iPhone-alikes: miniOne, F700, LG Prada

[MacRumors]

With the early announcement of the iPhone, competition appears to be heating up for similar touch-screen cellphones from other manufacturers.

VR Zone posts photos of an iPhone look-alike from Chinese company Meizu. The "miniOne" reportedly runs Windows CE 6.0 and offers a similar look to the unreleased Apple iPhone. The clone, however, does offer a higher resolution screen (720x480) and a 3 megapixel camera.

Meanwhile, Samsung has announced the F700 which also incorporates a touch-screen, but also offers a slide-out keyboard for text entry.

Finally TelecomsKorea reports that LG officials believe that the iPhone is a copy of their Prada phone, which was shown 3 months before the iPhone's announcement.

We consider that Apple copycat Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006.

The similarities between the Prada phone and the Apple iPhone were widely noted shortly after the iPhone's announcement.

Based on the available information, none of the iPhone-alikes appear to offer a multi-touch screen which has been considered an innovative new feature of the iPhone.

 

[aricher]

Nobody will get close to replicating Apple's intuitive UI. They may have touch-screen abilities but that doesn't make them iPhones.

 

[jonharris200]

Based on the available information, none of the iPhone-alikes appear to offer a multi-touch screen which has been considered an innovative new feature of the iPhone.

And there it is.

 

[bbydon]

I did see the Prada phone when it came out then the iphone. I couldnt believe the iphones similarities to the prada LG....

Just posing a dumb question but what if the iphone isnt the final design....and it was just another mock up?

 

[kansaigaijin]

LG knows how long it takes to design, prototype, and get a device to work.

rubbish.

 

[eenu]

Based on the available information, none of the iPhone-alikes appear to offer a multi-touch screen which has been considered an innovative new feature of the iPhone.

EEEErrrrrrr maybe because its patented!

As Jobs said at the keynote!

 

[lazyrighteye]

Wow

Of the three mentioned, that miniOne looks the most like the iPhone. Even down to their iCal-like icon.
And is that a camera facing the user, I see??

OK Samsung's. I get it. They both have rounded corners.
Beyond that the F700 looks as much like an iPhone as I do Brad Pitt.

For LG to claim Apple ripped THEM off is merely to generate buzz about their POS phone. That said, there is no way Apple saw the Prada, thought "wow, that looks incredible" and then designed, produced and presented their own by MWSF. No way. Nope. Wrong.

Clone all you want people. You don't have multi-touch nor OS X.

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

But the iPhone was in development for a couple of years, the wankstains at LG can shove it. How different can two phones with an entire touch screen face look from each other?

Anyway, the resolution is really decent for the phone, and although it's not as high as that of the F700, the F700 has positively anemic storage. It has an onboard flash drive with 64MB capacity with the option of a MicroSD expansion which will no doubt drive the price up just a tad. I read somewhere that the Prada phone will not only be more expensive than the iPhone, it will be more expensive by almost, if not over $100, which makes it a big ripoff. So far these other phones are licked in terms of initial storage capacity. 4-8GB of storage is not common amongst these types of phones, and anyone familiar with purchasing those tiny flash cards knows they don't come cheap. As for the camera, 2 MP is not great, but since I also own a digital camera I couldn't care less. Seriously, who cares about having near pro quality on a cell phone digicam.

 

[cwedl]

Whilst many people will probably buy these "cheap imitations", it would be nice to see another company trying to innovate, instead of just relying on Apple for their Research and Development. At the end of the day, Windows Mobile Sucks (I haven't tried Windows Mobile 6 though! - but it doesn't look that nice), Apple looks as if they have got a winner, And I will be a customer for sure, when the iPhone is released in the UK.

 

[MacFly123]

No Way!

I'm sorry, there is no way Apple ripped off the Prada phone. Apple has been working on the iPhone for 2 years.

I'll also add that I'm not at all surprised with the shameless rip off atempts of the iPhone. Don't any of these companies have any pride? Why can't other people innovate and come up with their own ideas instead of just trying to ride Apple's genious? It's really starting to piss me off!!!

 

[jonharris200]

I couldnt believe the iphones similarities to the prada LG....

