People hate fakes. Everyone wants to keep it real, these days… as far as consumer brands are concerned, at least. Regardless of the fact, one cannot help but wonder: are replicas the root of all evil on earth? This post will focus on the issue of fake iphones, while introducing some of the models available on the market.
What exactly is a fake iPhone?
Replica iPhone, Chinese iPhone, imitation iPhone, fake iPhone… whatever you prefer calling these devices, it does not go without saying they are knock-ofss to the world’s leading smart-phone manufacturers (which is a bad thing); what often does go without saying is how some of these devices are actually fairly decent phones, especially considering the price range.
Whether you’re a budget shopper looking for a fancy looking phone or a hipster fellow looking for a phone that reflects your anti-establishment attitudes, you may actually be drawn towards getting yourself a fake iPhone. If that’s the case, then good for you! Just make sure you don’t try to get one of these devices to pass it off as the real thing and earn some bragging rights, otherwise you’ll likely make a fool of anyone but yourself.
The 5 commandments of fake iPhone owners:
- Thou shall not try to fool people into believing your phone is an actual iPhone.
Thou shall not assume your replica iPhone will be quite as good as the real thing.
Thou shall not try to look cool or smarter than others because you bought a cheap knock-off.
Thou shall not expect you will be able to purchase apps from the Apple store
Thou shall not try to convince your friends that your phone is better than the real thing
Where can you get your hands on replica iPhones?
They come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges; some look pretty close to the actual iPhone, while others are strikingly different. Some are labeled funny ‘engrish’ brands such as Hiphone or i-Phoney, while others are utterly white label. You can find these replicas in many retail stores, and anywhere on the Internet… including over at Amazon (see below).
Also, you will notice the huge amplitude in price ranges for these devices; some cost as little as 50 bucks while others go up to a few hundred dollars. Additionally, all these models have strikingly different features, meaning some actually turn out to be a good deal for the price, while others really aren’t.
If you’re planning to get yourself one of these phones, I urge you to spend some time reading the reviews written by people who previously bought the specific model you’re looking at. This is why I recommend purchasing these replicas at Amazon, since there are usually extensive reviews available, written by real people. You can see those reviews at the Amazon listing for each model, simply by following one of these links:
Are Chinese iPhones utterly illegal and evil?
One thing is certain: they could very well make these exact same phones without trying to pass them as knock-offs. In fact, that would probably be a more successful approach, wiser business angle. Some of these devices are actually pretty decent smart-phones on their own merits, which are sold at very competitive prices. As such, why the obsession about trying to make them look as some kind of cheap replica? Does that really trick people into believing they’re purchasing an actual iPhone? One can only help but wonder.
Truth of the matter, there are indeed some advantages to these so-called “fake iPhones”, asides from the comparatively low price. Some models include some interesting features that are nowhere to be seen in Apple’s smart.phones, such as dual Sim card slots, GPS, java support, built-in flashlight and other interesting gadget-like features. Oh, and these devices can be used with any phone network, which is indeed quite alluring.