iPhone nano knockoffs already on sale in Thailand (photos)

[AppleInsider]

Those eagerly anticipating next month's Macworld and the prospects of a smaller iPhone should beware, as a slew of tiny clones are introducing confusion as they reach store shelves.

While silicone case molds have surfaced that allegedly hint at a smaller iPhone in the works, a rash of similarly-sized dupes made by anonymous southeast Asian firms have added to the confusion.

The devices, spotted here by an AppleInsider reader in Thailand, are almost always designed to mimic Apple's products as closely as possible and share not only the basic design but the branding as well, in some cases directly copying the logo and the "iPhone" labeling on the back.

Their software is also at times familiar and carries a similar layout, down to icons ripped directly from Apple's interface.

Aside from obvious color changes such as splashes of gold or pink, these clones are (when switched off) close enough to the original that they may pass for an iPhone nano to the untrained eye. As such, readers should be on the lookout for such claims in the run-up to January's Macworld Expo.

However fake the Thai examples may be, though, it should be noted that the alleged XSKN case shares a noticeably different design than many of the clones in shops today -- particularly a home button which sits directly on the edge of the touchscreen.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[iDave]

As if it's an existing Apple product.

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by iDave

As if it's an existing Apple product.

If it isn't a lot of people will be disappointed!

On the otherhand one would have one excellent laugh if no iPhone came in January.


Dave

[Eriamjh]

The cloners are so fast, their clones come out before the original does? That's crazy!
However, I don't think the skin makers make skins for clones, only the real thing.

[speed_the_collapse]

i think it's so interesting how these cloners can copy so quickly. i wonder if those fakes have the accelerometer and any multi-touch? or would these fakes only be similar in design and outer shell?

[hillstones]

Those are not clones, those are COUNTERFEIT devices. A clone is an exact duplicate of the original. Those are made to intentionally deceive the buyer into thinking they are buying a real iPhone. Since it doesn't meet the exact dimensions of the iPhone, it should not be considered a clone. Motorola devices are often made by counterfeit vendors, but certain characteristics jump out confirming they are fake. I am sure all the products in the photos are also counterfeit items.

They just busted a huge counterfeit ring in Los Angeles and the article stated that most counterfeit goods come from Taiwan.

[nofear1az]

man, their quicker at releasing these clones before Apple can create the original. hahaha Maybe they should give Apple pointers to how they do it so fast so we can get our real Apple toys quicker. hehe

What I would like to know is how do they get away doing this? I can only assume they do not hold the same copyright laws *if any* there as in the USA and other countries. that just sucks!

[wobegon]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh

The cloners are so fast, their clones come out before the original does? That's crazy!
However, I don't think the skin makers make skins for clones, only the real thing.

I question if XSKN is basing its supposed iPhone nano skins on anything real:

iPhone 3G XSKN skin:



(Supposed) iPhone nano XSKN skin:



Looks like XSKN very slightly horizontally stretched a picture of the iPhone 3G and redesigned the area around the mic as well as moving the the Home button cut-out upward.

To get a better idea, drag both of those pictures to the desktop, select them both, then command-O to open them at the same time in Preview. Now go back and fourth between the two. The differences are even smaller.

In fact, the iPhone nano actually looks larger than the iPhone 3G, not smaller. And the headphone and dock-connector views are identical.

Furthermore, the app they have displayed on the (supposed) iPhone nano's display, Urbanspoon, appears to be stretched horizontally too. Looking at the picture below, and then XSKN's rendering, the back arrow icon in the upper-left, labeled Find Me, the book icon in the upper-right, and the spoon logo in the center are all elongated [when compared to the true render below]:

[steviet02]

Originally Posted by wobegon

I question if XSKN is basing its supposed iPhone nano skins on anything real:

In fact, the iPhone nano actually looks larger than the iPhone 3G, not smaller. And the headphone and dock-connector views are identical.

You are kidding right? In case you aren't, the phones could be identical in thickness and width and the nano could be shorter, couldn't it? In that event the pics that you posted wouldn't show that unless the front views were side by side.

[wobegon]

Originally Posted by steviet02

You are kidding right? In case you aren't, the phones could be identical in thickness and width and the nano could be shorter, couldn't it? In that event the pics that you posted wouldn't show that unless the front views were side by side.

Obviously, if you look at the first two pictures in my post, you'll see the (supposed) iPhone nano appears to be ever so slightly wider than the iPhone 3G, yet the headphone and dock-connector views haven't widened correspondingly. And why in the world would an iPhone nano be larger than the full-size iPhone? Everything suggests this was all a publicity grab by XSKN.

Also are you asking me to put the two pictures from XSKN side-by-side? If so, you can do that yourself by following my directions in my original post.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Those eagerly anticipating next month's Macworld and the prospects of a smaller iPhone should beware, as a slew of tiny clones are introducing confusion as they reach store shelves. ...

