Faked in China
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Today there is a huge variety of mobile devices and the manufacturers keep flooding the market with new models. The more expensive ones do not fit everyone's budget, but at the same time, the quality and the technology of the knockoffs is improving. Now you can find fake phones, which are almost identical with the original model at a considerably lower price.
Main source and market for such “fake phones” is China, but they are often sold on EBay and other global sites. The most attractive brands to be cloned are Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, and the well-known iPhone, the first being the most copied.
Most frequently distinguished features:
To keep it on the safe side, the knockoff manufacturers often change the brand name in such a way that makes it hard to spot. For example SanyEricsson, SangEricsson, SnogErisscon, SunyElicsson, SunyElicssom, ScnyEriosson are only few of the names given to knockoffs of the Swedish-Japanese concern.
There also are many Nokia clones, having a slight change in the name so it still reminds of the original. The logo of the Finnish cell phone manufacturer (the two shaking hands) often appears on the start screen of the fakes.
Naturally, all this is done to mislead potential customers into thinking they are buying genuine products. But the price difference, which is usually huge, should make you think twice. It’s almost like buying a $3000 Rolex for $300 of that guy on the street (though with knockoff phones is more like purchasing a $600 phone for $250).
Software:
Even though they look like the originals on the outside, the menus of the knockoffs are totally different. The presence of some logos (e.g. Windows, Nokia) shouldn’t fool you, because the Chinese made phones (the fake ones we are talking about) are very different in functionality and software. Sometimes you can find such a unit with even the software looking quite authentic. Most of the time, the OS, which the fakes are running on is identical on all of them and possibly is a product specifically developed for the purpose.
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One thing we should say about the hardware of the knockoff phones is that very often they have a touch display or pretend to have one. This happens even if the genuine device doesn’t have touchscreen. You can figure this out by inspecting the package (look for a stylus) or if you see these icons under the screen. Another funny thing the “smart” guys tend to do is, putting a sign on the camera saying 3.2-megapixel, when it is only 2-megapixel for example. We can only speculate about the rest of the surprises under the surface.
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28 Comments
1. OSCAR (unregistered) posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:41 0 0
WELL I DID EMAIL YOU GUYS ABOPUT THE KNOCKOFFS AND HAVENT GOT A RESPONSE ON THEM ? BUT I WOULD THINK REVIEWING THESE PHONES WOULD BE ALSO HELPFUL TO UNSEEN BUYERS THAT DONT REALIZE THE DIFFERENCE.IF I WERE (PHONEARENA) I WOULD PROBABLY DO THE MOST COMMON CLONED PHONES FROM CECT AND EZIO.DUE TO THE FACT THAT BASED ON THE DESCRIPTION'S THEY SOUND LIKE THEY OUTDO SOME OTHER PHONES IN THE MARKET.MIND YOU THOUGH IN KEEPING IN MIND THAT SOME MIGHT NOT BE EXPECTED TO PERFORM THE SAME. THAT'S WHY I THINK THERE SHOULD BE SOME REVIEWS ON THEM ALSO .
2. JC (unregistered) posted on 29 Feb 2008, 13:48 0 0
Yeah, let's have reviews of the knockoffs!... hahaha... that would be interesting...
3. user (unregistered) posted on 29 Feb 2008, 16:02 0 0
Maybe the knockoffs will turn out to offer great value for the money, if not the same features.
4. Dosi (unregistered) posted on 29 Feb 2008, 19:20 0 0
-One more thing abou this. Im from latin american and there is a mall that offer a iphone clone as a true one. When i see it i know that it was a clone but they are offering as the original. Luckily for them, apple doesn't have representation here
5. Ed (unregistered) posted on 29 Feb 2008, 21:11 0 0
I can't believe I'm saying this but that Nokia Aeon knockoff doesn't look too bad...
6. maxtino (unregistered) posted on 29 Feb 2008, 21:28 0 0
As you maybe knew, all MTK phones, a.k.a. knockoff phones as you called them, have only differences on their outlooking, but in the side of function, they are almost the same, almost jack in all master in none. They are labelled as having ability of image capture more than 2mp, but in fact only 0.3mp or 1.3mp. And they can only play mp3, 3gp,mp4 files that is in suitable fps for them. If someone wants to enjoy the A2DP function of them, he'd better have some choice else, that would be an uncomfortable exp. Only pros they have is their working hours could last longer than original phone, therefore this is the reason why MTK phones have great market among older people and simple phone-talking people, whose requirement is only a bigger screen,louder speaker and longer standing hours phone.
