I just returned from Beijing, my third time there. But unlike previous trips--which were spent entirely in airports, meetings, working meals, transit, and sleep shorter than a power nap--this trip afforded me a day to spare. So my colleagues/friends spent one morning in the Forbidden City, before spending the afternoon being assaulted by the Forbidden Vendors hawking the Forbidden Products. Pirated everything--branded bags, clothes, cameras, gadget accessories and the subject of this post, the iClone.
Or iPhoney for the more condescending, pronounced derisively as, "Aaaay, phoney!"
My friend, Jim, a proud owner of half a dozen Macs, including the drool-inducing Mac Air, bought an iClone. He says he bought it as a toy, which I believe since, well, he already owns two legitimate iPhones, and is toying with the 3G model (yeah, he has access, even to Steve Jobs himself).
We saw several iClones; some were noticeably narrower; others had more keys/buttons. Jim bought the one that most closely resembled the real thing.
900 renminbi. Or about 120 US dollars.
So I took some shots of the iClone, shown below, and tinkered with it briefly.
Similar up front
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Apple logo reversed!
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Power button and volume controls up top
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 "No headphone jack |
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 Similar slimness |
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 No side buttons |
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 Similar wallpaper, even the slide bar |
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 Similar menu |
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 Similar dial pad |
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 Different SMS menu, which looks more like Symbian or Windows! |
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 Not a multi-touch screen |
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 No accelerometer |
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Short tale of the tape
iClone only looks like the iPhone. Functionally, it is not; it is just a regular multimedia phone, with Symbian-like usability.
iPhone outside, kinda Symbian inside.
No multi-touch functionality. No accelerometer. None of the iPhone's bells and whistles.
For iPhone bigots, it's "Inutile Inside".
iPhone for the masses
But for a little over $100, throngs can look like iPhone owners. The masses would be hard-pressed to find a touch-multimedia phone for less, let alone look like an iPhone.
Still, iClone won't fly for a great majority (I sense legions of iPhone snobs collectively sighing in relief), and here's why: the iClone, or the iPhone for that matter, is not the ideal device for heavy texters. iPhone took off in the US because first world markets are callers first, texters a distant second--diametrically opposite emerging markets, and its predominantly prepaid base. That said, I too will only get an iPhone as a second phone. I am a Mac user first, texter second, caller a distant third.
Thankfully, I have no iPhone envy. I have enough gadgets to fill any iPhone freak's mobile gadget appetite. But I will get one someday, well, because admittedly it is a great piece of art and engineering. But I'll wait till the price drops enough, or when the 3G version comes out.
Unless the Mac Air gets me first!
And since my blog is about the mobile industry, let me tell you now: Globe Telecom has decided NOT to distribute and/or subsidize iPhones. That's the word in the mobile circles, anyway. I suppose Apple's requirements were too prohibitive--ludicrous upfront investment, debilitating volume commitment, oppressive revenue share, or worse, all these. In other words, whatever Apple put on the table does not seem viable for mobile operators in low ARPU prepaid markets. Operators from larger markets, like India or China, may be able to afford it, as they may have enough high ARPU subscribers. That said, I don't expect Smart to do otherwise, but one can continue to hope. (I will ping my Smart contacts and see what their iPhone inclinations are, and maybe even fish for Apple's terms.)
Bottomline
Pinoys in the Philippines may have to live with cracked iPhones.
Maybe forever.
I like this review. You should write more entries like this.
If I were as beautiful as Shawn Yao, would you accede to my request?
Posted by: Cynthia | March 12, 2008 at 07:47 PM
iPhone these days or almost all handsets are like clones of the best looking ones the only difference when it comes to exterior looks are the size otherwise all are touchscreen, all have big screens and all functions the QWERTY keys and worst still every brand terms their touchscreen as 'iPhone Killer.'
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Posted by: Carlton Berlacher | January 15, 2011 at 11:42 PM