long ago. The whole thing is so obvious it's funny.

[Roxanne L. @ Mar 4th 2008 2:45PM]

hehe, that looks gay... the digitalrise d800i looks a lot better... http://www.chinagrabber.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1531&HS=1 a lot cheaper too...

[alegria690 @ Mar 4th 2008 4:20PM]

I have seen that phone in HK I think. I had to search for it because I wanted one of the iphone clones that china was selling and I couldn't find the Meizu in shanghai. If its the same phone its a piece of junk. Also it doesn't work in American because the frequencies are different. I think it may work in Europe though.

[zoara @ Mar 4th 2008 6:19AM]

That seems pretty much done to me as it is; a handheld model to show off to your friends and a real, working model which you keep in your bag. I'd buy it.

[Max @ Mar 4th 2008 6:20AM]

Really don't know how much Meizu payed Engadget to constantly report progress of this iPhone rip-off...

[ipub @ Mar 4th 2008 6:35AM]

I think you'll find engadget have been iphone fanboys and anti m8 for a while.

[Jagannath A @ Mar 4th 2008 6:38AM]

STFU

[TMM @ Mar 4th 2008 7:59AM]

Ahhh ... fanboy, fanboy, fanboy ... How I love this nonsense.
Simply because a device is really well made, top of the user satisfaction lists and introduces novelities, that nobody else as done so well until now you must call somebody, who is absolutely right to say that this m8 is a boring device, riding the coattails of the iPhone, fanboy.

If you don't want an iPhone, that's I don't care. But to defend a uninspired, „yet-another-mediocre-device”, just because it is not Apple ... come on.

Be reasonable. I can't stand it anymore.

[nikster @ Mar 4th 2008 12:19PM]

Right on. I have two suggestions, gonna put them in one post for brevity and promise this will be my last comment on anything meizu.

1 - Ban the word "fanboy" from engadget. It's so stupid, boring, tired. It's over. It's beyond over.

2 - Provide a meizu-free news feed, sorta like the apple free newsfeed. I honestly don't want to see or hear anything about this most blatant of rip-off artist companies. I have never seen a meizu product for sale anywhere - so why the obsession with their bad Apple clones? I don't even want to spend a tenth of a second browsing a meizu headline. Seriously. I want to have a meizu-free Engadget - please, make it so!

[Liam @ Mar 4th 2008 6:23AM]

That's really quite pathetic.

[tekdroid @ Mar 4th 2008 6:31AM]

I don't envy the amount of work the engineers need to do to get that ready for an August release.

http://en.meizu.com/

Good thing is that in the meantime they are selling drag-n-drop audio devices that play FLAC
http://flac.sourceforge.net

I think their iPhone-a-like gets way too much coverage, especially considering the progress so far :p

[tekdroid @ Mar 4th 2008 6:33AM]

another thing, why do they call this thing the Mini One.

Mini compared to..?

Sorry, just rambling..

[w00t @ Mar 4th 2008 6:34AM]

Wow, they really do have quite a way to go yet!
The 'demo unit' looked about as sophisticated as an image viewer and 3 JPGs!

I'd rather have seen the OS on that dev board to get an idea of what it actually runs like...

[mrsalty @ Mar 4th 2008 6:39AM]

That looks like pure crap. I'm sure Carbonize just can't wait to stuff it down his pants though.

[Carbonize @ Mar 4th 2008 6:42AM]

*yawn*

Apple fanbois and their playground insults. How old are you? 10? 12?

[Raheem @ Mar 4th 2008 8:20AM]

Carbonize... you think this looks GOOD? Stop resorting to shouting 'fanboi' [sic] and defend the product if you think it's good. I personally don't think this will ever make it to market.

[ard buijsen @ Mar 4th 2008 6:39AM]

quit unbelievable that it takes them this long to get a working knock off of the iPhone. And then they don't even improve it. What a piece of sh*t. And of course it's by no means a copy of the iPhone because this thing doesn't do anything in contradiction to the iPhone with which you can at least make a phone call.

[Homeboy @ Mar 4th 2008 6:51AM]

So............what they basically had to show case is a portable picture fram with a bunch of still images??

[Carbonize @ Mar 4th 2008 7:02AM]

Yup. I mean you can see the form but you would of thought they could of put something on there even if it was just a vanilla installation of Windows Mobile. Better yet slap Android on there. Call it the Mini One Android.

[ryan @ Mar 4th 2008 7:02AM]

I really don't like the fact the UI is lets say "borrowed" form a certain phone that starts with the letter i

[bob @ Mar 4th 2008 7:09AM]

why do you give this cheap knock off so much coverage, its never going to come out! its been about a year now and it has no operations, shows 2 screens and they havnt even completed the hardware, this thing would see the light of day for another year at least. as for comparing it to an iphone, why bother, its not even as good as the lg's the touch screen doesnt even accept input lol.

[Adam Reiniger @ Mar 4th 2008 7:09AM]

I'm sorry, but that looks really cheap. Especially the back, it looks... so plastic.
I'm not an apple fanboi (in fact, don't even have an iPhone, I am happy with my HTC Touch Cruise / O2 Orbit 2), but at least the iPhone looks... nicer.
I am only talking about the actual phone, not the UI, mind. Can't judge this UI, as it's just JPEGs.