What I find funny is I talk to people everyday who are always on about how China never gets a "fair deal" in terms of being treated the same as other countries, and recent immigrants who go on about how China is now a real first world country, yet clearly there is no rule of law there at all.

How can China ever be integrated into the world economy, or sit side by side politically with the rest of the world politically and socially when there is not only no basic freedom for the people, but no law either? Why would anyone ever release any intellectual property in China if they are just going to steal it all anyway?

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

Irrespective of the legal issues there are no standards like CSA or anything over there either. A Chinese "iPhone" is almost as likely to blow up in your hand, as make a call. It's almost certainly full of toxic by-products.

[Fast Fred 1]

Wonder when Walmart will be getting these Nano iPhones from China.

[kresh]

Who's been taking pictures in the shops on Canal street? hehe I am too scared of the Chinese mafia to take pictures there :-)

[Eriamjh]

Originally Posted by wobegon

I question if XSKN is basing its supposed iPhone nano skins on anything real:

After examining those pics, the so-called nano iPhone skin looks fake. At least fake because it was made from the original (p'shopped).

[cameronj]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

What I find funny is I talk to people everyday who are always on about how China never gets a "fair deal" in terms of being treated the same as other countries, and recent immigrants who go on about how China is now a real first world country, yet clearly there is no rule of law there at all.

How can China ever be integrated into the world economy, or sit side by side politically with the rest of the world politically and socially when there is not only no basic freedom for the people, but no law either? Why would anyone ever release any intellectual property in China if they are just going to steal it all anyway?

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

Irrespective of the legal issues there are no standards like CSA or anything over there either. A Chinese "iPhone" is almost as likely to blow up in your hand, as make a call. It's almost certainly full of toxic by-products.

Quick quiz:

Thailand=China?

True or False.

[wobegon]

Originally Posted by cameronj

Quick quiz:

Thailand=China?

True or False.

False (right?)

[AllenKids]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

What I find funny is I talk to people everyday who are always on about how China never gets a "fair deal" in terms of being treated the same as other countries, and recent immigrants who go on about how China is now a real first world country, yet clearly there is no rule of law there at all.

How can China ever be integrated into the world economy, or sit side by side politically with the rest of the world politically and socially when there is not only no basic freedom for the people, but no law either? Why would anyone ever release any intellectual property in China if they are just going to steal it all anyway?

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

Irrespective of the legal issues there are no standards like CSA or anything over there either. A Chinese "iPhone" is almost as likely to blow up in your hand, as make a call. It's almost certainly full of toxic by-products.

Newsflash, all iPhones are assembled in China. Also FYI it's not that Steve won't introduce the evil China to the glory of iPhone. He have been trying since the beginning of time. Just ChinaMobile with its world largest subscriber base and TDS-CDMA won't yield to him, yet.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by nofear1az

man, their quicker at releasing these clones before Apple can create the original. hahaha Maybe they should give Apple pointers to how they do it so fast so we can get our real Apple toys quicker. hehe

What I would like to know is how do they get away doing this? I can only assume they do not hold the same copyright laws *if any* there as in the USA and other countries. that just sucks!

Much of Asia is a polar opposite to the US and the West on this, but there has to be a middle ground. The West and other countries are working on a treaty that appears to give customs the authority to seize citizen's computers without proof of copyright infringement or even any requirement for probable cause, so on top of being charged with security, they're being deputized as agents of movie and music industries. As it is, the governments negotiating it don't want people to know what is being negotiated.

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

What I find funny is I talk to people everyday who are always on about how China never gets a "fair deal" in terms of being treated the same as other countries, and recent immigrants who go on about how China is now a real first world country, yet clearly there is no rule of law there at all.

How can China ever be integrated into the world economy, or sit side by side politically with the rest of the world politically and socially when there is not only no basic freedom for the people, but no law either? Why would anyone ever release any intellectual property in China if they are just going to steal it all anyway?

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

Irrespective of the legal issues there are no standards like CSA or anything over there either. A Chinese "iPhone" is almost as likely to blow up in your hand, as make a call. It's almost certainly full of toxic by-products.

Off topic to this story, wrong country. Besides, Asian countries generally aren't going to pay attention to Western IP laws unless it's in their interest to do so. They'll even pass those laws to make westerners happy, but they will be unenforced except for the occasional demonstration bust as a pretend appeasement, once the news cameras are turned off, they will continue to ignore infringement.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by wobegon

False (right?)

Right. But westerners do seem to have the tendency to confuse different Asian countries. Taiwan is considered part of China, but that's more an amusing intellectual, academic and diplomatic exercise than it is reality.