7. gino (unregistered) posted on 01 Mar 2008, 04:55 0 0
i'm totally disappointed with phone manufacturers (specifically, nokia) for their failure to prevent these fakes from getting sold. here in manila we get alot of "cloned" n95, 6300, appple iphone amd so on, and these clones are so authentic-looking that it can fool just about anyone. good for you if you can spot the fakes immediately, but what about those who can't? they're getting something that decidedly won't last for a year even less but the manufacturers, hasn't done anything to control these counterfiets
8. Anonymous (unregistered) posted on 01 Mar 2008, 10:36 0 0
Old News, this has been happening for years, China even faked a Chevrolet car. A research company tested both cars and found that the knockoff was very unstable in crash testing, which is also old news. ~Cheers
9. jack.zhang (unregistered) posted on 01 Mar 2008, 11:59 0 0
well,I do realize that fakes are full of China,but they are also full all over the world, so why did this website have to take China for an example? I don't understand,and China don't have that much fakes than you thought, the names you put on I didn't hear one of them, Maybe they exist,but what makes u think it's only happening in China? it's so subjectified.
10. # (unregistered) posted on 01 Mar 2008, 17:17 0 0
Did u see the aeon.. the that looks exactly like the concept pic??? so don't tell me that an american has the knowledge to do that (nothing personal US dudes, but Chinese are pros). It's amazing... omg they dont even know what's on the back and they did it.
11. PWLEE (unregistered) posted on 02 Mar 2008, 11:50 0 0
IN VIETNAM, Chinese products are well known for low quality and fake products. From cellular phones, scooters to medicines...etc...you name it. A lawless government that has no regard to human live but making money from doing this kind business must be banned in all ways...The Clinton Administration and US Congress were so foolish in 2001 to award PNTR to communist China. Now looking at US trade deficit w/ China, they just realized how stupid they were.
12. PWLEE (unregistered) posted on 02 Mar 2008, 11:56 0 0
I DON'T OWN ANY CHINESE BRAND GOODS. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, BEFORE YOU SPEND MONEY ON IT DO SOME RESEARCH.
13. Oscar S. Paredes (unregistered) posted on 02 Mar 2008, 15:22 0 0
THAT IS WHY PHONE ARENA SHOULD BE THE FIRST TO TEST THESE PHONES MADE BY CHINA,KOREA,ETC .TO GIVE US THE BETTER REPRESENTATION OF THE PHONES.AND YES CHINA HAS BEEN KNOCCKING OFF FOR A WHILE BUT NOBODY DOES SHIZZIE ABOUT IT.GIVE IT TOT THE CHINESE THOUGH,SOME OF THE STUFF THEY COME OUT WITH SURPASSES THE FEATURES OF OTHERS AND ROCKS THE REST BYU UNLOCKING THEM FIRST.THERE WAS ANA ARTICLE IN THE POPULAR SCIENCE THAT INTIGUED ME OF THE "I-CLONE".BUT HEY IF THE CHINA BRAND SMOKES EVERYONE WHY NOT BUY IT.
14. Josh (unregistered) posted on 03 Mar 2008, 15:26 0 0
Dude, I am note a chineese, but am aslo an american. do yourself a favor and open the @#$%ing comp of yours. There are several parts in it that are made in China. What a retard that you are! Stop critisizing other countries. And yes, prcatice before you preach! So when you see this post. Remeber you are still using a chinese product. Direct or Indirect!
15. Brian Geppert (unregistered) posted on 03 Mar 2008, 21:14 0 0
Correction - the Meizu Minione is not calling itself an IPhone. They are upfront that they are making a competitor. There is a difference between legitimate competition and scams (i.e. making use of other's brand name).
16. (unregistered) posted on 03 Mar 2008, 21:14 0 0
Pi Hua! From my experience in China, faking things and selling counterfeit goods is rampant. Much more so than any other place I've visited fo any length of time. If the Chinese in general would focus more time on thinking of new ideas instead of copying everything who knows what they could acomplish. But thats not where the easy money is. Even so, many of the supposed "Engineering" schools there are akin to a high school shop class in the U.S. There's a reason most Chinese people prefer Japanese, European, and American products whenever they can afford them.
17. 666 (unregistered) posted on 04 Mar 2008, 05:48 0 0
Not only the fakes come from China. Do you really believe Apple and SE and Nokia make their phones in America and Europe? Even if they have an assembly plant back home, the parts come from China anyway.
18. maxtino (unregistered) posted on 04 Mar 2008, 23:50 0 0
FYR, Meizu's first phone product is not a knockoff, just like Samsung's L310 which looks a little bit similar to Nokia's 7390. No one accuse L310 is a knockoff of 7390.
19. gs (unregistered) posted on 09 Mar 2008, 01:39 0 0
i just had someone com in my store with a chinese iphone (bottom left pic), dual sim, touch screen.
20. (unregistered) posted on 18 Mar 2008, 03:33 0 0
its really not the fault of the guys making the knock offs that we have to blame. if they can make a nokia 6300 with the same working functionality at a very low cost which is the main concern of a buyer, why can't the originals lower their costs to make the fakes less viable?
