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| Androids have landed on Shenzhen’s beach Photo Danny Friedmann |
By Michiel Tjoe-Awie
The market penetration of Google’s Android mobile operating system came second, behind Nokia’s Symbian but was preferred above Apple’s iOS. The iPad is still the most popular “pad”. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have the best of both worlds. I mean that Apple would strike a deal with Google to make a variation of iPad, running on Google’s Android operating system. Unthinkable? Why? Just because it should contradict Apple’s goal to dominate the market for operating systems? Remember you once learned the difference between a consumers (demand) market, and a manufacturers (supply) market? If the consumer dictates the manufacturer what to make we talk about a demand market, a manufacturers market works the other way around. The Chinese plan economy was a typical example of the latter. But thinks has changed. Now it provides only what the market wants. No boundaries. The market has made it’s request and has produced a miraculous new product. Something like a beautiful woman that likes to watch football or a child that likes to listen or a dog that doesn’t smell or an iPad with a Android operating system. What? I said: “an iPad with an Android operating system!”
Copycats are not hindered by the animosity between Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt (from Google). So the unthinkable has become true in the parallel universe of cloning:
Neo of Shanzhai reports that the second generation iPad inspired device in that parallel universe for clones, copycats and counterfeiters Shenzhen will be manufactured with a Google’s Android 2.2 operating system.
By the way in this case the Apple logo was not used on the clone. Design patents and copyright, and even trademark (for the use of the name iPad or when the form was registered as trademark) might be infringed.
Read the Shanzhai article with pictures of genuine and clone for that parlour game: find the differences here.
Text Michiel Tjoe-Awie
