Remember how the folks at the
Meizu booth swore up and down that the
M8 Mini One wasn't that similar to the iPhone? Well apparently the Hanover police think otherwise. According to a report, the booth (shown above in its vacated state) was shut down by cops for piracy during CeBIT and passersby were told that, "The venue is closed until further notice." It appears that after stopping down the M8 show, cops proceeded to confiscate equipment and literature associated with the painfully obvious knock-off, and will be making a more detailed statement on Thursday in regards to the action. Meizu, it might be time to get yourself a makeover... and a good attorney.
Update: As you've probably already
read, the Meizu booth was apparently shut down due to its use of an unlicensed MP3 codec. At the time we wrote this, all signs were pointing to the cause being the M8's alarmingly familiar UI, though that appears to have slipped through unscathed.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in; Image courtesy Heise Online]
posted Mar 5th 2008 9:53AM
ZING motherfuc*ers, ZING!
As a famous rapper once said. F**k the police.
Or as Meizu says, f**k copyright laws, right?
Or as Trent Reznor said. "STEAL IT! Steal away! Steal and steal some more. One way or another these mother Fuc*ers will get it through their head their ripping people off."
How many Chinese merchants will I see carted off in handcuffs - and otherwise embarrassed, until they realize COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS ILLEGAL.
I bet Trent spelled "they're" right.
I can see it now...
APPLE GESTAPO
White Glossy Supremacy, and the planned annihilation of the more populous PC market
Let's see, Yahoo is stealing the "Digg" website and calling it Yahoo "Buzz". But that's OK?
Apparently electronics inventions cannot be stolen, but software inventions are fair game?
I smell hypo-crickeys.
@Chewba
In this instance, he's right:
their = possessive form (their heads)
they're = contraction of "they are"
"get it through 'they are' heads" or
"get it through 'their' heads"?
;)
Although, the subject-verb agreement is off (head vs. heads).
/grammEr nazi
@ slyd3z
Your Grammar Nazi status has been revoked.
"get it through their head their ripping people off"
Should have been "get it through their heads THEY'RE ripping people off" and that is what Chebwa was referring to.
@johnny
Ooohh! Scary. Thats tough talk.
@slyd3z
You right, but the "their" after head should be they're...
As in "One way or another these mother Fuc*ers will get it through their head they're ripping people off."
So there :)
@ Jamie
Uhm.....isn't that EXACTLY what I already said?
Do I need to have the German Police shut your computer down for infringing on my comments? ;)
Did that rapper get shot by any chance?
This will force them to come out with a better phone than the crapola iphone.
Because of course, the iPhone is such a piece of crap! Please! Engage brain before opening mouth next time.
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
Just an update, the booth is reopen and they are showing off the phone again, according to heise.de (the original source about the shut down)
" In the late afternoon, was the booth of the company re-occupied, employees were also the smartphone again, but not the MP3 player."
"employees were also the smartphone again"
You mean the M8 Mini One is also a Transformer? Maybe I do need one.
Oh the Meizu M8...The little kirfer that could(n't).
:[
About darn time. Everyone knows it's a direct ripoff of the exact interface.
And to everyone who says that Apple Ripped off LG, cry me a river. What in the sam hill could apple have done? They're both full-touch phones. That use the finger as a stylus. How could you expect anything but a similarity in interface? All the full-touch phones look somewhat similar, because of the design constraints in place.
LG Turned around and jacked apple's icons for that god-awful Voyager (I used one briefly, talk about poorly executed). So let's just let it go.
Nobody has ever said Apple ripped off LG but plenty of people (read: idiots) have said LG ripped off Apple. Truth being neither of them made the first touch screen phone.
And to Ryan Trevisol who says that Meizu Ripped off Apple, cry me a river. What could Meizu have done? They're both full-touch phones. That use the finger as a stylus. How could you expect anything but a similarity in interface? All the full-touch phones look somewhat similar, because of the design constraints in place.