[CitizenKlaw @ Mar 4th 2008 7:31AM]

As a person whom English is not his first language, I was mildly insulted by your 'Who knew Enlgish is a second language could be so fun' comment, Thomas. For about 2 nanoseconds. Then I just realized how bloody ignorant you are.

What language do you think they speak in the plant where your precious iPhone is manufactured? Black Speech? The binary language of moisture vapouretors? What will it take for persons like you to realize it's a BIG world out there and not all of it speaks English.

When you tire of reading your copy of 'Green Eggs and Ham' do yourself a favor and pick up 'China Shakes the World' by James Kynge. Nice read. Hint: it's in their nature.

[Poonanny @ Mar 4th 2008 7:56AM]

seriously, lighten up - Thomas never meant the reference statement to be racial.

Let me put it to you lightly: most of the products in this world come from China. Unfortunately, 90% of the junk from China is either

1) Poisonous, hazardous to health, and/or plain dangerous to human beings/and/or animals.
2) Pir8ed software/movies mostly come from China - they sell it on the streets with no regards to copyrights
3) Their automobiles have a one star safety rating.
4) They rip off every other country when it comes to design of cars, motorcycles, and clothing. Nothing is safe from design theft - which china ranks #1 in.
5) China steals US govt. secrets.
6) SARS outbreak was covered by govt...until it got extremely contagious spreading to all of HK and elsewhere
7) AIDs is a major issue now in China. Yet the govt. does not believe HIV exists among chinese people because it is something foreigners only can get.

8) This damn iphone knockoff.

[haggis @ Mar 4th 2008 8:36AM]

@Poonanny

Nothing is safe from design theft - which china ranks #1 in. and apple #2!

[hehe @ Mar 4th 2008 11:02AM]

1) Yup it is very hazardous, that is why you're typing on a made in Chinese keyboard right now, sitting in front of a made in china keyboard, having a Made in China MP3 player.

2) I spell hypocrisy, I would not be surprised if one of you here use a pirated version of Microsoft word, excel to save you more than 100 bucks, and it is Chinese piracy that allow some people to watch movies online without having to pay a penny. Ironic.

3) The latest Chinese car crash test performed by Spain ( a western country that abide by European standards) got 3 stars.

4) Everyone else ? Well I admit that apart from Japanese and Western companies like US, German and French, Italian, British.... I wonder how many other countries in this world have technology anyway. Use the word "every" in a proper context.

5) Off-topic
6) Off-topic, this place is about electronics not disease.
7) Off-topic, this place is about electronics not disease. (btw who told u this ? , this sounds so funny, the chinese government does recognise HIV.)

[CitizenKlaw @ Mar 4th 2008 9:13AM]

Poonanny I'll knock off some stuff for ya (in no particular order). DISCLAIMER: I'm not defending the chinese. This is more matter of fact:

HIV/AIDS is bad in the entire planet. There are varying degrees of responsiveness, yes. But this has nothing to do with IP theft.

Poisonous/dangerous products: China's not the only one. Do you remember a couple of weeks ago about tainted drugs from Pfizer (or some pharma) manufactured within US soil? Regulated by the FDA? How many cases a year do we NOT know?

American cars don't rank quite well on safety. Some of them do, but most of them don't.

A state government covering up something embarrasing, like SARS? How could they? The US covering the torture of illegaly held prisoners in Guantanamo Bay using waterboarding techniques? Impossible!

State governments stealing secrets to each other? Pray tell how old are you? Are you old enough to remember the Cold War and the Space Race? How do you think the Soviets did this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buran_%28spacecraft%29 Friendly collaboration?

Now to the crux of the issue. Companies complain about their IP being stolen by China, India, Brazil, etc. What did they expect? That they would get a 150%+ markup on a product manufactured on the cheap on third world countries and that those same people living on those same countries would pay astronomical amounts of money for the products they themselves made, so that an American CEO has his nice stock options and seven figure salary and bonus? Because when you boil it down to the basics that's why things are priced so. The iPod Shuffle costs $50 in the store. How much do you think it costs to manufacture? Windows Vista is a pile of dung. Why does it cost more than $150?

Remember you pay for the IDEA and a PERCEPTION of a brand. Which is what ultimately a brand is. A purse is a purse is a purse, unless it's Prada or Coach. Then you pay $400 for three pieces of leather put together by a middle aged Chinese woman that earns $15 a day and can't afford herself the luxury of the Prada brand.

The funny thing about all of this is that they (the Chinese) are imitating for imitation's sake. I don't think they realize or fully comprehend the mechanics of free markets. Yet.

[Cyon @ Mar 4th 2008 9:35AM]

Here's what's happening in China:

1) Japanese and Korean gadget, phone and car makers release sleek, innovative new devices or vehicles domestically in Japan and Korea.

2) Chinese rip-off companies buy one, and return to China where the whole thing is copied.

3) The Chinese companies sell the fake version domestically in China.

