iRiver Wins Today’s WTF?!? Award with Their iClone
If we didn’t see the video with our own eyes, we would definitely say that this is some sort of joke. No such luck however. Reminiscent of the NokLa knock-off devices issued shortly after each new Nokia release, iRiver has shamelessly cloned the iPhone and chosen to wear it publicly as a badge of courage. Debuted at CES, iRiver’s enormous lawsuit waiting to happen is essentially a Linux-based iPhone with an uglier UI and an uglier body. The application icons are iPhone rips, the application interfaces themselves are iPhone rips and the form factor is an iPhone rip. Japanese tech companies have historically been known for innovation; taking existing technology and vastly improving upon it. We can only hope that South Korean companies aren’t shooting for the opposite label! iRiver’s apparent motivation behind this massive blunder is to provide an iPhone-like experience but add 3G to the equation. Ummm, have they not been reading the news? The 3G iPhone announcement is coming shortly and it will be available later this year. iRiver also states that this device will be "more affordable" than the iPhone, making it more accessible. We don’t care. Bottom line: Many, many people need to be fired over this. Many people…
Linux based and afforable boya sign me up.
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I agree, someone needs to drive prices back down. Apple as going to charge way too much for the 3G iPhone. Someone needs to slap them in the face with a device that does the same thing, cheaper! Wait, they have(Nokia, HTC, Sony Ericsson).
It wouldn’t matter though, you would still have idiots paying $1000 because it’s built by Apple. I wonder where these people were in accounting class, lol…
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The iPhone SDK’s beta release is slated for late-February, with it hitting stores in April. Also may carry an 8 GB and 16 GB versions. Has anyone heard anything new… Thanx.
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looks horrible. And the apple attorneys I’m sure will move on this fast.
next iphone will sell very well.
bigbmc, iphone has never been $1000. I wonder how you did in accounting class?
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How DARE anyone infringe on any product supported by “BoyGeniusReport - Authorized website of AT&T”
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Knowning Apple, the 3G iPhone will have more features at the same price ad the current iPhone. That’s what’s been happening with the iMac and many of their other computers over the past few years.
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Dtest, he’s saying some people WILL pay that much for the next iphone if they had, and its true.
I can’t wait to see what happens when apple lets them have it, big mistake.
Oh and love the title, iRiver Wins Today’s Wtf..priceless
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Acutally I was referring to the price of the UMTS version of the iPhone. Please understand what I wrote before replying.
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This thing is not a lawsuit looking to happen. The format and hardware are different enough. Using a name like iClone is not really all that dangerous - especially for a company named iRiver. No, you won’t see Apple doing anything about this because they can’t. Besides, we live in a consumer driven market and not allowing abstract knockoffs just hurts the little guys - us.
If Apple were going to sue they would have a much better chance against the Chinese CECT - an iPhone knockoff that has been around for a while now and looks a heck of a lot like the iPhone. I’m very surprised that I haven’t seen it on BGR but maybe I just missed it. Anyway, they have a couple different versions and they look very much like the real thing. Just go to Youtube and type “CECT iphone” and you will get it. They have several versions as I said so click through all the video.
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The form factor of this phone is not an iPhone rip but an iRiver W10 rip. Remember the presentation of the iRiver W10 at CES 2007
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/iriver-w10-hands-on/
Quote: “…iRiver’s apparent motivation behind this massive blunder is to provide an iPhone-like experience but add 3G to the equation…”
iRiver is a brand of the company ReignCom. If you visit their website, you can read this:
“….Supported by various wireless service providers, including Korean-Telecom and SK-Telecom, ReignCom is developing new multi-media convergence products, expecting to launch by late 2004.”
http://www.reigncom.com/eng/business/en_mobile01.html
iRiver has been thinking on the possibility to bring out this type of device and they are just late on their program.
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