iPhone Clones - Cect M88 (moved from mobiles)

friendface

I'm sure there have been a number of threads on this topic but, having purchased one of these phones recently, I felt I had to share my experience with them. There's a lot of ambiguity in relation to the naming of these devices so sometimes it is hard to tell exactly what you are going to get. From my experience, I found there are really two breeds of clone; the low-end i-phone look-a-likes and the higher quality smartphones with i-phone interfaces.

There are probably hundreds of variations of i-phone clone so I won't bother going into naming them all. The phone I purchased was the MiPhone M88++ (I think?? ). I originally purchased the M89+ for its enhanced processing power but the seller informed my that it would not work on Irish GSM networks and offered the M88++ with the same features at approximately the same price. It was around €140 unlocked with an 8GB MicroSD card (Courier shipping from HK incl.).

I know there are probably a lot of bad reviews of these phones due to peoples bad experiences with some of the low-end knock-offs which seem to be no more than a dodgy OS in a cheap i-phone shell. However, I have had a great experience with the M88++ which runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 O.S. which I feel is superior in some ways to the iPhone OS. There are millions of apps available freely on the net which is a huge plus. The phone I bought came with a pretty tacky iPhone interface clone which I quickly replaced with an SPB shell which is far more intuitive. The original interface was just made to look like the iPhone OS but many of the icons were not linked correctly or did not work. With a bit of tweaking, this is quite a powerful mobile device. Just to list a few of the main features;

• Built-in Wi-fi
• GPS
• 524MHz processor
• 512MB FLASH+ 256mb sdram
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Operating system
• MicroSD support (up to 16gb)

In case ye are wondering, I am not selling these devices , just wanted to share my experience with what I feel is a quality iPhone clone. On the downside, this phone does not have 3G and the camera is pretty poor (I think it's just a basic VGA camera, although it says it's 2MP. Other than that, you can't beat it for value for money (€140 unlocked vs €550 approx. for an unlocked iPhone).

One word of warning is to be fully sure what phone you are getting as there are so many variations out there and quality can differ significantly. Also, check the MicroSD cards that come with the phone as these are often given false capacity readings (as happened in my case but the seller actually refunded me $15 and I was able to purchase a genuine Sandisk card from dealextreme for a similar price).

Also, the native interface on the device can be pretty awkward (and the user manuals are translated poorly from Chinese to English) so it's worth tweaking the devices with custom interfaces and apps to get it working well.

The Windows Mobile OS is great as it synchronises readily with my laptop whenever the USB is connected (ActiveSync) including sychronising e-mails and contacts from Outlook as well as any scheduled meetings and appointments. The phone also comes with an Office Mobile suite which is particularly handy.

Here is a link to the phone I purchased. I think it's the same model but this is not the same seller. It's the one with Wifi, GPS and 524MHz processor. Some of the older models have a slower CPU.

kmart6

Meh, why pretend that you have an iPhone....seems rather pathetic to me!

Random

hi op, i've moved your post here to the apple media devices forum which it might be more relevant. i know it's not an apple device you have but related i think.

whiterebel

Seeing as its not aniPhone and is running WM, I can't see a reason for it to be in this forum?

Shiny

With a bit of tweaking

I prefer to limit my tweaking to a cydia installation.

Overall I wouldn't go through the hassle when I can
just get a 2nd hand iPhone on adverts for ~€250.

Thanks for the detailed description though.

banquo

kmart6 wrote: »

Meh, why pretend that you have an iPhone....seems rather pathetic to me!

Ah here... it's not like the op is going around pretending it's an iPhone, it's just a phone. At least he was good enough to review a model of something - you never know, it might turn out to be a cheap, super-stable phone.

kmart6

That people will/would try to pass off as an iPhone!!

Fat_Fingers

kmart6 wrote: »

That people will/would try to pass off as an iPhone!!

Not sure that matters anymore. I dont think people would care about that as Iphone is no longer "cool" toy/phone to have, until Iphone 4G comes out. Anyone who wants to be "cool and hip" now would be flashing their HTC Desire. ...until iphone 4G comes out.

Zapho

kmart6 wrote: »

That people will/would try to pass off as an iPhone!!