Also, Taiwan is not Thailand (country in this story), and the government is different anyways.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Right. But westerners do seem to have the tendency to confuse different Asian countries. Taiwan is considered part of China, but that's more an amusing intellectual, academic and diplomatic exercise than it is reality.

Also, Taiwan is not Thailand (country in this story), and the government is different anyways.

I know my countries and I know the difference between Thailand, Taiwan, China, etc. and I resent being defined as a "Westerner." You people don't even know me and are just making assumptions.

I was making very general comments that were a bit off-topic, but the fact is regardless of what country they sell in, many of these devices come from mainland China, or Hong Kong which both have the same problems with intellectual property and the rule of law. I was going to put in "Asia" instead of "China" but not all of Asia is engaged in this kind of crap and I didn't want to tar India, Pakistan, etc. with a brush that pretty much exclusively should be used for China/Hong Kong.

To those that mentioned the "real" iPhone is manufactured in China ... so what? That's even more irrelevant than any of my comments were. I'm talking about the people that design and sell the knockoffs, not where the plants are located. To those that basically said this kind of thing is "to be expected," that's a dumber comment than actually coming up with, you know ... an argument.

The fact is, this kind of theft is just plain wrong, and it is both illegal and not tolerated in any country with even a rudimentary legal system. The idea that "people buy them" or "there is a market for them" or any of those other excuses are anything other than justifications for criminal behaviour is also wrong.

People seem to have a much lower moral bar nowadays I guess which is why this kind of crap continues.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I know my countries and I know the difference between Thailand, Taiwan, China, etc. and I resent being defined as a "Westerner." You people don't even know me and are just making assumptions.

Maybe you could learn to deal with it regarding writing tangential rants without properly framing it or providing a context.

The part about tarring unrelated countries is a valid concern, though Japan and South Korea are the only two notable ones I can think of that protect intellectual property rights in a meaningful way. I don't know if it's about morality or a decline of it, but in the context of human civilization, there isn't a long history of the idea that people or organizations can have exclusive ownership of an idea. That concept hasn't been accepted yet because it's a new cultural introduction, that takes time.

[quinney]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

The part about tarring unrelated countries is a valid concern, though Japan and South Korea are the only two notable ones I can think of that protect intellectual property rights in a meaningful way. I don't know if it's about morality or a decline of it, but in the context of human civilization, there isn't a long history of the idea that people or organizations can have exclusive ownership of an idea.

Japan and South Korea are creators of IP, so they are inclined to want all IP to be protected.
If China starts creating IP which is then pirated by other countries, they might start to see
things differently. Also, if any big "western" company got so fed up with the piracy that
they stopped all manufacturing in the offending country, that might motivate those
countries to crack down. Apparently western companies have made the calculation that
the cheap labor and lack of environmental hurdles in some countries are worth whatever
losses they incur through IP theft.

[peter236]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

What I find funny is I talk to people everyday who are always on about how China never gets a "fair deal" in terms of being treated the same as other countries, and recent immigrants who go on about how China is now a real first world country, yet clearly there is no rule of law there at all.

How can China ever be integrated into the world economy, or sit side by side politically with the rest of the world politically and socially when there is not only no basic freedom for the people, but no law either? Why would anyone ever release any intellectual property in China if they are just going to steal it all anyway?

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

Irrespective of the legal issues there are no standards like CSA or anything over there either. A Chinese "iPhone" is almost as likely to blow up in your hand, as make a call. It's almost certainly full of toxic by-products.

The people in China have a lot of freedoms and they are getting better and better all the time. Sure there are problems, but they improving in all areas, to your disappointment. You don't have a clue of what you are saying. Hong Kong is one of the best governed cities in the world, way better than India which is still corrupted and poor despite being democratic. Just give China another 20 years of economic development, they will be even more dominant in all areas with their own worldwide brand names.

[sandau]

thai cootchie is negotiable. take these items as they are.

[ALBIM]

fake.

[mercury7]

I was thinking the whole nano rumor was off...but just saw this....hmmmm
http://www.iphonenano.com

[mercury7]

the domain seems to be registered to someone in russia....must be a redirect

[digitalclips]

Where are all the Zune knock offs?

[robb01]

Originally Posted by digitalclips

Where are all the Zune knock offs?

Noone wants them

______________

[peter236]

The main reason why the Greater China region of China/Taiwan/Hong Kong are so industrialized is that they have modern infrastructure. The other places like India or Thailand are politically unstable, and there is a lack of proper infrastructure like stable electricity supply, highways and railways. This probably explains why China's per capita GDP is 2.5 times that of India.
Presently, China's economic developement is like Japan's in the 1970's. So give it some time, as they will get things in order.

[peter236]

Apple needs to introduce more models to compete with Nokia or RIMM. Just look at how many different models they are offering for customers to choose from. The Iphone has this touch screen and they are not going to put more buttons on it, and that is the problem. Some people just like the buttons. How will Apple redesign the Iphone? It is a simple design, but they cannot make it simpler and they will not make it more complicated?

