The emergence of China as an economic superpower

There is a lot of talk about Apple these days, and rightly so. At the company's annual shareholder's meeting, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said, "We will enter Asia with the iPhone in 2008. We will one day enter China, we're not saying when, and we will one day enter India." But that doesn't simply mean Apple will be free from competition before then. As the priacy-driven side of China and the technology-driven side of India will know, making the iPhone does not require magical powers from the Western world. That means making iPhone look-a-likes, iPhone clones and simply fake/knock off iPhones is even easier. Meet Meizu's M8 MiniOne and the HiPhone.

1. The M8

Not exactly a rip-off of the British spy agency, but definitely a rip-off of an iPhone (see top picture). The size looks similar to an iPhone, 57 x 105 x 11.5mm, runs on Windows Mobile 6 OS (!), 3.3 inch display screen, 3 megapixel camera (with hints of 3G from a front camera?), Bluetooth and TV in/out, uses TD-SCDMA and GSM. Too good to be true, for consumers at least? Apple, bring out your lawyers with this Apple-inspired design.

2. The HiPhone

What in the name of hello... This phone comes from an unknown Chinese company, meaning its batteries may explode before you know it (read on China-manufactured reusable cellular batteries) but costs only 1000 yuan (see bottom picture). Nice. According to the reviewer, it's made from plastic rather than metal/material the iPhone is made from. It supports dual mini SD cards, has multitouch (!), but does support internet (only WAP sites available) nor 3G. At least this phone has a "better than expected" camera though.