January 31, 2007
iPhone, meet Meizu's M8
No, pictured here isn’t the vaunted Apple iPhone, it’s a Meizu M8 … maybe. Meizu? Not exactly a household brand name next to Apple. But for what it's worth, this Chinese manufacturer does make some pretty decent, portable music/video players, seen here. Some have even managed to find their ways to overseas markets. But, not everyone is thrilled with their product, Meizu has caught some flak for what some had considered to be an outright ripoff of iPod's design, though this Shanghaiist wasn't entirely convinced: Just because it's a portable music/video player? Just because it comes in black and white? That was until yesterday.
On Meizu’s BBS, a forum moderator posted pics and specs of the company's purported new music player, which at first (and second, and third…) glance looks a lot like the iPhone. This of course could be a prank, but it's on the company’s forum courtesy of a moderator and no one has yanked the thread, so maybe there's some grain of truth to it. No date has been set for a release, and no mention of the M8 on the company's main site, but here are some specs for you technophiles:
Dimension: 57*105*11.5mmMode: GSM/TD-SCDMA (we guess GSM here means WCDMA)
Display: 3.3 inch screen, 720*480 VGA
OS: Win CE 6.0
Camera: 3 megapixel
Accessory: Bluetooth, TV in/out
Not sure what Steve Jobs’ take on M8 is, but if it were real, and released reasonably soon, we bet we’d get one for sure.
UPDATE: More at Engadget, DAPreview and VR-Zone.
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Meizu on the outside, IPhone on the inside.
Not quite. It is running Windows OS. So I would say, Meizu on the inside, iPhone on the outside. But I'm just being annoying.
The thing is, I actually like this phone slightly better, even being a Mac person. Why? Because this one will allow me to view and manipulate Windows Office documents, which oddly the iPhone will not. Like it or not, Windows Office programs are the office standards. I upgraded to a smartphone last year (a Treo), and rely heavily on being able to access Word or Excel attachments from my emails when I'm in a taxi or otherwise out of arms length from my computer. I suspect a lot of other smartphone users have similar demands. Maybe iPhone isn't meant for us, but it seems odd to exclude that feature... I mean, I can use Office on my Mac, why not on my iPhone?
Expensiiiiiiiiiiiive
$499.00 a pop
Jobs really make some nice toys
Meizu CeBIT booth shut down by German authorities:
Remember how the folks at the Meizu booth swore up and down that the M8 Mini One wasn't that similar to the iPhone? Well apparently the Hanover police think otherwise. According to a report, the booth (shown above in its vacated state) was shut down by cops for piracy during CeBIT and passersby were told that, "The venue is closed until further notice." It appears that after stopping down the M8 show, cops proceeded to confiscate equipment and literature associated with the painfully obvious knock-off, and will be making a more detailed statement on Thursday in regards to the action. Meizu, it might be time to get yourself a makeover... and a good attorney.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/05/meizu-cebit-booth-shut-down-by-german-authorities/