Chinese co claims Apple stole iPad design, name
Now a tiny electronics company in southern China is claiming that Apple didn’t steal just the name of its product, but also its design. Wu Xiaolong, Executive Director of Shenzhen Great Loong Industrial, says that last July, his company released a tablet computer called the P88. “Anyone who sees the P88 will realise the iPad looks exactly the same,” he said, adding “We talked to a lawyer and we’re preparing material for a lawsuit.”
Superficial resemblance
The products bear a superficial resemblance, but fundamentally seem rather different. The P88, which can be seen on the Web site of the tiny electronics maker, runs Microsoft Windows instead of Apple’s iPhone operating system, has an Intel chip, uses a 10-inch-diagonal screen (the Apple iPad is 9.7 inches) and is priced at $570, a bit more than the basic iPad model. It is about a pound heavier than Apple’s device and boasts a battery life of 1.5 hours, compared to the iPad’s claimed 10-hour life. In challenging Apple, Great Loong is trying to take a page from the playbook of America’s technology giants, which for years have complained about how small electronics firms in southern China clone the look –– and sometimes other components and features –– of branded goods, including the iPhone, Nokia cellphones and Dell computers. Some of these cheap knockoffs –– called shanzhai goods –– are popular in rural areas of China because they look like the real thing but cost significantly less.
Own creation
Wu said Great Loong developed its iPad totally on its own. “The P88’s appearance, system and mode are all accomplished by our own engineers,” he said.
Great Loong says it has already signed deals to ship the P88 to France, Germany, Japan and the United States.
An Apple spokesman declined to comment on Great Loong’s claims.