China is famous for rip offs of popular products that almost always cost just a fraction of what the original comes for. Coming to the tablet domain, the iPad has borne the brunt of all fakes, a price it surely has to pay for being the biggest selling tablet in the world. The logic is simple — the iPad is in demand and so will be the duplicates if they can offer significant price advantage.
But then, how about an entire Apple store that has been replicated to mimic the original and it must be said, it a fine job done. Even the staff are seen wearing blue t-shirts with the original Apple logo occupying pride of place on it. The interior layout, the furnishing all have been copied with great attention to detail. On display are an array of Apple products that might be either duplicates as well or maybe even stolen goods. The store in question has come up in Kunming, China and is not the only one in place, with several more already in operation.
However, there are some areas where the ‘real’ differences pops up like an eye sore if only you care to be observant enough. Like the winding staircase in the store at Kunming is made of sub-standard materials which also applies to the paint job done on the walls. The staff too aren’t wearing their names on them, a requisite for anyone representing Apple in any of their genuine stores anywhere in the world. Instead, what the employees at the Kunming store were sporting were just badges with ‘Staff’ inscribed on them. In fact, the staff too seem ignorant about the entire counterfeit thing and believe they work for the real Connecticut based Apple Inc.
Meanwhile, while still on fakes and counterfeits, here is an iPad 2 ripp off that looks like a job well done. This since the Easydy E88 tablet that the Chinese manufacturer Easydy has come up with does look a lot like the iPad 2. Minus of course the characteristic Apple logo at the back and access to the Apple store.
The EasydyE88 though is a bit thicker but the devil is within the outer iPad 2 like plastic shell. For here lies an 800 Mhz ARM processor coupled to a 256 MB of RAM along with just 4 GB of flash storage. The display too is severely lacking with just 800×600 pixels compared to 1024×768 pixels that the original boasts of. Also, in the real iPad 2, its a dual-core 1 GHz ARM processor coupled to 512 MB of RAM that does duty while the minimum of on-board storage available is 16 GB of flash memory. The operating system on the fake thing is Android 2.2. But then, with a price tag of below $100 ($98 to be precise), there sure will be a lot of takers for the Easydy E88 tablet. Compare this to the least priced 16 GB Wi-Fi only iPad 2 that costs $568 in China while the same in the US will set one back by $499.
via birdabroad, via appleinsider
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
