Cheaper
clones of Apple’s much-awaited smartwatches are being advertised on
China’s most popular online shopping service, Alibaba, a day after
launch.
Alibaba’s Taobao site listed devices branded the AW08 and the iWatch, reported the BBC.
Both
the models feature “digital crown” dials on their sides, similar-styled
straps and user interface graphics that resemble Apple’s upcoming
wearable device.
AW08 selling on Taobao.com
They however, run on Google’s Android platform rather than Apple’s Watch iOS.
The
devices are priced at about 250 yuan, which is just a fraction of the
mammoth 2,588 yuan that Apple will charge for its smartwatch when it
goes to sale next month.
The counterfeit devices do not feature the same heart-monitoring sensors on their rear but boast of longer battery life.
A spokeswoman for Alibaba said that the company was dedicated to the fight against counterfeits.
According
to a report in Mashable, there were Apple Watch copycat watches on sale
at CES as well. In fact the reporter actually bought one for $27 at the
event in Las Vegas. The ‘Smart Watch’ was made by Shenzen based company
called Hyperdon.
Apple
products are quite popular in China. But according to Matthew Forney,
president of business consultancy Fathom China, most consumers in China
are aware of the issue with fakes and copycats on Taobao. Also people
buying these products are aware of the fact that they aren’t buying the
real Watch.
According
to an intellectual property lawyer, Apple is not going after these
companies as blocking the sale of these fakes can lead to expensive
litigations and could be time-consuming.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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