Meizu M8 Flash demo hits the scene, looks mighty familiar
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Nov 23rd 2008 2:48PM
posted Nov 23rd 2008 2:48PM
How much ASCII will be spilled, how much bandwidth utilized on this legendary (if vaporous) iPhone killer before it becomes a real reality? Like the tail end of a torrid love affair, we're not even sure if it's the phone itself that we dig or the soap opera that we enjoy so much. And now, hot on the heels of the hands-on video that has captured the imagination of the entire world, Meizu has posted a flash demo of the M8's UI for those of you thirsting for a closer look at the thing. SPOILER ALERT: It bears a strong resemblance to the interface of a certain Apple product.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
this time it looks pretty original
damn this looks legit :)
it's not really very original but what's good about it is that it looks like it will work and work well, not like very cheapo chinese knock off, plus it looks like it has things people have to beg apple for, like a file explorer, copy and paste, etc. Also it runs on Windows CE so maybe other apps can be installed too
Even if it is legit they can't copy the iPod touch/iPhone's touchscreen. That thing took years of hard work designing.
I MAY be an Apple fanboy.
Probably cause I've owned 4 MP3 players and 3 of which are iPods.
Anyway, no one can possibly copy the touch's smooth lines and elegant touchscreen interface.
to my understanding
....its just a regular touchscreen
with special software...........
"cheapo?" this thing has a pricetag of like $750 dollars.. no windows mobile, lucky to get wifi, would rather have the D80i Phone - which is around Half the price that this will be - http://www.mp3nmp4.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1692
@GIF
apple didnt developed the multi-touch screen, so i dont think its safe to make an assumption that no one make the same touch screen like iPhone, cause Balda AG can sold the same touch screen to other manufacturer.
I don't know about you but I don't trust anything which has Times New Roman
I lost interest at "loading...4%"
I actually like it. I like the design of the browser better then Mobile Safari. Hopefully it runs well
Their browser looks exactly what Safari uses to look like on the iPhone pre-2.2. Although the icons are a little different now from how they used to be, the OS on this device still has the fundamentals of the iPhone OS.
If its Opera it not only looks better, it actually is better. Mobile Safari is nice but extremely slow compared to Opera. That said, it looks similar to a previous interface... c'mon its not like its anywhere unique. Palm had this interface about 8 years ago on my Vx, and if i remember correctly that creditcard PDA even had this already. So yes it lacks some uniqueness, though sofar the only refreshing GUI lately seems to be mobile Ubuntu which is round instead of square. Though.. we like square and thin and unlocked. Put that together and you get a Meizu which probaly also got the latest hardware and the quality of Meizu is rather good actually.
from what i've read they use webkit the same browser (originally Kbrowser but forked into different versions) used in iphone, in some samsung phones, and not sure if LG uses it.
I really don't care about this POS anymore....
Thank you for buying the M8, testing it for a week, then giving us your great and intelligent review.
lol i dont care about this POS because its just an Asian knock-off
In rare occasions the knock off can be even better than the original.
I have a Shuffle 2 clone that I purchases for $9.99 CAD, looks exactly the same as the original, the battery has a smaller capacity, but at least it plays MP3, WMP and WAV. I'm not paying Apple $50 for a shuffle. Times are tough...
Probably contains high levels of lead paint XD
SYLVANIA (curtis) I don't think they would risk a law suit just to re-badge a cheap player.
http://www.curtisint.com/web/browser.asp?productID=SMP1002&catName=MP3%20PLAYERS
Brandon while you're at it be careful of them terrorists.
Hey iEye...where did you buy this for $10 CDN? Hopefully somewhere in Toronto?
@ Jeff... Canadian Tire (Product #99-6498-6)
Blue,Green,Silver,Black & Pink
thanks a lot ieye... It would be something nice to have so I don't have to run my iPhones battery dry just to listen to music
Wait, so iEye's Canadian? I'm ashamed!
I wish I could read whatever language that is :[
It's Chinese
I hope it has localization support with Engrish text already built into the product!
It's simplified chinese not traditional chinese with a lot more strokes.
I hope you're joking. Are you living under a rock. 1.5billion Chinese out there brah.
I am almost certain that it will have Chinglish built in as well.
I can't tell what it "resembles"....perhaps the Apple II?
