The gadget cycle of life: invention - innovation - imitation.

The iPhone has reached its final stage of life. It has now been (successfully?) cloned, or should I say, imitated. These are some photos I found at Spluch and Migs.

At Christmas 2007, these fake iPhones are now flooding the Philippine market, and the public is gobbling them up. They cost approximately 1/4 or 1/3 of the price of the original iPhone, with the same features. The same Chinese company released a “tv phone” (a.k.a. China phone) available in several designs and, of course, the same affordable price. These phones have been around for a while, but come Christmas time when Filipinos have the most money, the entrepreneurs have been ordering and releasing these phones in bazaars (tiangges) and malls. They make no claims that these are original. And everyone and their aunts have one of these by now.

TV Phone:

The only question is: how long before these imitations break down? No one knows for sure, because right now, all these phones being sold are brand new. Some owners’ testimonials tell us that they are quite sturdy. The original’s price is equivalent to three or four of these, and people can’t be blamed for preferring the fake. The same functionality at a cheaper price.