Keepin' it real fake: Part IX - MSC's Dino A nano

We demand perfection from ourselves and our gadget ripoffs, and this MSC "Dino A" effort just isn't cutting it. Sure they managed to cop the size of the iPod nano exactly, but what's with this screen aspect ratio departure? Tsk tsk. It comes in flavors from 256MB to 1GB and boasts decent format support, including video - but it could have been so much more. Especially for this crazy $61 asking price.

[Via The MP3 Players]

[Arthur Barnhouse @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

It comes in flavors from 256MB to 1GB and boasts decent format support, INCLUDING VIDEO (Emphasis added)

reading is fun.

Anyways, I thought that the flash market was at a critical shortage, what with tiny asian companies kicking the bucket left and right. why are there so many rip-offs being pumped out in this market environment?

[Stan Marsh @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

That kind of looks like a 4:3 aspect ratio, but actually its a wacky 1:1 ratio. Widescreen bars anyone?

- Unique MTV, AMV movie function and GIF animation function

That sounds a bit misleading for an "mp3" player.
Kinda like "movie support - maybe". But no, don't dream of it, and anyway; a 1 1/2 inch screen to play a movie? Save the batteries, and let me listen to my music without useless distractions. Bottom line,
$61 is a pretty sweat deal if you ask me.

[jaydee @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

#1: Excellent recognition of sarcasm. Full marks.

[Shin @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

Do I see windows media player in that screenshot??

[Question Answerer @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

Indeed you do #4. Who'd 'ave guessed that it could also run XP?

[Oskar Syahbana @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

Isn't this an infringement to the design copyright? Does Apple already registered the copyright if at all?

[Special_K @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

China is very very lax with its copyright laws #6. Even if Apple were to want to litigate against these companies (which they really should) they would have to ask the Chineese government to do so, and they (the Chineese) refuse to acknowledge the idea of intelectual or patent copyrights.

[Will M. @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

#1: How about, clone of Nano (plus larger screen and video) for $61, and nobody wonders why anybody pays at least $100 for a cot-damn SHUFFLE?

[Arthur Barnhouse @ Dec 19th 2005 2:32AM]

"they (the Chineese) refuse to acknowledge the idea of intelectual or patent copyrights."

Well, sort of. They acknowledge copyrights that they own, just no one elses. The biggest problem is that, at this stage, knockoff product accounts for too much of the Chinese enconomy for the government to actually do anything about it.

[Barry Mitchum @ Dec 22nd 2005 1:00AM]

Actually, there are quite literally dozens of manufacturers in China either making or marketing these nano rip-offs. Go to alibaba or made-in-china.com and have a look around and you will find many, many such examples. They are sometimes even called "nano". The dimensions are within a mm. or two of apple's but the screens screens are *always* bigger, and usually do video.



The knock-offs are naturally cheaper than the apple, but not by as much as you might think. The reason is that the knock-off makers [almost all of whom seem to be in Shenzhing] have to pay ~USD48 for 1GB NAND flash chips, while apple gets 2GBs for about USD54, according to iSuppli



http://www.isuppli.com/marketwatch/default.asp?id=316



Very few of the knock-offs are bigger than 1GB. A few use two chips to produce a 2GB model, none makes a 4GB model. And they *are* worried about apple, despite appearances to the contrary.

[Barry Mitchum @ Dec 22nd 2005 1:04AM]

That should read shenzhen, my apologies

[Peter M @ Dec 24th 2005 9:00AM]

See my website for comments on this, including comments #11/12 Barry above has "quoted"

http://aussie149.wordpress.com/2005/12/

[Barry Mitchum @ Dec 30th 2005 10:54PM]

http://www.made-in-china.com/showimages/111/400005765/0/Apple_MP3/IPOD_Earphone_(PHN0001R).jpg



With a name like that, they can't be fake!