Since Apple is keeping everybody waiting for its next-generation iPhone and with no official announcement of it coming anytime soon, some people in China decided to take advantage of the delay and cash in on consumers’ desire for the iPhone 5.
One of China’s top online retail stores, Taobao, is selling an iPhone copycat called the HiPhone 5. CNET reports that the fake iPhone is sold for 210 yuan (around £21). Its design is very similar to the iPhone 4 and it comes in a variety of colors, which include white, black, pink and red. There are more expensive versions of the HiPhone that costs up to 850 yuan (around £82).
The HiPhone 5 is based on the leaked images of the unannounced iPhone 5. It is thinner and than the iPhone 4 and it has less rounded edges. It is extremely light and feels more like a plastic toy than a smartphone, reports Shanghai-based newspaper Metro Express.
Earlier versions of fake Apple iPhones were discovered in China back in 2008. Revenue of smartphone manufacturers have been affected by the spread of these low quality Chinese imitations.
As opposed to the 2008 imitations when iPhone knockoffs came after the release of the original iPhone, now it seems that the HiPhone will be sold even before the announcement of the iPhone 5. The next-generation iPhone is expected to be released next month or in October.
via: CNET