"About darn time. Everyone knows it's a direct ripoff of the exact interface. "
Scary, huh?
This is the world that some of Apple's Loony Toon users would love to see happen.
"Your icons look like they came from Apple! Copycats!!!! POLICE, POLICE!!!!"
"Apple had that feature before you! ARREST THEM!!!!!"
"Shiny metal?!?! Mother f@cker!!! Haul them in!!!!"
Not only are they a cult, apparently they are creating the iPolice State...Pro!
@ Ryan Trevisol
What exactly is wrong with the Voyager? I've had mine since launch, and don't have any complaints. The touch screen was a little wonky at first, but with the newest firmware I love it.
How bout the fact that it's nearly the same price as the iphone and doesn't come with any internal storage, the browser sucks, it uses BREW to load applications (hardly any), the interface is ugly and complicated...Should I go on?
@Ryan Trevisol
Me thinks your a very ridiculous example of an apple fanboy. You say Meizu ripped off Apple, but then say its alright for Apple to rip off LG(which they didn't). There's a certain word to describe such a comment, but it slips my mind at the moment, I think it was hypo........ something.
Anyways, just because both devices are touch phones, doesn't mean they must have the same interface. Two full touch screen phones can have totally different, original, creative, and user-pleasing interfaces. As for the LG's Voyager being an Iphone ripoff, I don't see that, Voyager's overall interface is completely different from the Iphone's interface. Too bad I can't say the same for the Meizu M8, it has too many similarities to the Iphones interface, I'm surprised they didn't add cover flow as well.
The Germans sure do like shutting things down... Seems to be very popular lately.
You got it troll: First they'll be kidnapped by the CIA to Afghanistan for some water-involving questioning, then sent to Guantanamo for indefinite containment.
think u r talking about nokia, fyi they r finnish.
Troll? How am I a troll? Your post would in-turn make you a troll, considering you're instigating.
How? Are you kidding? How does this have anything to do with 'the Germans'?
Troll.
*AHEM*
Since you can't read, I will capitalize the area in the title that clearly states that it was the German authorities who did this.
"Meizu CeBIT booth shut down by GERMAN AUTHORITIES"
Do I need to spell it out for you? Sound it out- get your mommy to help you if you need to.
children, children. break it up before i send both of you back to your rooms
sorry, couldn't resist
Children? Ok, "i.c. wiener"- we're the children. *rolls eyes*
lol
Vewy, vewy, intewesting...
Is it really piracy though? If nothing else they have not made any money from this yet and have not caused Apple to lose any money so I'd say it's not piracy.
Agreed. Not that the damn thing would ever be released anyway.
I wouldn't be surprised if Engadget was the ones to call the Gestapo.
From the dripping venom in this article alone, they seem to have had the most bizarre hatred for this company for years. They have been acting like little brown shirts for Apple when it comes to anything that may compete with their products, so I wouldn't put it past them to have "helped" the police along in shutting down their both.
Hey fred,
I think you're just being a big, fat baby on this thread (and probably many others). Perception is 9/10 reality, I know but if you go through Engadget this morning you'll notice not one story about Apple. Engadget does a pretty decent job of covering every major show and every major release of every major product, even vaporware like the Meizu M8.
If you don't believe the M8 is an exact replica of an iPhone then you're kidding yourself. This particular device is stolen almost identically from another which is illegal.
And what I think we'll find today from the German authorities when they make their announcement is that piracy was in full effect. They probably got themselves an iPhone and reverse engineered the OS and mechanics. Which is f-ing piracy you lunatic.
Now, be tough and show me who's boss. Bring it.
"They probably got themselves an iPhone and reverse engineered the OS and mechanics"
That's cute, because yesterday the line was that they didnt even have a working device.
If the device was not a for sale item, then what piracy laws have they broken? Just having some part that "looks familiar" isn't a breach of copyright law no matter how much you support Apple.
@ Chris: Haven't you been paying attention?
