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Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXVIII: Palm Pre knockoff doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up

by Laura June posted Oct 9th 2009 at 12:16PM

Yes, this was only a matter of time, and we're a little surprised we didn't see one earlier. Regardless, this is the Palm Pre knockoff we've been waiting for. Seemingly called just iPhone +QWERTY -- this KIRF is being marketed as just that -- a real business phone with a hybrid identity blending the BlackBerry and the iPhone. And really, that's not too bad of a description for this little dude, we guess. Boasting analog TV, Bluetooth, and an FM radio, it runs the much-loved OPhone operating system, and can be had for 600 RMP (about $88). There are two more shots after the break. Hit the read link for a full peek.

[Via PMP Today]

Continue reading Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXVIII: Palm Pre knockoff doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up

Quo Computer set to open Mac clone shop in California

by Donald Melanson posted May 29th 2009 at 12:26PM

Mac clone maker Psystar may have finally ran up against a wall, but it looks like its tale hasn't dissuaded upstart Quo Computer, which is now planning to open a retail store in the Los Angeles area that'll sell some as yet unspecified Mac clones. While that'll apparently be a relatively small operation initially, the company's founder, Rashantha De Silva, does seems to have some fairly grand plans for it, with him telling CNET News that they are "trying to stay as close to Apple as we can with our products," and that he hopes Apple "sees the value in what we are doing." Of course, that's about as likely to happen as Woz staying awake during a Palm talk, and De Silva isn't completely unrealistic about the situation, adding that they'll "probably" get sued. Nevertheless, the store is supposedly set to open on June 1st, and the company is apparently aiming to have pricing start at less than $900.

Psystar files for bankruptcy, anonymous creditors to be outed

by Paul Miller posted May 26th 2009 at 1:54PM

We have mixed feelings about the news that Psystar is going under. On the one hand, it's wonderful having somebody attempt to create powerful, expandable Macs for cheap, on the other hand the company has been generally abrasive to the grassroots hacker community its work is based on, and pretty bombastic when it comes to Apple and "the law." But hey, everybody needs to make a profit, even companies being sued into oblivion by Apple, and the news of Psystar filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has interesting legal implications. Not only does it stall Apple's case against the company -- while implying a possibly inevitable defeat -- but Apple has long posited that a mystery investor behind Psystar has nefarious aims, and the bankruptcy hearing on June 5th will name the creditors behind the company. Our fingers are crossed for a "Dan Brown"-style conspiracy, but we're prepared to be "post-2002 Tom Hanks"-style disappointed.

[Via SlashGear]

SciPhone Dream G2+ adds WiFi to the Android KIRF madness

by Paul Miller posted Apr 16th 2009 at 9:02AM

Months later we're still thrilled at the discovery that the original Dream G2 doesn't run the free and open Android OS, but instead a carefully built, stylus-driven clone. Well, SciPhone's Dream G2+ followup continues in that noble tradition, running with some tweaked looks and the addition of WiFi on top of what looks to be that same Android-cloning interface. It's pretty thrilling stuff, and not at all bad for the $185 asking price.

[Via PMP Today]

Keepin' it real fake, part CXC: TESO starts aping MacBook Air, quits early

by Darren Murph posted Mar 13th 2009 at 4:36AM

Astoundingly enough, we haven't actually seen a barrage of MacBook Air clones. Which is pretty remarkable given that, you know, it's a Cupertino-designed product. With such a huge opportunity staring it in the face, China's own TESO decided to see what it could whip up, and what it whipped sits pictured above. Iconic glossy white Apple coat? Check. Impossible to miss MBA styling? Check. One single lonely USB port? Check. Too bad it threw in some low rate keyboard and a mismatched battery cover on the underside -- we were almost totally digging this. Sike.

