Fake versions of Apple Inc's hot-selling iPad tablet PCs started to show up on the shelves of online and real-world shops in China just 3 weeks after its launch. Apple delayed the international launch of iPad due to heavy demand in United States. But, consumers may feel free to take a look of the fake iPad at an electronics mall in Shenzhen which is located near the border with Hong Kong. You can get the newest pirated version of Windows 7 operating system, at $2 each, to a range of Apple products, from iPhones to MacBooks.
The fake thickset iPad comes with three USB ports and the shape is more rectangular than the original and it runs a Windows operating system. In other word, it looks more like a giant iPhone. It costs 2,800 yuan ($410), which is slightly cheaper than the iPad's $499-$699 price tag. One can read books, play music and videos and surf the Internet using this 10 inch entertainment device and more than 500,000 were sold in its first week alone.
"While the shape isn't quite the same, the external appearance is very similar to the iPad, so we don't think it will affect our sales that much," the salesperson Lin added, explaining the difference was due to the difficulty in finding matching parts because of the quick two-month turnaround time for the first version's development.
Taobao, China's largest online marketplace, has a long listings for the sought-after product, many real but some are labelled as "China goods" and they claim that those items have even better features than the real one. Like the models in the Shenzhen market, these fake iPads also retail for around 2800 yuan each, compared with 4,000-6,000 yuan for those marketed as real.
"This is just the first rough version," Lin said. "Eventually, the factories will be able to make a much better copy."