Side by side comparison, anyone?

 

[Kobushi]

As usual, companies trying to stay afloat in Apple's wake of innovation. "Look at us, we can do that too".

No, no, you can't.

 

[andiwm2003]

seems that reinventing the phone and entering the smart phone market isn't as easy as apple had thought.

now we have to wait and see if the ipod and the touch screen in the iphone are enough to make people pay $599 and choose it over the competition.

at least there is hope that apples software integration and ease of use makes the phone better than the competitors offers.

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

I'm just flabbergasted that the tards at LG can b*tch and moan about a phone whose form factor is taken directly from the iPod. The iPhone shape is simply a more rounded translation of the iPod fifth generation. The entire face of the device is just a touch screen, and mimics the UI of no one. The rest of the device is simply a brushed aluminum iPod shell. It even has the proprietary cable port and headphone jack in the exact same places. everything else is just a chrome bezel around the face plate. I see no similarities other than the point of input being expanded across the fascia, which is not a copyright, at least not on this planet.

 

[andiwm2003]

I'm sorry, there is no way Apple ripped off the Prada phone. Apple has been working on the iPhone for 2 years.

I'll also add that I'm not at all surprised with the shameless rip off atempts of the iPhone. Don't any of these companies have any pride? Why can't other people innovate and come up with their own ideas instead of just trying to ride Apple's genious? It's really starting to piss me off!!!

the other phones have been in development long before apples iphone was shown. so it's not necessarily shamless rippoffs. get real. it's just that other engineers are just as good as apples.

 

[nukiduz]

i am more excited about samsung f700 than about iphone. however, steve got me at scrolling...

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

I don't think other touch screen phones are any sort of ripoff of Apple's iPhone. The only differentiation is in the multitouch, though not an invention of their own, is rare in consumer electronic implementation. Full faced touch screens on phones was inevitable. Touch screen PDA's could've told us that. The iPhone is basically a touch screen iPod with a phone built in, and while this is not completely unique, it's not a blatant copy of anyone else either.

I was interested in the F700 until I found out how much storage it has. In order to take advantage of the screen, you have to purchase an extra memory card.

 

[TheBobcat]

We consider that Apple copycat Prada phone after the design was unveiled...

For some reason I can really envision them saying that quote exactly like that, in their headquarters, with like a really heavy accent.

Then singing the I'm So Lonely song from Team America!!!!

 

[Object-X]

Years ahead

There are rip offs and then there are logical designs based on technology limitations. The iPhone and the LG phone represent the latter. A rectangle all touch phone is a basic idea. Anyone could and would come up with that. Square buttons are the byproduct of touch screen technology. It's the obvious choice for a finger press.

But the iPhone is far more advanced in terms of it's design and functionality than the LG phone, it makes their claim seem stupid. It's obvious to everyone that Apple had to have been working on this for years. And they couldn't have just ripped the interface since it is so tied into the underlying technology.

I imagined a phone like this years ago, but never thought it would be made. Especially when you look at the current generation phones. I couldn't believe my eyes when I watched Jobs' demo. It truely is years ahead of anything else, including LGs phone.

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

While I may never purchase an iPhone (it's a lifestyle phone, which happens to contradict my lifestyle), I'm very interested to see how Apple applies the tech used in their phone to their other products, namely the iPod video and possibly laptops.

 

[miketcool]

Yeah, ok?

I think it is safe to say this is the thing the iPhone was copied after:

 

[spicyapple]

iPhones have sync compatibility with iTunes, although by the time it ships in June, Apple would need to release a Windows version of Apple Mail, iCal and Address Book. Apple's legendary ease of use and simplicity will guarantee it's superiority against these competitors.

Could we be seeing a brand new iPhone management app from Apple?

 

[gloss]

That Meizu lookalike is hilarious. I don't think China has had an original industrial thought in 50 years.

 

[miketcool]

Could we be seeing a brand new iPhone management app from Apple?

What Apple really needs is a copyright lawsuit management app.

iLife, iWork and iClaim

 

[Porco]

Plastic front, metal back.. er iPod circa 2001 no? I'm not sure what else the iPhone was supposed to look like if it's classed as an iPod.