Menus represented by Icons? Damn, they stole that idea from Palm!
Miss my Treo 600...
Ok, so setting up your icons in a similar way to the iPhones is copying it? I'm guessing that Android and a lot of other touch phones copy the iPhone then?
Wow.. Well guess what.. OS X is copying WinMo with the bar on top..
It's not just the where, it's everything!
Similarities:
1. Time? Same spot exactly (top middle)
2. Signal? Same spot exactly (top left)
3. Battery? Same spot exactly (top right)
4. Icons? Same spot exactly (starting at the top and going from left to right)
5. Icon names? Same exact color and area (white, located underneath each app)
6. Dock? Same spot exactly (separated by a small increment from the rest of the icons)
7. Background? Same color exactly (black)
8. Default screen orientation? Same (vertical)
9. Calender icon? Uses same format (day of month on white area and month on the top)
10. Settings app? Same color/basic symbol (gears)
I could keep adding to this list all day, but I have other things to attend to, post a reply with all the minute, hardly noticeable details whenever you find the time.
@ Who?
My phone has 7/10 of those and was released about a year before the first generation iPhone. OMG they copied LG!!!
*correction*
it's 9/10
@who?
if you look at the battery... its actually facing the opposite way of the battery on the iPod touch.....:O
It's not that the Meizu looks like the iPhone, it's that the iPhone looks like the Meizu! :)
If you've been following the Meizu drama, then you all know it is a plain and simple copy of the iPhone OS, why defend it?
@Mike
In russia, iphone clones YOU!
meizu did have other designs and different icon looks from a company that they hired to do their graphics. however it doesn't look like they incorporated their design though. anyway hopefully meizu or someone will make a skinning tool for it. there's definitely lots of themes and designs that can be made for it since it's based on win ce 6.
Who? Look:
1. Time? Same spot exactly (top middle)
2. Signal? Same spot exactly (top left)
3. Battery? Same spot exactly (top right)
Hmm?
4. Icons? Same spot exactly (starting at the top and going from left to right)
Yeah I wished they would start at the bottom and going from right to left.
5. Icon names? Same exact color and area (white, located underneath each app)
Both Palm OS and Windows Mobile do the same. Copycats! They should remove the "feature".
6. Dock? Same spot exactly (separated by a small increment from the rest of the icons)
Sorry but Meizu does not currently support the Dock feature
7. Background? Same color exactly (black)
Don't want to argue with that!
8. Default screen orientation? Same (vertical)
Don't want to argue with that
9. Calender icon? Uses same format (day of month on white area and month on the top)
Ditto
10. Settings app? Same color/basic symbol (gears)
Agree with that one, a little to familiar
It does not resembele a iPhone, iPhone dosnt have flash
I can has flash?
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wNf9rEPoc8Q&feature=related
And the iPhone doesn't resemble you- it's popular!
You've gotta love Apple! They come up with some mighty great idea (of combining others' great ideas together) and totally fuck it up... Then there comes the, always, late competition to pick up where Apple left and make the final product that everybody, FINALLY, loves! :)
Yes, the iPhone is a huge f**kup, that's why it's been selling more than its main rivals and *only* sold a couple millions...
Troll
Selling more than rivals? Which rivals are you talking about?
I'm not saying that iPhone doesn't sell, but it's a mediocre cell phone, or is it not? But, other companies that take what Apple "invented" and avoid what Apple "fucked up" make very good mobile phones with very good features for very good money (you can't say that about iPhone).
There must be more iPhone owners than I thought, low ranking me to oblivion in less than 20 minutes is something... ;)
In that case, would you mind giving us some examples of what exactly Apple has "fucked up"? And if, in your opinion, Apple has "fucked up", why is every other company (or rival) out there making similar phones? Which rivals? Hmm let's see..
-RIM
-Nokia
-HTC
-Samsung
-LG
-Sony Ericsson
-Palm
Etc...
@ Nick
"why is every other company (or rival) out there making similar phones?"
And that's the whole point! ;)
Yup, and they wouldn't have done that if Apple didn't make the iPhone the way it is right now. Other rivals follow Apple. Why? The iPhone sells great, because it isn't "fucked up". If it was, it wouldn't sell now would it?
"There must be more iPhone owners than I thought, low ranking me to oblivion in less than 20 minutes is something... ;)"
No, don't have to be an iPhone owner to disagree with you. Grow up.
