Blatant rip-off of Apple's iPod mini surfaces out of China [Archive]

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MacBytes

Mar 17, 2005, 02:05 PM

Category: News and Press Releases
Link: Blatant rip-off of Apple's iPod mini surfaces out of China (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050317140558)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

Daveway

Mar 17, 2005, 02:13 PM

well, i wouldn't exactly call it blatant. But that is UGLY.

whocares

Mar 17, 2005, 02:18 PM

It's also a rip-off of Sun Microsystem's logo...

1macker1

Mar 17, 2005, 02:18 PM

Blah, that's not a rip off. The mini is nice and cool looking. That POS is fugly.

RHutch

Mar 17, 2005, 02:21 PM

well, i wouldn't exactly call it blatant. But that is UGLY.

But it is a rip-off of the name; this company calls their player "IPOD Mini".

the_mole1314

Mar 17, 2005, 02:53 PM

This WILL be easy to shut down.

nagromme

Mar 17, 2005, 03:39 PM

I'm sure I saw that player online months ago. But not that name!

brap

Mar 17, 2005, 03:44 PM

I'm sure I saw that player online months ago. But not that name!I believe it's the Medion player this is similar to...

dombi

Mar 17, 2005, 03:51 PM

Sun Baked

Mar 17, 2005, 03:55 PM

I love it! It is beautiful ... IPOD with all caps! How original is that? Great job... I love how plasticy and cheap the whole scroll stick looks, I really wish it has a Microsoft logo on it somewhere though...

Maybe if I special order it with custom engraving I can get that on there as well. Brilliant!

:pLooks like they are selling somebody else's player...

Don't think the Nokia 8910i (http://sunddy2004.ebigchina.com/sdp/303224/4/pd-1128510/1329519-565941.html) phone is a ripoff of a Nokia phone, but entering somebody's generic MP3 player as an ipod in your catalog -- is rather dumb.

Even dumber if the generic OEM is marketing it that way.

gekko513

Mar 17, 2005, 04:39 PM

Maybe they just thought IPOD was the english word for MP3 player :D :p ;)

dsharits

Mar 17, 2005, 04:41 PM

Wow, they're stupid enough to not even change the stinkin' name!!

Lacero

Mar 17, 2005, 05:01 PM

It looks hard to use. Plus it's very ugly and built like a plastic toy.

galstaph

Mar 17, 2005, 05:06 PM

LOL first the shuffle copy then this one... whats next, copying osx... oh... wait.... isn't microsoft doing that for longhorn?

varmit

Mar 17, 2005, 05:12 PM

I don't even think its real anymore. So many people are ripping off Apple, I think they are just doing it to get attention because I have never heard of these companies half the time.

Jerry Spoon

Mar 17, 2005, 09:50 PM

I don't even think its real anymore. So many people are ripping off Apple, I think they are just doing it to get attention because I have never heard of these companies half the time.
I was kind of wondering if these were real too, this one and the shuffle-copy. Just looking at them makes me wonder why people would make these things, and this one especially. It looks amazingly cheap and outdated while still having more than a 'hint' of iPod in it.

It's like the attractive girl who has a not-so-attractive, not-quite-as-smart cousin who only comes into town for a few weeks during the summer... You look at the cousin and for a split second think it's the better looking one. You realize it's not, but she's close enough just to peak your interest for a minute until you catch yourself and think, "What the heck was I thinking!"

I'm really tired and strung out and obviously have some freaky 'hot girl and her cousin' fetish I've never really explored. I'm going to get some sleep.

Jalexster

Mar 17, 2005, 10:15 PM

SNIP
I'm really tired and strung out and obviously have some freaky 'hot girl and her cousin' fetish I've never really explored. I'm going to get some sleep.

Yeah, "sleep"...

trtam

Mar 17, 2005, 10:51 PM

can you say lawsuit?

unfaded

Mar 18, 2005, 12:50 AM

can you say lawsuit?

And against OEM too, the company who has products that find their way into every single computer ever.

Nermal

Mar 18, 2005, 12:50 AM

Maybe they just thought IPOD was the english word for MP3 player :D :p ;)

That's actually a valid point, iPod has become synonymous with MP3 players. Just the other day on a forum, someone asked what iPod he should get. He ended up getting a Creative one I think. We've gotten to the point where any MP3 player is an iPod! :eek:

And against OEM too, the company who has products that find their way into every single computer ever.

You lost me there. :confused:

juniormaj

Mar 18, 2005, 04:50 AM

You lost me there. :confused:

On the product page it says "OEM" for the brand name.

polyesterlester

Mar 18, 2005, 04:59 AM

And against OEM too, the company who has products that find their way into every single computer ever.

LOL, you're joking, right? Whether you're joking or not, a lot of people don't know what OEM is. OEM isn't a single company, but rather it stands for original equipment manufacturer, and is any company that buys computers or components, adds more hardware, companants, software or whatever, and then sells it. Apple is an OEM. Dell is an OEM. Sony is an OEM. Most tech companies are OEMs.

