Gadgets February 20, 2008 posted by Nigel

The iClone Shootout – five iPhone phonies, a camera, and some interesting conclusions

Ladies and gentlemen, in the blue corner the world famous iPhone, iconic symbol of democracy and the new millennium. And in the red corner, China. Yep, 1.3 billion souls beavering away in factories to destroy civilisation as we know it and trash our treasured way of life. OK, enough already. So I thought it would be interesting to check out a sample of five iPhone clones to see whether they are worth your time, money and pocket space. The results were unsurprising in some ways and rather interesting in others…

Desay A8+ – £104.95. Nice box, shame about the buttons…

· Dual Band GSM 900/1800, Sim free, Unlocked for UK, Europe and Australia
· 3.2 Inch 16:9 TFT Screen (320×240 resolution)
· Supports Smart Map (User Uploadable)
· Dual Sim card slots (Only 1 sim is active at any time)
· High Sensitive Touch Screen
· MP3 Music Player: Play your favorite MP3 music anywhere anytime
· MP4 Movie Player: Play Stereo 3GP/MP4 Movies
· WAP/GPRS/MMS/SMS Enabled (surf the internet via GPRS)
· 0.3MP Camera + PC WebCam + Video Recording (Camcorder) with sound
· Digital Voice Recorder
· 4 In built Games
· Handwriting Recognition

What do you get? 2 x 1000 mAh batteries and 2 x SIM card slots. 90 page Chinese manual, USB charging and headphone socket in one, separate lock button.

In Use. Not the most sophisticated of the clones, but then again at this price what do you expect? The UI throws up fake Windows Mobile operating system splash screen for some reason, and although it’s got pretty icons it’s not really iPhone comparable at all. For example press the green call button and you get the call history instead of being able to make a call. And don’t even think of trying to use this to access voice prompt services, as I couldn’t resurrect the touch keypad during a call at all. Good voice quality and loudspeaker quality though. The 0.3 megapixel camera is dire.

Conclusion. Not really a prime time contender, more like a garage sale knock off. And who speaks Chinese around here anyway…?

iPhone Cred Score – 3/10

Next – how not to treat your handset interface…

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About the Author:

Nigel is the managing editor of the Red Ferret, as well as a freelance columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper in London. Loves tech and fancies himself as a bit of a futurist, but then don't we all?

Nigel – who has written 5199 posts on The Red Ferret Journal.

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DTM

Holy carp Red! Did you really spend 700 quid to do a dodgy iPhone-knockoff comparison??? If so, WHY? Oh and thanks, the world needs this kind of thing. :D

Just on a side note, and perhaps I’ve been using Nokia cameras for too long, but the camera quality of the real iPhone really isn’t that good. It’s not terrible, but the image is soft and the edges are quite bad.

But what do I know/care, iPhones aren’t coming to Australia until the 12th of never anyway.
http://www.digitalplayworld.co.uk Simon

Hi everyone,

Just to point out a small error made by Red, (only a small one) when using these phones, you can actually activate the number pad whilst on a call so you can “press 2 now” to be put on hold by your bank or internet operator etc, if you need to.

Another point I’d like to add, the real iPhone works out at £899 (�269 plus �35 per month for 18 month), so in comparison, the clones really do represent excellent value for money. Lets face it, in 12 months time you’ll probably want to change it for something else new and exciting and even more fashionable.

Regards
Simon

http://www.digitalplayworld.co.uk
Red

DTM, heh no I didn’t have to drop £700 on the iPhone, thanks to my new best friends at O2 who found me an eval unit at very short notice.
http://www.alchemicalshadows.com Mark Bennett

I just returned my HiPhone as it was sluggish and limited compared to the P168+.

For pose factor its the best and build wise its very solid.

If you want to see the full review of the P168+ then email me. I’d do a more coherent review of the HiPhone if interested.

Mark
http://www.blackicemagazine.com Mark Bennett

Hi

Returned the HiPhone and now sold the P168+.

The replacement is the M888 which looks wise isn’t very slick but function wise its very good. Loading Mini Opera 4 onto the phone makes it a serious competitor to the iPhone.

M
http://www.ebest-elec.com kitty

You can buy latest iphone clones from us in china.
For watching videos of iphone show.please visit our website http://www.ebest-elec.com
http://www.google.com George Matthews

Wij verstrekken onze kijkers de volledige waaier van Zwitserse de horlogeswijzen en ontwerpen van fake rolex van de Replica.
kev

would you mind updating this….there are definetly some new phones out there. iphone c6? wifi gps? can u get back to me..thanks
- http://www.3gpvideoconverter.org 3gp converter
  
  I am with you. I haven't used Iphone yet coz it's not good for our third world countries. So, we mostly go with others. The most selling phone in our country is Nokia. So, I would also like to get new updates as I want to replace my old set.
  
  Regards
George

Mark
I live in Geneva, Switzerland and just got the P 168 from someone in a large flea market. It was new in a box.
Did not use the phone right away and apparently one of the batteries was charged.when I tested the unit it worked fine. A few days later battery went dead and the charger has failed to charge it. I think that the cable between the charger and the unit is bad. Any idea where I can get one? Would like the review.
Regards
George [email protected]
http://motherofbrides.xanga.com/ Mother of the Bride

DTM, heh no I didn't have to drop £700 on the iPhone, thanks to my new best friends at O2 who found me an eval unit at very short notice.