Now if iPhone wasn't fucked up, the competition wouldn't sell a unit, would it? ;)
@loocas
Yes, it would sell 'a unit.' To you. Only you. Troll.
I never thought the day would come that I would have to low rank an apple hater. Congratulations Loocas - your posts drove me over the edge.
Where did you get I'm an Apple hater from? Not at all. I just think that iPhone is a mediocre piece of electronic.
On a contrary, you seem die-hard Apple fan-boys for all this BS, low ranking and actually not seeing what I meant...
Because you're not clear about what you mean. You're just shouting stuff like "the iPhone is mediocre", without giving any argument about WHY it is mediocre, or why other companies are doing so much better.
@Nick
You're kidding, right? Do I really have to write down every single flaw, every single misstake and every single missing feature? Isn't there already enough posts, reviews and actual user notes on that?
Well, to be honest, I can't think of a flaw which makes it mediocre.. Okay there are some flaws, but no phone's perfect. The iPhone is just about as good as it can get until now. And you haven't answered this yet: what is it that makes the other companies do so much better?
Nick, it's Apple that makes other companies make so much better products. As I said in the first super-lowest-ranked post.
Compared to some other 'knock-off' products, this is the height of originality!
Haha, nice to see engadget back to their usual m8 bashing ways. I thought the M8 post before this one sounded a little too M8 friendly, was worried they may actually be warming to it! that would definitely tarnish their apple fan boi status. M8 looking amazing, can't wait to enjoy the sound and crazy codec support, opera 9.5 w/ multitouch, suck that s**t jobsy!
No matter how good it looks and even if it is better than the iPhone, this side of China it will always be seen as the 'rip-off one'
Not when the thing is 1/2 the cost and can do more. But unfortunately I think that they will price this thing as the same as an iPhone... Pity, because I really like the "glow" effects.
And since Apple is not selling the 1st Gen iPhone anymore, there is no reason not to go to the competitors. To bad so many of you will not know the joy of owning a 1st gen iPhone. 3G is like a pretty girl with fake boobs!
Fake boobs with a great butt....
iEye highest ranked for a good reason twice on the same post?! iEye you are now off my "Top 5 People Who I Automatically Low Rank" list. I salute you. Until you make a dickish comment again. Then you re-earn my scorn.
This looks impressive. I swear, I haven't been excited about a gadget for a long time.
I love how Meizu is playing it clean, neat and smart, and I can see that lots of money is involved.
LOVE THE COMPETITION. :)
If they play this smart they will get rich fast.
Oh and just for the iphone owners who may not have heard of a thing called 'Codec support':
M8 Codec Support
H.264 baseline profile: 2.5Mbps 720×480,30fps
mpeg-4: 2 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
wmv3: 3.2 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
H.263: 1.5 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
DIVX: 5 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
XVID: 4 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
DX50:6 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
MPEG1: 1.5 Mbps 720×480, 30fps
FLV: 300 Mbps 720×480, 25fps
APE: Fast, Normal, High, Extra High
FLAC, WMA Lossless: VBR
OGG: Quality 0~10
WAV: PCM, MS-ADPCM
WMA: 8~355Kbps
MP3(VBR): 8~320Kbps
AMR: AMR-NB
AAC: AAC-LC
You know, I don't see why people even try to put the iPhone down. If you don't like it, get something else! Why would you try and change iPhone users minds? You've seen the news stories, right? These are the people who wait out in the cold for days on end to get what they want!
What happens if you are successful here? Do you really want to make it harder to get the device that YOU want when all of the ex-iPhone users (whose opinions you worked oh so hard to sway) wait out in the cold and buy out the entire stock? That's what I thought!
Not just codec support, the M6 SQ is fantastic so i'm expecting more of the same from the M8.
They even have an SDK for it probably a MS SDK since it's based one WinCE 6.0 ....
I think it's a great soap opera. Considering how long it's run and how little actuality is involved, I give Meizu props for it's production. Now if they can only take this show on the road ...
They need to sell this cheap, unlocked, before Christmas, and to the masses. Get them out the door, none of thie "be part of the revolution" crap ads...
And I think that I actually like this design and UI... This will be my beater phone.