[Via PMPToday]

OpeniMac offers cut-rate, aesthetically challenged Apple clones direct from Argentina

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Dec 4th 2008 at 5:41PM

After seeing how well Psystar did with its Open Computer, we think we'll just build our own Hackintosh rather than jump into this OpeniMac we've recently been hepped to. But who knows? Maybe you've been dying to send your hard earned money down to some shady Argentinean characters. In that case, this 2.53GHz machine should be right up your alley. Selling for $990 (or $1,330 with an LG 19-inch monitor), the base unit ships with 2GB memory, 320GB storage, and a 256MB ATI Radeon HD PRO. If you've got deep pockets, $1,710 will get you the OpeniMacPRO, a 3.0GHz machine with a 20-inch widescreen monitor and 4GB RAM. But seriously -- who knows where the money goes? And who knows whether you'll ever see the machine? One thing is for certain, however -- this case is as ugly as sin.

[Thanks, Santiago]

Meizu M8 unboxed before December 8th launch

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 28th 2008 at 6:46AM

Can you believe it? After two years and any number of missed targets, Meizu's M8 cellphone is bound and determined to meet its ~~November 30th~~ 8 December launch date. As proof, they've shipped a first unit to China's PConline for review. Hmm, white earbuds, charger, and USB cable... imagine that.

[Via iTech News Net]

Possible Psystar Mac laptop clone in the works

by Laura June posted Oct 29th 2008 at 2:52PM

It looks like Psystar really hasn't been hit by either the economic downturn or the lawsuits Apple has brought against it regarding those "OS X-capable" machines. Adding insult to yesterday's injury -- the announcement of desktops with built-in Blu-ray and NVIDIA's GeForce 9800GT-- it also looks like the company is actively developing a Mac laptop clone, according to an email obtained by AppleInsider. A Psystar spokesperson claims that, "Although there is no mobile open computer at the moment, I can tell you that it is something that is in development," and adds "No release day or price has been set for any potential mobile product line. However I can assure you that at release it will be very competitively priced." Well then -- assuming the quality of the laptops will be comparable to those desktops -- we can hardly wait.

Apple files suit against Psystar for copyright infringement, mellow-harshing

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jul 15th 2008 at 11:54AM

C'mon now -- you saw this one coming down the road, didn't you? Apple has officially taken legal action against Mac clone-maker Psystar, according to court documents. On July 3rd, the Cupertino giant filed suit in the federal district court of northern California alleging violations against its shrink wrap license, trademarks, and copyright infringement. Clearly this doesn't look real promising for the Florida-based cloner, but we're confident they'll handle this situation with the tact and aplomb we've come to expect from them. Which is none.

Read - Confirmed: Apple files suit against Psystar
Read - Apple goes after clone maker Psystar

[Thanks, ginger.al]

World's first projector cellphone is also an iPhone clone, in Rome

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 13th 2008 at 5:32AM

Ok, not Rome, but somewhere in China. But Shenzhen wouldn't have rhymed now would it? Anyway, you're looking at what's scheduled to be the world's first projector phone from ChinaKing (aka, CKing). The bits of information we scraped off the machine translated text reveals an LCoS-based projector that relies upon a LED light source and manual focus adjustment. This brick (and we mean brick) is supposedly capable of projecting a 30-inch, 640 x 480 pixel image for up to 2-hours at a time. 2-hours you say, not possible! Perhaps you forgot about the 666 day battery. Nah. A couple more pics after the break.

Continue reading World's first projector cellphone is also an iPhone clone, in Rome

Psystar says rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated, still selling Open Computers

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 15th 2008 at 12:53PM

So the rumors swirling around would-be Mac clone maker Psystar are getting pretty wild out there -- we've heard everything from "Apple has shut the company down" to "Psystar is going to challenge Apple's EULA in court" in the vacuum following the company's site meltdown yesterday. That's a big spread, so we hit up Psystar's president Rudy Pedraza for some answers. Rudy was relatively cagey on the phone, refusing to answer any questions about Apple's EULA or copyrights -- or even confirm if Apple has talked with the company -- but he told us that he's got a "team" of people working on an official response and that the Open Computer (and the new quad-core Open Pro, pictured above) are still for sale. What's more, he told us that "a few" orders placed before yesterday's flood of interest have shipped, which means we're curious to see if any of these early adopters actually surface in the next few days. Rudy also told us that Psystar isn't out to infringe any copyrights or trademarks (really?), and that he has no idea how Information Week got a quote from someone named "Robert" indicating that the company was going to challenge Apple's EULA in court. Sure thing. Rudy promised us a machine either today or tomorrow, we'll see what happens -- honestly, it seems like things are chaos at Psystar's HQ in Miami right now.