4) when the original is finally sold in China, Chinese consumers think the original is a counterfeit of a Chinese original, since the Chinese phone was sold first, and are OUTRAGED at the copyright violation. Counterfeiters cost legit companies about $600 billion per year and growing fast, and the overwhelming majority of it happens in China.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200511/200511060022.html
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/24/keepin-it-real-fake-part-xxxvii-china-car-makers-strike-again/

[Chinese SLaves R Dirty @ Mar 4th 2008 9:42AM]

Here's the reason why chinese cars (or other chinese crap) are "deathtraps":

Anybody who understands East Asian culture and history will tell you how they are drastically different from each other. Just because something happened in one location at one time doesn't mean it will repeat at another location at another time. You only need to see the history of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan to tell that global brands like Toyota, Sony, Samsung, and Hyundai won't emerge from China. Why is that? Because of Chinese tendency to pursue short term profits in exchange for a long term growth, and the government's failure to establish an economic plan with a long term vision.

You cannot compare Chinese auto industry with Japanese/Korean auto industry for following reasons.

1. Japanese/Korean auto makers had tiny domestic markets and were forced to crack US and EU markets just to survive from the beginning. China's domestic market is rather large and Chinese auto makers don't have to go to overseas to survive. In fact, engineering cars to be US/EU regulation compliant could be fatal in a market condition where there is zero regards for safety and quality, and consumers shop only based on pricing alone. Make your car better than your competitor and raise your price, your competitor undercuts your price with an inferior but cheaper car and you are dead in China where the prices drop every quarter.

2. Chinese consumers themselves no longer consider Chinese brand vehicles when the intended price budget is more than $5,000. Accordingly, almost all Chinese brand vehicles are priced below $5,000. This heavy focus on low-price vehicles prohibit Chinese makers from higher priced and higher quality vehicles suitable for the US and EU markets.

- Japan(5-star-ratings): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGr38YSIn4
- Korea(5-star-ratings): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhX2Q8X9ha4

- China(Zero-star-ratings): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F06LjugtIUo

[MnM @ Mar 4th 2008 10:07AM]

@CitizenKlaw - I agree. English is my first language but I totally agree. This is the writer's Job and he should take crap like this more serious. If you consider your job at engadget serious then consider yourself a writer. I'm sure if a writer was able to publish something like this in the ny times people would be offended. Its amazing that engadget writers try so hard to be cool with a sense of humor. Trying too hard to be cool when your not can lead to you making and idiot out of yourself. I bet you read these comments where people pop off at the mouth about anything and seem to believe that you can do the same when posting a story. Get another name and talk trash in the comments like half the people do here. But please do us a favor and be more responsible when posting your stories.

[Poonanny @ Mar 4th 2008 7:47AM]

^^^video: @1.28

specs:
======
GSM: 4-band 850/900/1800/1900
Wifi: wirless b/g
Screen Resolution: >>> 720x480

[Poonanny @ Mar 4th 2008 7:49AM]

continued (being chopped off):

Touch Screen,
Camera: 3MP auto focus

Clearly this is NOT an iphone knockoff...

[Joe @ Mar 5th 2008 11:47AM]

介绍的人英语差了点。

[Dictionary @ Mar 4th 2008 8:14AM]

To all people complaining about the crappy looking white plastic, what part of "EARLY PROTOTYPE" can't you understand? Why spend money making a early prototype look good when that money can be used for R&D and production?

[RoboDan @ Mar 4th 2008 8:19AM]

I like the other model better... the one with just the huge circuit board and tiny screen. Reminds you of those suitcase laptops they used to have.

You want to get noticed? Try lugging one of those around and answering calls on a subway with that! Impress your friends with the "ULTRAFAST" UI - but don't try to play a song cause that will never work. It's just a picture of music, but that's enough, right?

P.S. Meizu is poor quality. The Mini One will likely never be released (it was SUPPOSED to be released last year at the same time as the iPhone).
As much as I hate the iPhone, it's clearly a better product than the mini One-giant pile of crap.

[kadajawi @ Mar 4th 2008 8:40AM]

Uhm, yeah, that's why earlier Meizu products were reviewed pretty well, and can easily hold up to iPods of that time.

However, the M8 is taking waaay to long. Still, it improves on the iPhone in several ways, and I think they want to make a device that is better than the iPhone. Many Chinese knock-off companies have released iPhone clones long ago (which are crap). Meizu takes time, and they have proven to be serious about their products.

I wonder when this is getting released though, I highly doubt an august release date.

[RoboDan @ Mar 4th 2008 8:43AM]

Funny, they WERE reviewed well, because for the first 6 months (ish) there are no problems. Afterward, the M6 went to shit. Touchpad became unusable and the player was useless without it. Well reviewed? Who takes a player and reviews it for more than 6 months?

... yeah, GREAT quality

[Mr. S. @ Mar 4th 2008 8:21AM]

How ironic that i'm in china right now using my iphone to view this... i win.

[Raheem @ Mar 4th 2008 8:23AM]

Well said Poonanny... three words I never thought I'd use together.

[haggis @ Mar 4th 2008 8:52AM]

@tekdroid
its smaller that the iphone!