The M8 was running on Windows CE, not pirated Apple software. If that's the case (which I'm sure it is, otherwise the M8 wouldn't be so buggy and in dev so long), then other than copying the LOOK, there's no software piracy going on.
In case you haven't heard, Apple didn't invent multi-touch, by a long shot. They were just the first to put it in a phone.
The big kicker would be if the booth was shut down for reasons not related to the M8 at all.
@Alan:
"In case you haven't heard, Apple didn't invent multi-touch, by a long shot. They were just the first to put it in a phone."
Actually, they patented it. So yeah, Meizu using the patented Apple gestures would count as a patent violation. Don't know about German law, but here in the US, if you are caught violating patents, your goods can be prevented from being imported. Maybe the Germans kicked them out of Germany and seized their goods due to Apple patents.
Oh, and before you start about applicability of US patents, I would not be shocked if Apple has patents in the EU/Germany covering the same exact items as their US patents.
@Alan
Haven't YOU been paying attention? Windows base code has many stolen parts from when Bill worked at Apple. They even got caught and it's the reason they "invested" 10 Million dollars in Apple and offered up Microsoft Office for 5 years.
Reverse engineering the iPhone OS and making it work in a Windows CE environment is not an unlikely scenario and would explain why it doesn't work and is buggy as hell. It's certainly plausible.
If you don't think this interface looks like an exact replica then you're just being an Apple hater with your blinders on in full effect. I don't think the LG Voyager is a replica, I think it's a poor attempt at a touch screen but it's definitely LG all the way. THIS is a forgery in every way.
And to add...
Not only were they the first to put it in the phone. They were the first to bring it to end consumers.
Multi touch is not a new idea but Apple found affordable ways to implement it.
Microsoft surface is multi touch but it's expensive and targetted for commercial use. They would patent their own implementations. That demo at NYU is multi touch and his implementation is projected and not on a LCD screen. Multi touch ideas have been floating around for at least 25 years.
I wonder why so many people are still thinking single touch touchscreen are the same as multi-touch touchscreen. Try finger gestures like zoom, rotate on single touch touchscreen and they won't work from both hardware and software levels.
@brian:
It's well known that Apple didn't invent multitouch. Saying "they patented it" is meaningless. Exactly what did they "patent", where is the patent, and in what country or countries are the patents held? US patents and pending patents are meaningless in Germany, especially ones that are irrelevant. Does Apple hold a German design patent on the iPhone?
If you are so certain that Apple holds applicable patents in EU/Germany, why don't you prove it? While you're at it, specify just what patent infringement you are talking about.
@Chris:
Bill never worked at Apple and there is no proof whatsoever that Windows ever contained any code stolen from Apple. You are delusional.
Reverse engineering is not illegal nor unethical, and reverse engineering an OS to "make it work" on another OS is nonsense.
Lastly, I don't see anyone saying the interface, what little we've seen of it in mockups, doesn't look like the iPhone. The point was that Engadget takes it on themselves to constantly harp on the ripoff angle. There's ample evidence of that.
I'd go further. Engadget covers all Apple stories, whether announcements, updates, or rumors, with carpet-bombing coverage. They make every effort to expose and ridicule any product that competes with or takes from an Apple product. Finally, Engadget takes it on itself to assist in Apple product development through the promotion of Apple feedback discussions. They even do "news" articles on Apple mockups done by non-Apple employees. Their pro-Apple slant is ludicrous. Sadly, Apple is a religion and Engadget worships there.
"It's well known that Apple didn't invent multitouch."
Wasn't that Fingerworks? Oh yeah, Apple owns Fingerworks.
Any bad news for either camp is unwelcome when trying to determine a market leader. No matter which way your fan blows.
Craig,
Every news outlet has a slant. It's better to just get used to it than fight it. You won't win.
@Craig
"Bill never worked at Apple and there is no proof whatsoever that Windows ever contained any code stolen from Apple. You are delusional."
