Hasta La Gadget!

May 19

Chinese Counterfeiters Release First Android Tablet

Posted in: Android, Google, tablets, Today's Chili

Chinese counterfeiters have beaten Google to producing an Android tablet.

The Chinese wholesaler ActFind, which carries knockoffs of many electronics including iPhones and iPods, is selling an iPad-lookalike running the Android OS.

Priced at $150, the Android tablet is haphazardly labeled “MINI iPadⅡ8 Inch Android1.6 Ebook Tablet PC UMPC MID Netbook.” According to the product description, it features an 8-inch touchscreen, Ethernet and Wi-FI connectivity, a USB port, 88MB of built-in storage (expandable to 16GB with a TF card) and an 800-MHz VIA processor. The tablet runs version 1.6 of the Android OS.

China is notorious for its knockoff culture. When manufacturers release products, counterfeiters move quickly to replicate gadgets using cheaper parts to offer inexpensive alternatives through the black market. Shenzhen, the southern Chinese boomtown near the border with Hong Kong, harbors a prolific knockoff market. The town is home to a number of tiny shops selling pirated versions of everything from bootleg copies of Microsoft Windows 7 to fake MacBook Airs, according to Reuters.

Google’s plans to make a tablet are unofficial, but multiple publications have received tips that an Android slate is imminent. Though you can own an Android tablet today thanks to knockoff makers, we generally wouldn’t recommend purchasing counterfeits. The iPhone clone we bought through ActFind in 2008 was one of the worst gadgets we’ve ever tested. Also, legitimate manufacturers have warned consumers that fake products pose potential health hazards, such as exploding batteries.

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