P.S. -Remember MGM v. Grokster? In that case the Supreme Court ruled that a company that based its business around the knowing copyright infringement of customers was still liable, even if it didn't infringe directly. Kinda shoots a hole in the "just don't pre-install Leopard" theory, no?

Read - Psystar Open Pro
Read - Information Week ("Psystar vows to challenge Apple EULA")
Read - DailyTech: ("Apple Kills Psystar's $399 Mac")

Psystar site goes down under load, Apple lawyers seen shopping for BMWs

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 14th 2008 at 2:14PM

Psystar's offer to build off-license OSx86 OpenMac clones was apparently pretty popular -- we saw a note from the company saying it was trying hard to cope with the rush of traffic, but it looks like things got overwhelming, and the site is now unavailable. People are speculating that Apple already shut things down, but that's pretty unlikely: nothing on the Psystar site infringed any of Apple's IP (as far as we can recall) and the company hadn't actually sold anything yet, which means there isn't much of anything for Apple to go to court over. On top of that, we doubt that Psystar wasn't expecting to attract Apple's attention, so we don't think a cease and desist letter would scare the company into shutting things completely down. Of course, we're still willing to bet that Apple's legal team is licking their chops in anticipation of something actionable happening, but we'd say the most interesting thing about this so far is the incredible amount of attention a low-cost expandable minitower running OS X has gotten -- maybe someone at Apple apart from the lawyers should be taking notes as well.

Update: They're back! They've changed the name to "Open Computer," which should totally throw off Apple's lawyers. Or... probably won't.

Psystar's OpenMac Apple clone is close to a Cease and Desist order

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 14th 2008 at 5:22AM

If you're not brave enough to OSx86 your own PC, psystar will sell you its OpenMac clone for $400. For that price you get 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo E4500 processor, 2GB of memory, integrated GMA 950 graphics, 250GB disk and 20x DVD burner. Add another $155 and they'll even install Leopard on the non-Apple kit with the help of an EFI V8 emulator. Even at $555 it's still a spec-for-spec bargain compared to the Mac mini (albeit without the mini dimensions). If interested you'd better snap one up quick. Jobs, you'll recall, put a swift end to official Mac-clone licensing when he resumed power at Apple. No reason to think that he (or his lawyers) feel any differently now.

[Thanks, Roberto]

Toshiba sued for cloning Fujitsu's RakuRaku handset

by Darren Murph posted Mar 17th 2008 at 3:07PM

It's ~~fairly~~ commonplace for Chinese manufacturers to crank out clones of other popular wares, but apparently, things aren't brushed off as easily when the cloning gets done by a mega-corp like Toshiba. Granted, quite a bit is lost in translation here, but the long and short of it is that NTT DoCoMo and Fujitsu are suing Tosh for creating and selling its 821T -- which, as you can see above, looks an awful lot like Fujitsu's RakuRaku handset. Reportedly, the plaintiffs have demanded that Softbank Mobile withdraw the 821T from the market, but it seems there's quite a bit more back-and-forth left to go down before the dust settles on this one.

[Via GearFuse]

Keepin' it real fake, part XCVIII: T-Mobile Shadow gets shadowed

by Darren Murph posted Nov 29th 2007 at 12:50PM

Well, would you look at that. If not for the gaudy packaging, $69.99 price tag and blatant Oasis Media branding, we'd swear the Playr was a T-Mobile Shadow (or HTC's P3300, we guess). Yep, this knockoff does a fairly decent job of mirroring its inspirer, sports 2GB of storage and a miniSD expansion slot, comes with 35 free eMUSIC downloads and includes a built-in media player for good measure. Interestingly, we get the feeling that this thing won't actually send or receive calls, but if you're quick, no one will even notice.

[Thanks, Rick]

Update: Turns out this thing is actually the MachSpeed Oasis Video Player, and is readily available on Amazon (among other places). Still, it could stand some originality in the design department. [Thanks, Rob!]