Did Apple really clone the P88? It kinda reminds us of a giant iPhone!
Since we broke the story of the “pre-emptive cloning” of the iPad (and here’s another story of the same device back in Oct 2009) by Chinese company Shenzhen Great Long Brother Industrial Co., Wu Xiaolong, the president of the company has been an angry man. Earlier today, he fumed to our friend Aritz Parra of El Mundo, charging that Apple has not only replicated the design of its multi-touch tablet, but also the device support and the sleeve. They’re identical, he says.
Wu added,
“I was very angry and flabbergasted when I saw the news of the iPad presentation two days ago… It is certainly our design. They’ve stolen because we present our P88 to everyone six months ago at the IFA (International Electronics Fair in Berlin).”
Sales of the P88 haven’t been too bad, but “if the iPad enters the Chinese market, we will definitely take a hit,” says Wu. He adds that he has already applied for a patent for the product last May — a process that can take up to a year in China. “We’ll have to follow the law,” says Wu, admitting that it will be difficult to take on Apple in the United States, but “if the iPad enters the Chinese market, we will sue them this spring.”
Apparently, the Great Long Brother isn’t the only company mulling legal action against Apple. Japan’s Fujitsu is also thinking of suing Apple. It claims that its its US subsidiary first launched the “iPad”, a sleek handheld multimedia device with a 3.5-inch screen, way back in 2002.
Expect to hear more of this in the days ahead. Meanwhile, all we really want to know is: When is Apple going to launch the iPad Nano? Oh wait a minute. We already have the iPhone!
Before we go, here’s one person’s forecast of what Lord Steve Jobs is going to launch later this year. Happy weekend everyone!
