There’s no denying that the iPhone clones are considered a huge success. Consumers did not hesitate to embrace these Chinese imports because the features, performance, and pricing on these knock offs are too good to pass up for many consumers. And, in today’s economy, it just doesn’t make sense to pay full price on expensive items which will likely go out of style in a very short amount of time.
The shake and tilt models are among the most popular. That’s because consumers love being able to shake the phone to advance songs and media without having to fumble around and scroll. There are other things to like about these phones too, like the fact that they are always unlocked so that we can use whichever inexpensive carrier we wish, and the fact they are dual sim, which essentially allows us to have two separate phone numbers and plans on one phone. There are many of these shake to the music clones available now. Examples are the HiPhone i32, the CECT A380i, A88, and the A8+, to name the most popular.
This article will review the latest shake and tilt (that many people consider the best) – the SciPhone – (also sometimes called the 168 or the Y32.)
Popular Features: The 168 has all of the smartphone specifications that you would expect, including: a generous 3.2 inch touch screen; dual sim slots; slide unlock; a 1.3 mega pixel camera which also serves as a webcam; an e-book reader; Bluetooth 2.0; full MP3 / MP4 capabilities; web browsing, emailing and messaging via GPRS and WAP 2.0; Java 2.0; shake and tilt; and 2GB of memory.
Don’t let the smaller size of this knock off fool you. Its super fast and it houses a slew of the latest features inside a tiny package. I love the addition of the e-book reader because so many of us download reports or e-books and then never read them. This allows you to actually read those things when you have to wait in line or are delayed somewhere.
As we’ve come to expect from the Chinese clones, the speakers and sound system on this phone are crisp, loud, and clear. The 1.3 mega pixel camera takes surprisingly sharp photos.
Appearance: This model is smaller and thinner than previous models, which is why it’s sometimes called the “mini HiPhone.” In terms of appearance, this one looks almost identical to the HiPhone i32 which is a dead ringer for the iPhone, but if you hold these phones side by side you’ll see that the SciPhone is much thinner.
Functioning And Quality: This phone is very zippy and intuitive. This makes it very user friendly. I have not found any problems with it. It’s a solid little gadget that doesn’t feel cheap or lacking in any way.
Pricing: Right now, this phone starts at about $150. I don’t think that’s a bad price when you consider most of the older clones are in the $100 range and you’d expect to pay a bit more for the newest, sleekest features.
The other day, I had someone contact me on one of my blogs asking if I thought it would make sense to get the iPod touch just for web surfing.? Since they were under the impression that none of the clones had WiFi, they wanted the iTouch for the web browsing.? They did not want to have to pay a lot of money for a monthly data package and since they already had a low cost cell phone and plan that they liked, they reasoned that they’d get the Touch just so they could get online.?
I responded that I have nothing?at all against the Touch,?I’m sure it would?work?fine for these purposes.? However, I explained that there are actually a few clones that do have?WiFi, so he could actually get?web browsing,?phone capabilities, MP3 / MP4, Bluetooth, digital camera / web cam,?FM radio, etc.?without ever having to leave?the carrier he’s with now (assuming he has a GSM carrier). ?This article will focus on one of the clones that I suggested, the M88 smartphone, and will describe some of the features that make this one of the smartest clones on the market.
The M88 And WiFi (as well as GPS and Windows):? Other than the CECT T32, the M88 is one of the few decent clones that offers Wi Fi.? But, it also has GPS and Windows Mobile 6.0.? Many people really like having Windows on their phone since many use this at the office as well.? You can also use?applications and software like SKYPE,?MSN, Mobile QQ,?Word, Excel, MSN Chat, and read / view PDF / PPT documents.
The M88 And Java:? It wasn’t until recently that the iPhone clones started offering Java support in models like the i68 (SciPhone) and the i9.? This phone supports Java as well and has a very nice gaming experience. There are literally thousands of games available for download, including NES and Java QQ.? This phone vibrates during games which my kids really like.?
The TV Out Feature: The MiPhone, (as this phone is also sometimes called), has what is called the “TV out” feature, which means that you can hook the phone up to a TV to show the video stored on the phone on a larger screen.? So, say you take video of your kid’s soccer game for his grandparents.? They aren’t stuck squinting to watch the game on a tiny screen.? They can watch it on your TV just by connecting the phone.
This phone doesn’t have the “shake and tilt” feature, though.? But most people who want this phone?are more interested in productivity and find shake control a bit “quirky.”
Quad Band Upgrade:? Of the two smartphones I mentioned before (the T32 and this one) only this model is quad band.? The difference is the 850 MHZ band (some AT&T customers and some Cingular folks are on this).? Many people are totally fine with a tri band, but if you are on the 850 MHZ, you will need a quad band.
Camera(s) Upgrade: This phone actually has two cameras.? The main camera is 2 mega pixels, which is better than most clones, which have 1.3 MPs.? This phone also has a spare camera which is 0.3 aka VGA.? I’m not sure what the point of this is.? I only use the 2MP camera.
Expandable Memory And Transferring Data: You can transfer data with a USB data cable (which usually comes with the phone) or via memory card.?
Price wise, this phone is typically well less than an iTouch (usually around $200 – $250, depending upon memory) and you’re free to use your own carrier. You also have all of the other goodies typical of an iPhone.