Little Endian

Mar 18, 2005, 05:48 AM

That's actually a valid point, iPod has become synonymous with MP3 players. Just the other day on a forum, someone asked what iPod he should get. He ended up getting a Creative one I think. We've gotten to the point where any MP3 player is an iPod! :eek:

You lost me there. :confused:

Yes I agree iPod may very well become synonymous with MP3 players in general. Sorta like how Walkman is a Sony Trademark that has come to refer to any brand of portable cassette or radio, same with Discman. There are several other examples of how trademarked names become synonymous with all simialar products regardless of manufacturer. Clorox comes to mind as well as Xerox. I have heard people quite often referring to any brand of bleach as Clorox or any brand copying machine as being a Xerox. There are quite a few other examples but none come to mind. If anyone cares to add to the list please do.

munkle

Mar 18, 2005, 06:08 AM

Yes I agree iPod may very well become synonymous with MP3 players in general. Sorta like how Walkman is a Sony Trademark that has come to refer to any brand of portable cassette or radio, same with Discman. There are several other examples of how trademarked names become synonymous with all simialar products regardless of manufacturer. Clorox comes to mind as well as Xerox. I have heard people quite often referring to any brand of bleach as Clorox or any brand copying machine as being a Xerox. There are quite a few other examples but none come to mind. If anyone cares to add to the list please do.

Hoover. Sellotape. Kleenex.

And the list goes on, the wonders of commercialism!

mkaake

Mar 18, 2005, 07:30 AM

one i've never heard called by it's generic name... q-tips

SPUY767

Mar 18, 2005, 08:01 AM

I do think that there is some sort of brand problem here. China has approximately 95% literacy, so it's not because the purveyors of this site are illiterate. The simple fact is, that with an 80% share of the HD Mp3 Player market, iPod is basically the word for Mp3 player. It's like me picking up a box of Puffs branded kleenexes, or fedexing a package with UPS. Just a point, but these fools also have a product named, the "MP3 Player." I think these folks might be ploying along the same line as when someone jokingly suggests opening a resturaunt named, "I don't Know" cause everyone would always want to go there. Some kid asks his mom for an MP3 Player, she haphazardly stumbles to this site, sees the above, and it must obviously be what he wants, he asked for it by name.

SPUY767

Mar 18, 2005, 08:15 AM

I promise that this is the last thing I'll say for at least a little bit, but while chana's general literacy is 95%, their grasp of english sucks. Reading the descriptions is hilarious. "Pop/Jass/Rock/Classical/Normal" "Read and write data:1,000,000 times above." "USB line and the watch band integrate whole" just a for instance.

noverflow

Mar 18, 2005, 08:20 AM

LOL, you're joking, right? Whether you're joking or not, a lot of people don't know what OEM is. OEM isn't a single company, but rather it stands for original equipment manufacturer, and is any company that buys computers or components, adds more hardware, companants, software or whatever, and then sells it. Apple is an OEM. Dell is an OEM. Sony is an OEM. Most tech companies are OEMs.

When a company purchases a product and rebrands it, they are not an OEM. As you said, OEM is original equipment manufacturer. The company who made the product before it was branded/re-branded is the OEM.

shamino

Mar 21, 2005, 04:40 PM

When a company purchases a product and rebrands it, they are not an OEM. As you said, OEM is original equipment manufacturer. The company who made the product before it was branded/re-branded is the OEM.
An example will probably help here.

The SuperDrive in my Mac is an Apple part. But Apple doesn't make the drive. Pioneer does.

If I want to replace it with an identical model (assuming this is possible, since it's several years old), I have three choices. I can buy a new SuperDrive from Apple. I can buy the same model from Pioneer (a DVR-A04). Or I can buy the OEM version (a DVR-104). The OEM version is the same drive, but sold without any of the "extras" you typically expect in a retail product.

The manufacturer primarily sells OEM parts to system integrators (e.g. computer makers) that will re-sell the part as a component in a larger system, possibly with a different brand-name on it.

OEM parts typically do not come with any kind of end-user support. The system integrator is responsible for providing all support. Which is why you have to contact Apple and not Pioneer if your SuperDrive breaks.

Typically, OEM parts are only sold in large quantities. Say, a carton of 20 drives or a tray of 50 chips. They are not usually packaged for individual sale and don't come with ancilliary parts or documentation. After all, a company building computers needs hundreds of chips, but not hundreds of copies of the installation manual.

This is why OEM parts tend to cost less than retail parts (when you can find a dealer to sell them individually). No support and minimal packaging translates to lower prices.

For instance, if you want to buy an AMD processor chip, you can buy either a retail ("boxed") processor or an OEM processor. Both packages contain the same chip. The boxed processor, however, includes a heat-sink, fan, installation instructions, driver/diagnostic software, a warrantee, and protective packaging. The OEM processor will be nothing but the chip - your dealer is responsible for everything else, including the anti-static bag you take it home in.

~loserman~

Mar 21, 2005, 05:29 PM

I wonder if it works with iTUNES.

polyesterlester

Mar 21, 2005, 06:36 PM

When a company purchases a product and rebrands it, they are not an OEM. As you said, OEM is original equipment manufacturer. The company who made the product before it was branded/re-branded is the OEM.

That's actually what I thought, but I was looking for a definition on dictionary.com to help me in defining it, and that's what it said.