iPod-to-iPhone gizmo in stores
By Zhu Shenshen |
October 12, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IF you are unwilling or unable to get the 4,999 yuan (US$750) iPhone 4, you have an alternative at a fraction of the iPhone cost: the Apple Peel, which can turn an iPod Touch into an iPhone.
The Peel, developed by two brothers in Shenzhen, is on the shelf in the domestic market including Shanghai, Shanghai Daily learned yesterday.
The black Apple Peel 520 costs 580 yuan in electronic malls in the city. Adding that to an iPod Touch starting at 1,798 yuan, it's less than half the cost of the 4,999 yuan iPhone 4.
"It's very popular, just like iPhone 4," said a shopper in a Buynow electronics mall in Xujiahui area.
The Peel is a skin that fits over the iPod Touch's case and adds a SIM (subscriber identity module) card, battery and dock connector, along with apps to handle phone calls and messages.
To use the Peel, people have to "jailbreak" their iPod Touch, which is easy to find how to do online - but legal experts said that may pose problems for users. After that, users will lose the guarantee of their iPod Touch.
The device is also ready to enter the US market, through the US distributor Go Solar.
It is an apparent threat to Apple, which recently released a new iPod Touch with added functions that mimic the iPhone 4, including high-definition Retina display and voice-call function FaceTime.
Apple China declined yesterday to comment on the Peel.
At present, the Peel supports only basic functions and short messages. Advanced functions like mobile Internet are being tested and will be released "soon" through software updates, according to developer Yosion, founded by Pan Yong and Pan Lei, brothers in their 20s.
People can get the Peel at about 520 yuan if they pre-order it online and wait for about two weeks, shoppers told Shanghai Daily. People can also order the device on auction website taobao.com.
Buyers of iPhone 4 in the Chinese mainland's Apple Stores, which have sold wildly since their debut on September 25, have been required to place an online pre-order first.
The Peel, developed by two brothers in Shenzhen, is on the shelf in the domestic market including Shanghai, Shanghai Daily learned yesterday.
The black Apple Peel 520 costs 580 yuan in electronic malls in the city. Adding that to an iPod Touch starting at 1,798 yuan, it's less than half the cost of the 4,999 yuan iPhone 4.
"It's very popular, just like iPhone 4," said a shopper in a Buynow electronics mall in Xujiahui area.
The Peel is a skin that fits over the iPod Touch's case and adds a SIM (subscriber identity module) card, battery and dock connector, along with apps to handle phone calls and messages.
To use the Peel, people have to "jailbreak" their iPod Touch, which is easy to find how to do online - but legal experts said that may pose problems for users. After that, users will lose the guarantee of their iPod Touch.
The device is also ready to enter the US market, through the US distributor Go Solar.
It is an apparent threat to Apple, which recently released a new iPod Touch with added functions that mimic the iPhone 4, including high-definition Retina display and voice-call function FaceTime.
Apple China declined yesterday to comment on the Peel.
At present, the Peel supports only basic functions and short messages. Advanced functions like mobile Internet are being tested and will be released "soon" through software updates, according to developer Yosion, founded by Pan Yong and Pan Lei, brothers in their 20s.
People can get the Peel at about 520 yuan if they pre-order it online and wait for about two weeks, shoppers told Shanghai Daily. People can also order the device on auction website taobao.com.
Buyers of iPhone 4 in the Chinese mainland's Apple Stores, which have sold wildly since their debut on September 25, have been required to place an online pre-order first.
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