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]

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!]

If you had even a sliver of faith left in Meizu that it would change its copycatting ways and turn its heart to creativity, you're probably feeling quite foolish right about now. In a recent posting made to showcase even more interface shots of the MiniOne M8, we got a glimpse at the not at all familiar music interface, more insight on the calling screens and a few more looks (shown after the jump) at how it'll handle messaging. Needless to say, we can just swear we've seen a similar GUI before, but apparently, playing the ignorance card makes it easier to swallow. Oh, and the actual phone now sports a "new edge" with a somewhat grayish motif -- enthralling, we know.

You may think that all the iPhone clones from around the world (okay, China) would vanish shortly after Apple released the real deal, but hey, there's no rest for the wicked. Sure enough, I-Fighting's FT4021 "portable media player" looks at least 85-percent like the actual iPhone, which is good enough in our book to rip it as a knockoff. If you actually care about the specs, you'll find a 2.8-inch touchscreen, built-in media player, dual headphone jacks, an integrated speaker, miniSD slot, photo viewer, an FM tuner, and USB 2.0 connectivity. Per usual, there's no mention of a price, but the embarrassment factor alone that comes bundled with this thing would rule it out for most folks.

[Via TechDigest]

As the zero day quickly approaches, we thought only a retrospective detailing some of the highlights -- and lowlights -- to come out of the always-colorful knockoff industry could encapsulate this whole new level of buzz the iPhone has brought to the mobile industry. Love 'em or hate 'em, credit has to be given to these guys for busting out an endless array of not-quite-iPhones in mere weeks after the world finally got a look at the real deal.

As it turns out, there are just so many real iPhone knockoffs we had to skip over most pre-iPhone photoshops / mockups, as well as those ubiquitous iPhone skins; if imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, the clownfish on the iPhone's wallpaper should be turning from orange to bright red right about now. Let's get started, shall we?

Can't afford the $750 or so required to pick up a Nokia N95 right now? Fret not, as the Chinese knockoff factories have been workin' overtime in order to crank out a somewhat similar alternative to fit the bill. The E-PDA V16 comes in a bit larger than the authentic iteration and includes a three-inch QVGA touchscreen, three-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, multimedia player, and a touch of tacky to top things off. Of course, any of your pals that are in the know won't be impressed by your futile attempts to fool 'em, but considering that this thing won't cost you nearly as much coin as the real deal, it might be worth the embarrassment (or not). Catch a few more snapshots of the impostor after the jump.

[Via iTechNews, thanks lionsense]

Yes, the iPhone looks like a beautiful piece of equipment (at least from afar, which is the only way we've managed to see it), and yes, we expected a flood of Asian devices lovingly replicating its industrial design -- but even by Keepin It Real Fake standards, this is getting out of hand. To be clear, the three iPhone clones we're presenting here merely scratch the surface of the knockoff market Apple is up against west of the International Date Line, but we thought they represented a pretty solid cross section of what's going to be available. Curiously, two of the three -- the Honey VX858 from ONDA and Ainol's V2000 -- are merely media players, leaving out the "Phone" part of "iPhone" entirely. Specs on the Honey VX858 are sketchy at this point, though we know it'll feature a dual-core processor and a 2.8 inch display, suggesting that a broad range of video support is likely. The Ainol V2000 meanwhile flaunts pretty much every audio and video standard one could hope for, plus a variety of in-built game console emulators (though external controllers will obviously be a must). Last but certainly not least, the CECT P168 uses standard guts that we see on a wide variety of the latest generation of Asian clone devices, featuring a touchscreen and a row of icons across the bottom of the display. Strangely, the "P168" designation seems to be used for several models in CECT's stable, so we're not sure how someone orders this particular model. Maybe it's like a grab bag of sorts: you specify a P168, and depending on CECT's mood you could get an iPhone or an equally-convincing P990i knockoff. Anyway, your hard-earned yuan here are going to buy you a 1.3 megapixel cam, 3.5 inch QVGA display, dual SIM support, and styling only Apple could hate. So, we ask: which is your favorite?

[Via PMP Today, Electronista, and Slashphone]



Read - ONDA Honey VX858
Read - Ainol V2000
Read - CECT P168

We just love the Asian knockoff / madness handset market for the great source of amusement it provides and for the occasional gem of an idea. Well, it seems the knockoff market isn't happy with simply duping big brand handsets anymore; we just caught sight of a Super Radio Phone clone (at least the rear). The "new" Super Radio Phone -- we're lacking any other name here -- is a GSM 900 / 1800 MHz dual-band affair with two displays, 2 megapixel camera, hifi sound, and of course the radio feature we all know and love. No word on pricing for this portable musical wonder, but if we get any tips we'll post 'em up.

Dog bless eBay and eBay sellers for being a never-ending source of amusement. Today's fodder is another iPhone clone, but with a twist! It runs Windows XP -- might be us, but that sounds a bit unlikely -- and looks like an iPhone, but of course is "rarer" (or something) and that's definitely reflected in the price, which currently sits at $450. Also packed into this handset is a dual-band GSM radio at 900 / 1800 MHz, 4 or 8 GB of storage space, 480 X 320 screen (with multi-touch, of course) and likely a whole pile of other nifty things. We usually don't try to give out advice about what to buy and not buy, but in this case, we just have to say: stay far, far away.

[Thanks, Kieran S]

Let's be honest, the cleverly named "Deeda Pi" (Pi phone, get it?) isn't going to fool anybody, and we are dead certain these guys can expect to hear from Apple legal in short order. We thought we were done with iPhone clone news (in fact, we actually promised our mothers we were) only to have this new touchscreen handset fall in our laps and force us to break our word. Employing a proximity touch screen, vibration touch feedback, a 3.6 inch screen at 800 x 480, WiFi, Bluetooth, and the familiar iPhone-esque user experience, it seems to bring the goods (at least on paper). Though Deeda claims it has been working on this handset since 2005, we have our doubts; if we hear anything about a release, we'll pass it on, but we're not holding our collective breath.

Meizu's king, lord and ruler, Mr. L Wong, has posted a couple tasty tidbits about this touch screen, MP3 playin', stylish little cellphone (that looks absolutely nothing like an iPhone) on the Meizu forums. Apparently -- and please take this with at least one good pinch of salt -- the M8 miniOne will come in two flavors: an entry-level plus a standard version. Both of these devices feature that mad mad 3.2 inch, 720 x 480 screen, and will come in either 4GB or 8GB editions. The only significant difference betwixt the two seems to be the addition of a camera for the standard edition, but word is that a camera add-on will be available. Pricing for these little gems is the best bit, with entry level ringing in at roughly $195 and $285 followed by standard edition at $305 and $400 for 4GB and 8GB respectively. Ok, reality check! While all of this sounds plausible and we want to believe it , we really do -- we just can't see this ever landing over here, as rumor has it Apple protects its intellectual property.

[Via Meizu Me]