DUDE, you're delusional. Bill Gates was the first software developer outside of Apple allowed access to the code behind the Macintosh operating system. Microsoft Word was an Apple application long before there was ever a Windows system. And while he was in there, he TOOK THE CODE. They got caught with the code in Windows 95 and were subsequently taken to trial over the matter. They settled out of court and invested $10 Million in Apple and signed a contract for 5 years of Microsoft Office for the Mac platform.
This has gotten way off topic but what I was trying to say originally in reply to the question of piracy is that I'll bet piracy is involved. They couldn't make Windows CE do what an iPhone does so they took code out of the iPhone OS and are trying to shoe-horn it into Windows CE.
Will you muppets take it elsewhere. I'm getting fed up of emails because you idiots are using my comment to argue under.
Chris, next time use one post to make all your vacuous replies instead of making multiple posts 1 minute apart from each other; you'll look less like an idiot.
@brain "Actually, they patented it. So yeah"
irst they do not own the only and exclusive multitouch patent. See us patent #7,030,861 second you can get a patent if you improve on another patent. Since there is no working mutitouch you have no clue what they done and therefore under US law there is no infringement.
Carbonize... ya really should use a separate email for blog commenting, you know, like all good muppets do.
It's not our fault engadget's commenting system doesn't allow recursive subthreads. :D
Funny how the Apple iPhone wasn't called a "knock off" when they copied the LG.
Talk about double standards.
im not aware that LG made a similar product to the iphone
What was similar between the LG and iPhone? They both were full screen touch screen phones. Big flipping deal. If you hold the Meizu up to the iPhone, they look damn near identical, and the interface is a complete copy of the iPhone.
"They both were full screen touch screen phones. Big flipping deal. "
And if you read Engaget enough, ALL "full screen touch screen phones" are labled as "iPhone knockoffs".
So yes there is a double standard on Engadget. Whatever standard benefits Apple.
fred:
Actually, I've been reading engadget for years and haven't noticed that at all. The Voyager was not called an iPhone knockoff, nor were any products by HTC, Samsung, or Nokia. Actually the only ones called iPhone "knock offs" are those in the "keepin it real fake" postings, which are truly trying to be iPhone knockoffs. Get off your damn anti-Apple pills and chill out.
"Actually, I've been reading engadget for years and haven't noticed that at all. "
Riiiiight.
"Now that I've read the review, the interface seems like a hokey stab at apple. "
"When big V comes out with an iPhone knockoff, they are begging us to talk about it. First off, at this price point, spend the extra $100 and buy the iPhone."
It took me a second to just glean these quotes about the LG Voyager.
fred:
nice quotes. too bad those actually came from commenters and not the actual editors here at engadget. Hell, I can take your quotes and basically sum up that Engadget *hates* Apple, but then I'd only be referencing you and not the actual editors.
"nice quotes. too bad those actually came from commenters and not the actual editors here at engadget. Hell, I can take your quotes and basically sum up that Engadget *hates* Apple, but then I'd only be referencing you and not the actual editors."
Wow, because I know I said originally that if you read the editors of Engadget enough, ALL "full screen touch screen phones" are labeled as "iPhone knockoffs".
Wait, you mean I didnt say that? Then what did I say? Oh yeah...
"And if you read Engadget enough, ALL "full screen touch screen phones" are labeled as "iPhone knockoffs"."
fred:
Ok, then using your logic I will say that if you read Engadget long enough you will see that it is anti-Apple.
Just because some users of a site feel a certain way does not mean that the site itself feels that way. Again, I can selectively take all of your quotes and those from others that are anti-Apple, yet visit Engadget, and say that Engadget is anti-Apple. So your points you have tried to make are without merit.
Oy vey, Fred. Your fallacious backtracking is enough to give me a headache.
Regardless of what spin you're trying to put on what you said earlier about Engadget, what is really telling about what you actually meant is the conclusion to your first post:
"So yes there is a double standard on Engadget. Whatever standard benefits Apple."
