Chinese Iphones

[Guest siamjourney]

I've seen a couple of Chinese imitation iPhones for under 3000 baht recently. Both times the user had to poke at the display with a straw or toothpick to control the menus (rather than just using a finger). Are these things a complete joke or is there one model that's perhaps better than others. Has anyone tried using one for internet access?

[Drew Aitch]

The old adage comes to mind: 'You get what you pay for'. Sorry, but it's rare to get the same quality, reliability, and working functionality from imitation goods than it is the real McCoy. Brand name cannot be brought, it has to be won, and then kept. In other words, excel in all of the above or lose out to those that do.

If you can't afford a Rolex watch, then perhaps you should really be wearing a Timex, if you get my drift.

Aitch

Edited March 13, 2010 by Drew Aitch

[paulandmaneerat]

Precisely!

P&M

[Donnyboy]

i wouldnt buy one

[SM7WGP]

and where do think the other Ipods are made in the US

[Guest siamjourney]

I realize you get what you pay for and all that...I just figured someone might have bought one of these and had some experience with it (good/bad/ugly). What's a real iPhone go for in CM?

[garyh]

Might make a good gift for someone you don't like

[IanForbes]

I bought an imitation Nokia N86 cel phone in Mai Sai. It had ALMOST all the features of the real thing... but it WAS different. It works okay and I can't complain about the price for what I got (2500 baht) but it ISN'T a NOKIA N86. I don't think I could get it to hook up to the internet. It's hard to tell because it didn't have any instructions and the ones for NOKIA at their website are not all the same.

I have to agree with DrewAitch ... buyer beware.

[surangw]

I've had a few of the clones, they look more like an iphone than work like one.

sets I have had did not have wifi, but on the plus side, they can hold 2 sim cards, ( different numbers) come with spare battery, no need to rip it apart to replace the battery once its life is over, and have removable memory card.

for the price, they are ok.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Well, wait. First of all it's not an iPhone copy. It's MUCH smaller, which makes it look very attractive, like a small iPhone. It's very pretty, and the main menu is inspired on the layout of the iPhone.

However, it really is not a copy of the iPhone; all the apps are different, they're what you'd expect on a cheapo phone OS. The polished look really applies only to the main menu screen, as well as the external package.

So: looks nice, it's good either as a gimmick or as a cheapo basic phone, BUT it is in no way similar to an iPhone.

[jackr]

I realize you get what you pay for and all that...I just figured someone might have bought one of these and had some experience with it (good/bad/ugly). What's a real iPhone go for in CM?

25k ish and up for a new one; 20k and down for an old one.

[sleepyjohn]

If you can't afford a Rolex watch, then perhaps you should really be wearing a Timex, if you get my drift.

I've owned a Rolex which I found untimely, stupidly expensive to service, and the quartz face cracked meaning ultimately the works were ruined.

Timex, well GeorgeWBush wears one and I never heard him complaining about it.

Personally after not wearing a watch for years I have a very strong and waterproof Diesel. I was poleaxed from the side by someone I didn't even see last year while making a complaint to his drunken friend about his dogs attacking me on my bike. I later felt something heavy in my shirt pocket. His watch had burst off his wrist and flown in. My policeman friend says technically he gave it to me.....

Edited March 14, 2010 by sleepyjohn

[swain]

There are good knock offs and bad ones. You have to do your work. If you buy a real iphone you never have to think about it .. with a knock off always. There are ones that have no wifi but there are ones with good wifi.. I have been impressed with the knock offs. The only thing I had a problem with was a Nokia N95 knock off touch screen broke when my daughter dropped it. There was no fixing it because no one had the parts. But if you are getting something so cheaply this is the breaks so to speak. It still worked with a cracked screen so we gave it to a family member.

[sarahsbloke]

I have had 3 knock offs from Mae Sai ....... you can haggle them down to 1800bht

The iphone was best, worked with fingernail, full keyboard, good music player (the disney themed one was good)

Fake Nokia N83, disaster, battery runs out fast, charging kills battery if you leave overnight, spearek for phone not loud enough.

Had to use headphones to use the phone. Very nice MP3 player though.

Gave up on the knockoffs in the end and bought a second hand Samsung Candy/Corby for 4000bht, works perfectly with long battery life.

[Guest siamjourney]

Swain wrote:"There are good knock offs and bad ones. You have to do your work."

I'm not even sure I'll buy one...I thought given the low price I might try one if someone recommended a particular model. I definitely care about WiFi...much more than I do about mp3 music.

If someone said I got brand X somewhere here in CM and the WiFI works fine I'd probably grab one. Thanks.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Get an iPod Touch in that case. 8000 baht and all the iPhone apps, and wifi. Just no phone of course. but great for mobile web browsing, email, watching video, etc.

[Guest siamjourney]

Went to central 4th floor yesterday. Imitation iPhone was about 2900 baht. Real Nokia with WiFi started at 4900 baht. I had started a thread about USB internet a while back...I really only want something/anything to have decent internet on the road. I'm changing the subject from this original thread but I'm just trying find a not too expensive "toy" to give my laptop internet anywhere in Thailand.

For the last two years I've paid 120 baht for a Happy (slight misnomer) DTAC Sim card and thrown it in an older Nokia or Motorola and used a wire or Bluetooth connection to my Acer. It's slow but a reliable connection. It's fine for email and cheap but not useful for Skype calls or anything faster. I can usually find WiFi most places but it's nice to be independent if they are charging to much (Ko Chang last year) or it's not available. The USB thread answers implied paying too much for something I'll only use occasionally. I'm always on ADSL in CM. I can move this discussion back to the URL internet thread if it's appropriate. Thanks for any ideas.