As always I must conclude that the 1st Gen iPhone is the best because it is made out of metal, thus it allows germaphobes like myself to disinfect it. Unlike plastic that has many pores.
Really? I read somewhere that its made of plastic, but has a really thin metal coating (or something like that).. But I have to say when I held it in my hand, it felt really heavy, even comparing it to the 3G, but on paper the difference is small..
Unlocked? Check. Cheap? Check (compared to an unlocked iPhone, that is). To the masses? In China, yeah, probably. Elsewhere... don't think so. eBay will be your friend, I guess.
They didn't give one to the FCC, did they?
Don't worry, E-bay is not my friend.
2 words baby..
DEAL EXTREME...
Am I the only one who's sick and tired of the seemingly growing amount of Engadget-readers who insist on attacking every single article that has any mention or vague reference to fruit? The M8 has always been an obvious iPhone knock-off, it was when Engadget first wrote about it and judging from this demo it obviously still is, so could people please stop raving on like morons trying to prove just oh how biased Engadget is?
I don't mind people sounding off if there's something to sound off about, but seriously, this is getting ridiculous. I swear there must be readers outthere just waiting for the next apple-related Engadget-article so they can start hating in the comments. Grow up, please!
Well, you know, you don't have to read the article/comments..
It's just a knock-off for many people because it is from China. Samsung and have brought out very iPhone-like devices (they even built a time machine to release the devices before Apple), and since the iPhone appeared every major manufacturer (except for Motorola, who just don't seem to bother anymore) has started to develop touchscreen devices like the iPhone. But those are obviously not clones, but if a Chinese company does just the same thing, then it is?
Yes, the M8 is very iPhone inspired, but that's all. It tries to improve (codec support anyone? Ability to run turn by turn navigation software? Sound quality (supposed to be better than the already very good M6)) on the iPhone.
I think I just Flarked myself!!!
The fact that it's from China has nothing to do with this. It could be from Ohio and it would still be obvious. Have you tried the demo at all? Look at the toggle switches, look at the "desktop", look at every app demoed, look at the SHAPE of the hardware. The device will work fine and it's good that features are added, but you have to realize that it's far too similar to the iPhone to ever be sold in anyplace where Apple's lawyers can reach.
"Am I the only one who's sick and tired of the seemingly growing amount of Engadget-readers who insist on attacking every single article that has any mention or vague reference to fruit? The M8 has always been an obvious iPhone knock-off,"
you just shot yourself in the foot right there.
Am I the only one who's sick and tired of the seeming growing amount of Engadget readers who insisting on posting their whinging comments whinging about other people, whilst not adding anything of substance themselves?
I swear there must be readers out there just waiting for the next apple-related whinging Engadget posts so they can start hating in the comments. Grow up, please!
LoL, next post under yours is one of [i]them[/i]...
you just did what you're talking about. and so did i. :S
I^m so sick of Engadget being iGadget... Come on guys, get a grip! Stop smoking pot! Get a life and so on...
Yes, it has features that the iPhone doesn't, and it'll probably work fine, but the M8 is obviously trying to emulate the iPhone. The basic UI, especially touch interaction, is a direct copy of Apple's implementations which are, by the way, patented. It's nice to be hopeful about a new device, but please, take off the blindfolds and see this for what it is.
A remake of an original product hoping to better said product and doing a pretty good job of it so far?
There's nothing wrong with taking a competitors idea and trying to improve upon it, everybody, including Apple does it all the time.
And what exactly is patented? As far as I'm aware the only major patents Apple holds in relation to the iPhone are multi-touch gestures, not the actual multi-touch technology itself just gestures used for manipulating onscreen items and a good developer could easily come up with just as fluid ones which don't come under Apples patents.
But does it have TD-SCDMA?
That would be pretty awesome, I'm tired of China being 3Gless.
judging by its user interface it is an actual copy of an iphone or ipod touch, although the colors and user interface setup in this meizu look alot better than the iphone or ipod touch, yes it did take apple years of design and development but then gain they just throw everything into lies when it comes to competition.
i believe meizu is just trying to provide the Chinese community a better and cheaper product with features people beg from apple.
as long as i know that this company is not doing anything wrong, like violating copyright design, they are completely free of payment. After all, this is a Chinese corporate company. The FCC has nothing on them once this is released in the underground.
if I were an apple (which I'm not). I'd definitely sh*t my pants.
