What is this you might ask. A new iPhone? a cheap Chinese clone? well the answer to this question is not as clear cut as you may think. After Apple dropped the iPhone bomb shell in January of 2007 mobile phone manufacturers around the world have been struggling to respond to the huge hype created by Apples marketing machine and the massive game changing effect that the 'Jesus phone' has had on the industry. Even powerhouses like Samsung and Nokia have taken to whacking extra mega pixels on their phone cameras and bumping the GB's of memory in their devices to try and combat the lure of Apples silky smooth interface.

However the iPhone has not been without it's critics. Common complaints have included: Chaining to itunes/network carriers, pricey contracts, poor audio/video format support, crippled bluetooth, no cut and paste, no video recording, poor quality camera and no removable battery to name a few. Hackers the world over have even taken it upon themselves to try and break the chains from apples restricted platform. But what if there was another contender, a rogue pretender with intentions of unleashing a device that may just do everything the iPhone can and more....... Click the link for the rest.

This is where a small Chinese company by the name of Meizu step in. While the name Meizu may be unfamiliar to many in the West, the company has been quietly churning out well recieved MP3/4 media players over the last few years. Although frowned upon by some for their 'Apple inspired ' aesthetics, Meizu is certainly not just another Chinese ipod clone manufacturer. In fact their 'M6 Mini Player' has received favourable reviews from many large tech websites and magazines including Cnet.com and has been accredited with having some of the best sound quality in the industry (often attributed to their use of an audio chip manufactured by a Scottish electronics company by the name of Wolfson, who provided the sound chips for the first few incarnations of the ipod). Meizu also secured a deal with flash memory giant Dane-Elec who now distribute their players throughout Europe and the US.


After almost 2 years, a whole host of different heavily iPhone inspired renderings and mock ups, numerous forum posts and promises from Meizu's CEO not to mention a raft of tech show no shows and missed release dates, it does however seem that this mysterious device may actually see the light of day after all.

Nevertheless the road has been fraught with controversy. Many believe that this phone is just another in a long line of shameless iPhone clones and knock off's too emerge from China which simply attempts to mimic the look and feel of Apples reveered device with no original thought or innovation taking place at all. However at the same time a whole other school of thought has emerged that is pinning it's hopes on this device being the media communications powerhouse that the iPhone had the potential to be but......with no restrictions, no locks and no Apple making the rules. Large tech blogs such as Engadget have even added fuel to the the fire by posting tid bits of information on the M8's progress sparking debates between the pro Apple lobbyists and the Meizu fan boys which have at times even descended into US vs China copyright law face offs and racial slagging matches.

So the question remains what distinguishes this jumped up pretender from any other phone that has tried to steal some of Apples almost infallible glow. The answer is in the components. Now while the copycats of China's Multi billion dollar fakes industry attempt daily to copy the iPhone or infact any phone produced by the large manufacturers, as you would expect 10 times out of 10 they use cheap components, have horrendous build quality, terrible software, dodgy logos and comical phrases written on them like 'Super Apple Mp4 player'. In my opinion Meizu's M8 can certainly not be classed in this category.

The M8's main processing unit is a Samsung/ARM (6410) processor. This processor is from the exact same family of processors that is used in the iPhone except...the one Meizu will be using will be faster, clocking in at around 667 or 800Mhz it is still unclear (the iPhone clock speed is said to be around 624Mhz). It will also use Samsung nand flash memory, the same type used in the iPhone and many high end flash memory based electronic devices. It is also rumoured to include a Wolfson Audio chip, which is said to produce superior sound quality than the processing unit found in the iPhone. The M8 will also include a 3.4 inch 720x480 resolution capacitive touch screen again trumping the iPhones 480x320 resolution touchscreen (although it is o.1 inch smaller). Not to mention the fact that Meizu will also include their own flavour of Apples famous 'Multi-touch' technology which allows for multiple finger inputs on the device enabling features like photo 'pinching' etc. Like the iPhone it will also incorporate an accelerometer for changing screen orientation automatically. But unlike the iPhone it will also come with support for a whole host of Audio and Video formats (AVI, H.264, MP3, OGG, FLAC to name a few) and will be capable of decoding video up to full DVD resolution, (720x480) which I believe to be a first for any mobile phone on the planet.

Other features and technologies on board include a USB 2.0 host port for plugging in peripherals and hard drives etc. A removable 1200mah battery, a 3.2mp camera, 128mb (1st 8gb version)/256mb of ram (second 16gb version), Opera's latest mobile web browser (9.5), cut and paste, TV-out, Line-out, unrestricted Bluetooth 2.0 & Wifi 802.11b/g. It will also be completely unlocked and available off line for use on any carrier (although initially only in China). It will also be able to be used as a storage solution and not require syncing software and the SDK (software development kit) will be made publicly available after it's release too.

The interface itself will be built on top of Microsoft's latest windows embedded operating system, Win CE 6.0 which is targeted to enterprise specific tools such as industrial controllers and consumer electronics. Not to be confused with Microsoft's current Mobile operating system Windows Mobile 6.1 (which places far more restrictions upon it's programming) Win CE 6.0 will actually form the basis for Microsoft's next generation of Mobile operating system Windows Mobile 7 which it is said will be heavily graphics driven and gesture/touch orientated. The use of Windows CE 6.0 is also also another 1st I believe for any phone available (in the west anyway).

The Graphical User interface has also been part designed by respected Chinese design house Eico who have recently worked with Chinese computer giant Lenovo (formerly IBM) on their latest 'Ideapad' range of internet devices. The best thing about the whole package though is that it is that the 8GB entry level unit will cost below £200! with the 16GB looking version said to come in around the £220 mark. Unfortunately the initial release will not include 3G but it is said that a 3G model will follow in due course.

Now while this all sounds very promising on paper, almost to good to be true, there are certainly no guarantees as to when we will see this device or crucially...how well it will perform in the real world. Meizu are said to be currently negotiating a mobile phone license with the Chinese government and are hoping to release sometime in October or November. However Meizu's track record when it comes to sticking to release dates is not exactly steller and I personally would not expect it to be as polished as an Apple device on it's initial release either. Bare in mind also that initially it will only be available in China so importing will really be the only option for those looking to get their hands on one.

Here is the only video available of the device in action, it shows Meizu's CEO J.Wong using a prototype (that it not softcore porn on the screen btw it is a famous Japenese pin up). iClone or iPhone killer the M8 has already made it's mark and stirred up considerable controversy despite it's illusiveness. But with a domestic market of over 1 billion people and a legion of foreign fans itching to get their grubby mits on one...one thing is for sure...they are definitely gonna shift a few units. Take a look at the device in action and judge for yourself...


Please visit the international Meizu fan Forums for more news and info:

Meizu Me - Meizu Fan Site