No doubt you’ve heard of the iPhone; but are you familiar with the Hi-Phone? It is a near exact replica of the ubiquitous iPhone, complete with touchscreen keyboard and the unmistakable Apple logo. The Hi-Phone is just one obvious example of the Chinese propensity toward creating exact replicas of some of the most sought after mobile and smart phones on the planet.
It’s not just Apple that is getting “replicated;” popular models by Motorola, Samsung and Nokia can also be found in many Chinese electronics markets, many of which are so detailed and exact, it is nearly impossible to tell they are replicas at all. For the most part, the vendors don’t even pretend that the replica phones are anything but copies. Counterfeiting is so ubiquitous throughout China, that there is very little concern about announcing to all and sundry that the items you’re selling are knockoffs, and not the “real thing.”
One of the reasons the Chinese have become so adept at creating replica phones is because so many of the companies supplying the original hardware and software are already located in China. Small backroom “factories,” sometimes with only a handful of employees, can produce decent quantities of replicated cell phones, and of course, at much cheaper prices than the originals.
According to The New York Times, many knockoffs of famous Motorola and Nokia cell phones can be purchased in Chinese electronics markets for $20. And it goes without saying the knockoff versions are always sold “unlocked,” so that they can be used with any wireless network. Even the exact replica of the Apple iPhone can be purchased in many markets for less than $30, so the temptation for consumers to purchase black-market versions is certainly high.
But Chinese phone counterfeiters are not content to just sell their wares within the Chinese market. The phones are increasingly being exported throughout Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Russia. Some of them even find their way into Western Europe and the United States as the Chinese black market phone industry becomes a global force to be reckoned with.
Mobile phone companies such as Motorola and Nokia are attempting to fight back against the counterfeiters. Increasingly, these brands are putting pressure on the government in Beijing to enforce existing anti-counterfeiting laws, and develop new laws to make it more difficult for counterfeit shops to get started and get their products to market.
But with approximately 20% of all Chinese consumers currently using a knock off cell phone (a huge number in itself, considering the massive population of China), many fear that the “replica mentality” is too ingrained in Chinese culture to be stamped out so easily.
I had no idea about this. Wow! I hope they do crack down on the counterfeiting.
Comment by Amy Hass — May 27, 2009 @ 3:03 pm