[meeksdigital]

Originally Posted by peter236

Apple needs to introduce more models to compete with Nokia or RIMM. Just look at how many different models they are offering for customers to choose from. The Iphone has this touch screen and they are not going to put more buttons on it, and that is the problem. Some people just like the buttons. How will Apple redesign the Iphone? It is a simple design, but they cannot make it simpler and they will not make it more complicated?

Are you serious? LOL that's got to be one of the stupidest posts I've EVER seen here on AI

[success]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

What I find funny is I talk to people everyday who are always on about how China never gets a "fair deal" in terms of being treated the same as other countries, and recent immigrants who go on about how China is now a real first world country, yet clearly there is no rule of law there at all.

How can China ever be integrated into the world economy, or sit side by side politically with the rest of the world politically and socially when there is not only no basic freedom for the people, but no law either? Why would anyone ever release any intellectual property in China if they are just going to steal it all anyway?

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

Irrespective of the legal issues there are no standards like CSA or anything over there either. A Chinese "iPhone" is almost as likely to blow up in your hand, as make a call. It's almost certainly full of toxic by-products.

How did America, UK etc become the first world powers and the so called founders of democracy when they enslaved people? Same shit dude. Oh and incase you weren't watching America isn't really a democracy. Quite similar to China really.

[aaarrrgggh]

Looks like any shop in MBK or Fortune Town. Irony is that Thailand is getting the iPhone 3G on January 19th.

[AllenKids]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I hope the *real* iPhone never comes to China.

The "REAL" iPhone are coming out from China. No matter how you try to undermine China's mass production ability, this is the unconvenient TRUTH you have to deal with, admittedly it is designed by Apple, which is a Cupertino based US company.

So what about your little wish in which the real iPhone never comes to China?

Well, dream on, dream on.

[ss7]

I was in Bangkok, Thailand, a year ago. Back then you could buy an "iPhone mini" as well as an "iPhone nano". The mini looked similar to the model shown in this article, and the nano was thinner. In fact, there were several versions, and 3G versions available.

The existence of these new knockoffs is non-news if you ask me.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by ss7

I was in Bangkok, Thailand, a year ago. Back then you could buy an "iPhone mini" as well as an "iPhone nano". The mini looked similar to the model shown in this article, and the nano was thinner. In fact, there were several versions, and 3G versions available.

The existence of these new knockoffs is non-news if you ask me.

Did you publicize it back then? Some things like this depend on people reporting it, independent sites like this and other similar sites usually aren't operated by jet-setters.

As such, I'd say it's probably news to anyone that didn't go to Thailand in the last year.

[Mac Voyer]

If Apple does release such a product, I bet one of these knock off companies will try to sue them for infringement or some such. Apple might even lose in whatever passes for a court in such places.

[thompr]

Originally Posted by nofear1az

man, their quicker at releasing these clones before Apple can create the original. hahaha Maybe they should give Apple pointers to how they do it so fast so we can get our real Apple toys quicker. hehe

What I would like to know is how do they get away doing this? I can only assume they do not hold the same copyright laws *if any* there as in the USA and other countries. that just sucks!

So many of these posts are off arguing about copyright laws, etc. Some are even poking fun at Apple about iPod knock-offs hitting the market before the real thing.

What none of these posts realize is that all of their blather is MOOT.

The knock offs don't violate copyright laws, and they didn't "beat Apple to the punch". Why? Because they are similar to the originals only at the most basic visual level (i.e. shape or color). When you turn them on, it is very clear that they are NOT iPods.

Yes, some of you will argue that even that level of similarity is enough to warrant a closer look at copyright violation. And you are probably correct. But let's make sure that people really understand what this debate is truly about.

These knock-offs don't come anywhere near the real deal. Same with iPhones and Macs. If you don't get that, then you haven't really used both the original AND the knock off. I've seen these wannabe Apple knock-offs. And they are laughable. If I were Apple, I wouldn't bother worrying about it.

Thompson

[Mac Voyer]

Originally Posted by thompr

The knock offs don't violate copyright laws, and they didn't "beat Apple to the punch". Why? Because they are similar to the originals only at the most basic visual level (i.e. shape or color). When you turn them on, it is very clear that they are NOT iPods.

Thompson

So you think copying all visible features including the Apple logo does not constitute counterfeiting? You think these companies are not unlawfully using any of Apple's protected intellectual property? You think they are not trying to fool the uninformed into thinking they are buying an Apple product? You think these companies are not run by slime-balls and thieves? A post like yours cannot be taken seriously.

You might be right about one thing. I doubt any of it is copyright infringement in the country in question because I doubt that country has any such thing as copyright law.