Yes the iPad is cool… yes it's expensive at the registered Apple store but that doesn't mean you should go shopping for it in China. Here's one tech guru's explination why
The introduction of the iPad has created quite a stir on the internet inside the cool tech gadgets community and outside.
Many people had their money put aside even before the iPad had been released,
with many making it out to be amongst the best tech gadgets before it had even been released.
So what can happen when such a release as this creates such a storm? Certain unscrupulous 'pirate' manufacturers try to take advantage of the buzz.
There are companies in China that are excellent at making replicas of almost any product and they have come up with numerous 'iPads' that are not in fact Apple approved.
It can be very difficult to spot the difference unless you know what to look for. The trouble is if you have never seen the device close up before then how can you compare a fake to a real one?
Untrustworthy Websites
Sellers on Alibaba and other China trading sites have put these replicas on their own websites for sale.
They then proceeded to lead people to believe that these were in fact original iPads when there were not.
Unsuspecting buyers in their eagerness to have one of these devices then jump at the chance to get them at a ‘bargain’ price.
So what Alibaba sellers and other sites have done is use the hype around the product to deceive buyers into paying for a replica device.
When you consider that the iPad hasn’t even been released in China, 14737 (the number of iPads on Alibaba) is a large number of iPads to be listed on a site based there.
False Specs
Some manufacturers made slight mistakes with regards to the specs of the iPad making it possible for consumers to question their purchase.
Things like the wrong processors, wrong screen size, wrong camera specs or telephone capabilities were posted in the specifications of the fake devices.
Wrong Price
Some of the manufacturers were a lot cleverer and kept the specs closer to what the real iPad offered.
The only indication that something was wrong was how cheaply they were selling the new product for. Everyone already had an idea of how much these pieces of ingenuity would cost.
Chinas Reputation
China is now the fastest growing economy in the world and with that comes responsibility. We all know that China is well known for its boot-legging and fake products.
The thing is in the past you always knew you were getting a fake product. This new deception is a step in the wrong direction and needs to be addressed. These sites must be removed and stricter guidelines set in place to keep track of such scammers.
Some wholesalers are taking a stand
Some genuine electronics sellers are actually speaking out against this practice though, saying it only makes life difficult for them.
They say their reputation as a honest tech gadgets supplier is tainted by outside influences. We all have a tendency to tar people with the same brush, guilty by association if you will.
Although they added that the specs could very well match the real iPad, it was still important for websites to be honest and totally transparent about what they were selling.
