First time I saw them imitation iPod Nanos (2nd Gen) were at the 168 Mall last month. This week-end, I saw them again at the SM Appliance Storeand they were displayed in the shelves along with several other music players. Took pictures using my N6233 (sorry for the crappy images).
The label says the MP4 Player has an FM Tuner, Games, Music & Record Voice.
There are two capacities – 512MB (Php4,100+) and 1GB (Php6,400+), in a variety of colors.
I think these are manufactured in the same factories in China, minus the expensive high-capacity flash drives of the original Apple iPods.
Update: Turns out these are MP4-branded music players that looks very similar to the designs of the Apple iPod. I’m seeing more and more look-alikes of these in a lot of stores in the metro.
Hehe, saw this yesterday at Octagon in Megamall too – opposite the shelf where the real Ipods were displayed. The 512MB sold for P3200+ while the 1GB sold for P3900. The salesman even told us it can play videos =P
I saw them too! I wonder why SM would even sell fakes.
An MP3 player is an MP3 player is an MP3 player.
Abe, I’m confused. Is SM callng these iPods? I can’t read the tag in your photos. If they aren’t calling them iPods then what are the infringment issues?
No law against making/selling MP3 players that I know of.
SM appliance used to sell bootleg discs for the original playstation so this is not new. I think that if Apple will complain to SM management about this, this will be pulled out (just like the playstation discs). It’s darn expensive for a fake nano, methinks. I bought a 1gb iFOD for just 2500. Doesnt work like the orginal, but I deserve that kind of product coz Im a cheapskate.
fake iPods are also for sale in Greenhills…
someone from the blogparteeh showed me his fake 2.5k ipod. Heck, it plays video and it’s plug and play! I didn’t get to hear how it sounds but if it’s anywhere near decent, those Chinese imitators sure have great craftsmanship. hehe
jet: yep, it can play videos. hehe
Twitter: filipinovoices
says:
This just goes to show, how deeply embedded the piracy and fake product market has become in The Philippines..
It’s sad for the consumer who is being duped into these products…
@ade: Just go to their department store. Fakes left and right.
Are the units being called or marketed /as “iPod”? If they are not, then I agree that there’s no copyright infringement here and SM is not liable for anything. At worse, they are just selling iPod copycats, not fakes. And there’s nothing wrong with that, unless Apple has successfully sued those copycat manufacturers for copyright violation.
These players are all over the place. Still, they’re quite popular to the common folk, it’s the nearest thing to the real thing, with out busting their wallets.
As long as they don’t market is as “iPod” then it’s perfectly fine, I guess. There are plenty of those “mp3 fakes” even in New York.
So, that’s why I’ve been seeing a lot of people with “iPods” Pffft. And I thought a lot of people are earning a lot nowadays that they can actually afford them. My mistake, I guess. Heh.
There’s no logo or anything that would identify it as the iPod or the Nano.
there run really cheap in greenhills guys…. i even saw one with a camera… cool but the one with the camera doesn’t look like an ipod though…. but its an mp4 player still
I believe this person was referring to me, LOL. My father got me an iPod for only PhP1000 in China. It’s still working.
I’m not really someone who inspects a gadget if it’s an imitation or not (but then, I don’t really care much about them). But I have to agree with Ade. Why would SM even sell fakes?
@Benj, that’s Ganns, right? =D
It always happen in SM… I know for sure that it is just not fake appliance they have but people and management as well
well, fake iPods are cheap and practical…I think there’s nothing wrong in buying that kind of stuff…Apple iPod is too heavy for our wallet, and it is very impractical, you’re just like buying the name “APPLE iPod”…Just think about the price (1GB iPod shuffle – 5k, without video, games – it’s purely a music player; 1GB “iPod” fake is only for 2k with video player, fm radio, games, voice recording, e-book, photo display)…it really satisfies the consumers of these products…
i don’t see the word and or logo of apple on the product on the pictures. so, i dont see why you call them fakers. if they looked like ipods, then, maybe they were paterned after ipods , but dont you think creative looks more like an ipod as well, and for info, creative got that first design of Apple ipods you have now. so, who is the copy cat now.
another example are those Iphone killers going out ahead of iphone’s launching, you dont call them fakers, they are just out there to compete. and give consumers a second thought which product to invest on.
cheers
hey ya i live in the usa
Oklahoma
and today my friend showed me one of these
and i thought they were really cool
so i thought i would research them
Around 2-3 years ago, like other distributors, they would print logos of apple, ipod, sony, whatever they can think of on the unit and on the exterior screen. Until ’05-’06 Apple and sony complained to the local authorities for infringement..Anyway, those dealers have been cracked down, they cant even offer bribes(PHP millions)cuz a representative from one of those companies (im not saying who)is taking this matter seriously..
Those pictures of Mp4 player comes from a company called Bse7ven..They don’t use or print logos of apple, ipod, nano, whatsoever…It may have the same casing and in some cases, it might look similar to the real ones if you just take a quick glance..The difference are so obvious when you look at it carefully…There is no ‘click button’ on the real Ipods, just a touch screen pad….These mp4 are not so bad as you may think, it’s got more features than Ipod (FM, voice recorder, ebook, games, MP4 in AMV format(unit comes with the software for converting formats)….It’s not bad to own one, just don’t buy it from ‘bSe7ven’ at SM APPLIANCE CENTER it’s such a ripp off…3,000+ (64USD) for 1 gb? Some places i know sells it S.R.P. ranging 1,500-2,000k for exactly the same thing (features, interface, software, battery, and warranty)
Isnt dat company bringing in Pda cp fm china dat r sold in a shop at vmall? theyre goin to get screwd by NTC for illegal distribution w/o license. id lyk 2 c dat
I already bought one (11K)to a certain friend. I dnt know how much they are being sold at the mall. What inspired me to buy one was the features, it has TV, Video Player, 2MB Camera, Cfone, Radio, PDA and extra battery and 512 MB memory card. what i am scared now is the spares just in case it gets problem,,, any one got this too?
i dont think there is a problem with that mp3/mp4 player.. its just an ipod look a like.. di naman nila sinabi na IPod yung item eh… they used their own brand name naman… di rin naman sinasabi ng sales person na ipod un eh.. we must admit na sometimes kahit alam na nating di original ang isang bagay binibili pa rin natin kasi affordable… and if you are really looking for the original item, dapat matuto ka mag-compare sa ibang naka-display or hanapin mo yung official distributor.. =)