Meizu is just doing what's logical for a touch-based phone: Large icons. I mean, it's pretty obvious if you want a finger friendly phone; it's just that Apple appears to be the first to put the concept altogether very well. Most other companies, were thinking around the stylus. Meizu adds some nice shiny icons, because obviously, they care about the looks just as any other company that wants consumers to buy their stuff. I mean, Apple shouldn't be the only company to have some bright cool icons, right?
Of course, it would be neater if another company (Microsoft with their Zune maybe?) could think up another finger-friendly interface, that isn't too similar to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. And of course, offer more than what Apple does.
I WISH EVERYONE WOLD GET OFF THEIR BIKE AND JUST THINK FOR A FEW SECONDS.
1.......
2......
3.....
Thats enough heres my opinion
I personally will be looking forward to the M8, but i love my Ipod Touch to bits. To call anything an iphone clone is so politically incorrect and stupid that everyone should be shot. Reason... the iphone was not the first, and what on earth made the iphone the base design for all phones,has anyone noticed how generic the iphone design is, also has anyone else noticed how copied un-original the iphone design is??
I mean how bloody creative can anyone get when apple releases a rectangular device to which 80% of one surface is a screen???? how many variations of that can anyone get!!! Not to mention why the hell do apple get all the credit for freaking shape, Most phones are either candy bar or flip top and yet no one calls all the flip tops MOTOROLA CLONES! all bikes have the same shape, and so do most sofas! ARE YOU GETTING THE PICTURE??? the iphone is so damm generic that its shape is just another option so when im describing a phone i can ask what shape and the answer should either be....
a) Flip top
b) Candy bar
c) Generic, rectangle with large touch screen
And Why do ppl think engadget are a bunch of apple fan boys????, TO be really honest they are not, they are doing what they can to keep website traffic, A lot of people like to hear news about apple, even more so now than a year ago so engadget try to get the latest news on apple products so that they can keep their website traffic, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? not to mention they mentioned in their last podcast that they are not apple fan boys, not to mention that podcast was all about their new passion, the storm!!!!!!!!
My last point concludes at this......
Meizu have always been ipod killers, the M3 killed the First gen nanno, and the m6 took some people away from those generic clunky minis and videos, The m8 will pander to the needs of all those who are waiting for apple to release an iphone with what the people want
MEizu like to beat apple in a game of one-up-manship by providing, cheaper for flexible and appealing products for consumers who dont want an ipod, plus meizu support so many formats its not funny
Flame me if you want but people think about it!!!
apple dont own the world yet..
He's saying what all the smart ones are thinking!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
i am sick of all the dumb people making comments before they have had a chance to think about them
and then their dumb comments get reiterated by the whole net
From what I saw in the flash demo, they will most likely get sued till they turn into bunnies before the devices leave asia. Anyone defending this as not being an utter clone is either blind or ignorant. Imitation is flattering, cloning is not. That being said, I will look forward to seeing them in a store nearby, but I will never buy a MS Windows based phone (as long as there is an alternative that is...).
Ok... has anyone actually seen the first screenshots of Meizu's M8?!
1. The original M8 was an EXACT copy of the iphone, from the camera to the now playing screen. the home screen had icons directly ripped from the iphone, as did all of the menu bars and such. When i say this, i mean, you couldn't tell the difference from the iphone to the m8.
2. Meizu decided to change some of the iphone-rip interface to make it a little different.
3. Meizu got rid of the homescreen's dock and changed the slide to unlock screen to a touch to unlock screen. they also reworked to music player to make it less iphone-like.
4. The unlock screen was changed to have you drag an unlock icon to a bar.
5. The call keypad was made a different color than the iphone's.
6. Meizu got rid of the chrome borders of the M8 and added the ipod touch's black borders.
7. Homescreen icons were changed to be less iphone-ish.
In the end, Meizu really did directly rip off the iphone. They got complaints from people like me telling them how unoriginal their phone was, so they tweaked it a bit. its a lot different from when it was first publicized, but if you look at the positions of everything in the M8's interface, well that's where all of the same buttons will be on an iphone. Now, the m8 has a front facing camera, but it doesn't have 3G (or edge as i can see). only GPRS.
Heh, they have an ad for ipod classic knock-off in the "videos" menu. Hilarious.