This is why everyone thinks you're talking about the editors at Engadget and not random comments from anonymous fanboys of whatever denomination.
Nice try though.
From one of the "editors":
Yeah, about that Nokia iPhone -- they were trying to demo touchscreen Symbian S60
"So yeah, we talked to Nokia today about that iPhone knockoff of theirs. Turns out they totally neglected to mention that they were trying to show off the iPhone-esque software, not the iPhone-esque hardware. The concept they were driving at is they want to take Symbian S60 into the wonderful world of touchscreen, and that kind of input system they demoed could show up on any form factor device. Why they decided to show off said S60 touchscreen software on a total ripoff of the iPhone (and not, say, on some mockup N-series device) is a little less clear, but it certainly made for some hilarious fodder this morning. Seriously though, don't forget to check the video, you can almost hear the soothing sounds of the iPhone ad mandolin playing."
Apparently the phone was a rectangle, and you could use your finger to slide through pictures. Those bastards ripped off the iPhone!
Better call the cops.
@ fred:
...did you even SEE the "demo touchscreen Symbian S60"?? or read the article?
"Nokia's Executive VP & General Manager of Multimedia said, "If there is something good in the world then we copy with pride.""
( http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/29/nokias-iphone-no-seriously/ )
If that's the best you can come up with, you need a new hobby. Your rabid apple hatred is tedious and boring.
fred:
From the mouths of Nokia's Executive VP & General Manager of Multimedia, Anssi Vanjoki: "If there is something good in the world then we copy with pride."
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/29/nokias-iphone-no-seriously/
So, Nokia even said they copied it. Your point?
Yeah I read the article and saw the video, and the "copy" was that it was rectangle and that you can scroll through photos with your finger. Engadget's editors, in typical fashion, sized upon the CEO's comments to further their already insane mission to sniff out and expose supposed "ripoffs" of Apple's products.
Like I siad, call the police and have them raided if that's all it takes to break a supposed Apple patent.
fred:
"Yeah I read the article and saw the video, and the "copy" was that it was rectangle and that you can scroll through photos with your finger. Engadget's editors, in typical fashion, sized upon the CEO's comments to further their already insane mission to sniff out and expose supposed "ripoffs" of Apple's products."
Yeah, the "insane mission", of which you have found ONE instance of where Engadget has called a competitor a ripoff/knockoff, and in that case it was because of what a VP at Nokia said. Yeah, that's completely clear that a Engadget is on a "mission". You have no proof, you have no case, you only have your opinions, which are ill-formed. Get a clue.
Fred, give it up. You've already managed to make yourself look like an idiot and the hole is only getting deeper.
"Yeah, the "insane mission", of which you have found ONE instance of where Engadget has called a competitor a ripoff/knockoff, and in that case it was because of what a VP at Nokia said. Yeah, that's completely clear that a Engadget is on a "mission". You have no proof, you have no case, you only have your opinions, which are ill-formed. Get a clue."
Iphone
ipod
AppleTV
Macs
Any product that even has a passing resemblance to anything remotely having to do with some Apple product are continuously labeled "Knockoffs", "ripoffs", "wannabes", "copy", "i(Insert product name here)-like". It is done by the writers of sites like Engadget and in the comments section. You are a liar if you say otherwise.
Yes they are on a mission, and most people that read this site, and many Apple users, have pointed this out. To what end, I couldn't tell you.
It is absolutely bizarre to still see people (typically Apple fanatics) who still act as if they just dont see it.
The only person who didn't see this coming was Ray Charles!
.....
ROFL.
Hah!
Its quite shocking just how much hatred Engadget has for this company...
I mean I really don't have any feelings towards Apple one way or another. I love the iPod and I'm looking forward to the next version of the iPhone which hopefully will be open enough for big tech enthusiast to give their approval of. And hopefullly it will have all the features that we've all wanted.
However I can totally now see why people think this website is biased in favor of Apple.
