14 DAY TRIAL // Just last week, Softpedia reported that the Japanese had a good-looking mini iPhone selling for just over 100 bucks. This week, the same Export Supermart have revealed a new iPhone clone, called the Sciphone i9+++. The quadband phone is Java-based, yet faithfully replicates the iPhone OS (at least at first glance), as well as the design of the original Apple device. The Sciphone does not support English!
According to its makers, the Sciphone has an accelerometer built in and sports dual-SIM support (a Chinese specialty). Unlike the mini iPhone, the Sciphone boast a big, 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 8GB of memory, FM radio capabilities and ships with not one, but two Li-ion 1200mAh batteries. The phone is also packed with pre-installed Java software, including games.
Unlike the original Apple iPhone, the Sciphone also comes with a stylus to be used with some text-writing applications. The phone is also a media player and recorder (sound and video), and offers out-of-the-box MMS support. Based on the video review available on Export Supermart’s site, this iPhone clone also appears to be smaller than the real device designed in Cupertino, California, and goes for $140. A lengthier list of features, as posted by the makers of the Sciphone i9+++, is available below.
- Quadband Dual Card Dual Standby; - G-sensor function; - Installed Java games with jar package; - 3.2 inch Touch Screen; - 8GB TF card; - FM radio; - 2 x Li-ion 1200mAh batteries; - High-Res TFT display, 260K colors, 240 X 320 pixel resolution (3.2 inch touchscreen); - Integrated SVGA camera 0.3 megapixels (digital zoom, video player, video recorder; - Audio Player (music player, sound recorder, FM radio); - SMS, MMS support; - Memory card - 8GB; - Connectivity and Data Transfer - Bluetooth 2.0, GPRS class 10, WAP 2.0’ - Integrated hands free speaker; - Video recording and streaming; - Melody composer; - Supported Languages: French, Spanish, Portugues, Italian, German, Tieng Viet, Turkce, and Chinese (no English support); - Software (apps) calendar, games, wap, calculator, alarm, world clock, e-book reader, unit and currency converters.
Needless to point out, those who prefer clones instead of the real thing should expect some degree of disappointment as far as functionality is concerned. Softpedia simply reports the existence of clones for informational purposes, but does not advise readers to purchase these devices. To be clear, the Sciphone i9+++ doesn’t even come close to replicating the functionality of the real Apple iPhone.