The budget iPhone 5C is almost upon us, and as the experts, commentators and consumers continue to estimate the eventual retail price of the so-called low-cost device, it certainly won’t be anywhere near as cheap as its Chinese clone. Yes, the knockoff-ers are back in force in time for the release of Apple’s next range of handsets, and while the knockoff iPhone 5C won’t run on iOS 7, it will only set you back a mere hundred bucks!
The company behind it, GooPhone, is famous for its knockoff Apple products, and while the conspicuously-named “i5C” looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 5C based upon the heavy dose of leaks we have been treated to hitherto, it also has a fairly substantial, if not mind-boggling, range of specs to match the look.
Unfortunately, the 4-inch display of the GooPhone i5C is not of the Retina variety, but while the 960×540 resolution panel may not look as sharp as we’ve come to expect from the iPhone range, it’s not bad considering the price. Moreover, there’s a 1.2GHz dual-core processor to keep things ticking over, and the device will also offer 3G, so those not yet courted by the LTE bug can still enjoy a relatively solid connection speed.
The i5C packs 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel main snapper, allied to a 2-megapixel front-facing job. The device will cost just $99 in China, and on visual assessment after considering the specs, it doesn’t look that bad a deal. Gone are the days where Chinese knockoffs were simply dire representations of the real deal, for in the modern digital era, the fakery continues to offer a decent package for a fraction of the price.
We have seen some pretty good fakes in recent times, and while the i5C does a passable job in impersonating the iPhone 5C, we think the user experience will generally be found wanting. The fact that Apple builds both software and hardware for its products means that, with this harmonious optimization, the company doesn’t have to over-exert with the latter, and thus, the “low-cost” iPhone can remain exactly that. Unfortunately, with a mid-range list of specs and running on Android, we doubt the i5C will run anything like as smoothly, but hey, at such an asking price, I’m sure many in the Chinese market will happily hand over their cash.
(via: GizChina | CultofAndroid)
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