Really I understand its a blog but your credibility and your lack of professionalism at times is quite pathetic.
@CassilineKnight
i completely disagree with you. "...how much hatred Engadget has for this company"?
I'd hardly say it's hatred, more just an easy target. it's a no-brainer to make fun of these chinese knockoff companies that take themselves seriously (and act as if they're a legit business instead of just bootleggers) and it makes for a decent wednesday morning read. I hardly see the "hatred" or "venom" you people are talking about.
seems more likely to me that you people are just looking for excuses to call Engadget "Apple Biased" more than anything.
Apple gestapo? Hope they have more proof than just..."its similar to the iPhone"?
For real, the M8 is Windows Mobile based. They're going to have to prove a lot more than just "it looks like the iPhone".
I call Shennanegans
So why does it deserve higher requirements than, say, fake Louis Vuitton purses which are often banned from entry to the US based solely on the fact that they look too much like the real thing? It's really funny watching people defend these knockoff products. It just shows how much some people hate Apple.
@Chris "fake Louis Vuitton purses which are often banned from entry to the US based solely on the fact that they look too much like the real thing"
The difference is that fake LV stuff is covered under trademark law and this is covered under patent law. Apple does not have a trademark on the design and look of the phone they may have some patents pertaining to the implementation of how the phone works; LV does have a trademark to the design and look of the bags and their symbol (their "trademark") so they can stop others from making bags that look similar
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
What the hell is a Meizu?
I saw it just yesterday, the meizu guy was talking to someone showing him the m8 xD . the booth looked like shit.. but Cebit was great... =)
Yeah...... It's called patent infringement.....
@jazeej
"Yeah...... It's called patent infringement....."
Exactly how have they infringed on any patents? They haven't even produced a working demo, nor sold one for that matter.
^^^^
Hi, welcome to Engadget!
^^^
Hi, welcome to the use of the reply button
Shocking. I agree the UI it's, for now, very similar to the iPhone's GUI, but the mobile itself isn't. It's smaller, the colors are different, there's no metal case behind it.
As for the GUI, come on... It's a prototype.
iRiver is working on a similar GUI ( http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/01/09/iriver.iphone.clone/ ) and noone seems to care as much as they care for M8.
Once again, let me state the obvious. Engadget is a little sheep in the hands of Apple. You should be ashamed for the lack of neutral point of view.
Oh, and one last thing ( yes, as your almighty leader, i too have one last thing to say ): M6 is one of the best mp3 players. Better than Creative Zen, much better than ANY iPod. And you know what? They cost less than $100.
Didn't iriver say that their GUI was only a demo to show the devices capabillities?
I don't really remember...
hahaha, they will not be prosectuting f**k all. They think they can stop Meizu in China? their living in a dream world. I hope they flood Europe and the US with the M8 and the cut directly into apples profits. Next hey should think about going over to China and shutting down apples 250,000 person factory for expoloitation of poor chinese workers? F**k apple and f**k the germans.
wow u really love meizu...
Someones been told of by their parents. Poor kid.
You are right. They won't be able to stop them from selling. However Meizu should put their effort into creating something that won't be associated with iPhone. It's perceived as a copycat company and that it'll always be one step behind.
PWNED
I wouldn't be suprised if this was a a publicity stunt by meizu, cos its near impossible to actually convict them of anything
I love Apple, but I agree with people, Engadget seem to want to be the Apple Police
Too bad...
It's painfully obvious that Engadget hates Meizu just because they're making a clone of their favorite toy. Apple can't take a little competition.
this is all ceremony, the german police want to put on a show of force. There is no way they can prosecute Meizu. If apple did have a say in it then it is becasue they can't get an iphone deal in china and when the M8 comes out there no one will buy the iphone. Apple are the real criminals the way they rip off their customers under the guise of 'simplictity' which really means overpriced, extortionate contracts and lack of functions. Their profit margins should be criminal. Long live Meizu.....viva la revolucion!