Here we go.....

There are other devices out there, you know. I don't think the OP is going around saying "oooh like my shiny new iPhone-equivalent". If anything, it encourages some healthy competition.

Fat_Fingers

OP, do tell us how do you find touch screen response compared to Iphone or other touch screens?
Just wondering as some of these touch screen phones are very bad, you have to press a few times before it recognize your command...

friendface

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

OP, do tell us how do you find touch screen response compared to Iphone or other touch screens?
Just wondering as some of these touch screen phones are very bad, you have to press a few times before it recognize your command...

I actually found the touch screen pretty good on this model. It's a resistive touch-screen as opposed to the I-phones capacitive screen and relies on pressure for input. The above phone comes with a stylus which is needed on certain occasions as some of the on-screen keys can be really tiny. However, I manage just fine without a stylus for general use.

I would have thought that the resistive screens would be far less responsive than the I-phone counterparts but I haven't had any issues. Certainly no problems with pressing the screen numerous times to recognize a command.

Edit: Just saw your username - I guess a stylus might not be a bad idea for fat fingers I lost the one that came with my phone but haven't really needed it. If i'm stuck, I just use a paperclip or a pen or whatever is lying around

kmart6

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

Not sure that matters anymore. I dont think people would care about that as Iphone is no longer "cool" toy/phone to have, until Iphone 4G comes out. Anyone who wants to be "cool and hip" now would be flashing their HTC Desire. ...until iphone 4G comes out.

I think anyone who bought it on Vodafone in the last 2 months might disagree with that severely. Also lolz to the Desire being the new ''cool and hip'' phone and the automatic presumption that the iPhone 4th Gen will be when it's released.

Zapho wrote: »

There are other devices out there, you know. I don't think the OP is going around saying "oooh like my shiny new iPhone-equivalent". If anything, it encourages some healthy competition.

No way!!!! There's other phones than the iPhone?!?!?!?:rolleyes:

Competition.....the phone would have to have the same if not better feature set to be marked as competition!

friendface

kmart6 wrote: »

No way!!!! There's other phones than the iPhone?!?!?!?:rolleyes:

Competition.....the phone would have to have the same if not better feature set to be marked as competition!

I was thinking competitiveness in terms of price and value for money. As I've outlined though, this is a highly capable Windows Mobile device. I didn't originally post this in Apple media devices either, it was posted in Mobiles and PDA as the only thing this has in common with an iPhone is some thin plastic casing. Other than that, the two phones are worlds apart.

They have completely different operating systems. I find the above device to have all the functionality I need and the Windows Mobile OS is quite useful in terms of downloading and installing additional apps. There is quite a large community of Windows mobile users and free applications are easily sourced online. I can't claim to have much experience with the iPhone myself but is it not the case that most applications available for the iPhone are developed solely for the iPhone and sold for profit through the app store? Again, I don't have an iPhone so please don't assault me for that statement

I think the conversation has drifted off-topic anyway. I was merely commenting a phone which I found to be excellent (and which happens to be an iPhone clone).

keane2097

kmart6 your posts on this thread have been so full of fail!

kmart6

keane2097 wrote: »

kmart6 your posts on this thread have been so full of fail!

Wanna explain that.....

120_Minutes

kmart6 wrote: »

I think anyone who bought it on Vodafone in the last 2 months might disagree with that severely. Also lolz to the Desire being the new ''cool and hip'' phone and the automatic presumption that the iPhone 4th Gen will be when it's released.

I've my 3gs 3 months on voda and i find myself resisting the urge to annoy friends with what it can do cos i dont want to be "that guy"

the iphone demographic is split in 3: techies who actually use it, non techies who want to be cool regardless of the cost and those inbetween. there are people buying htc as its "not an iphone, everyone has them" and the more tech savvy add "plus its android"

lost prototypes have dented apples secrecy and hype somewhat. but believe me as launch day looms closer, 4g fever will rise.

so thats two of your points refuted, but i'll give you the first, somewhat.

kmart6

Refuted is getting a bit carried away!

Well anyone who tries to brag about what their phone can do just annoys me, its as if they need some reassurance that it's a good phone or something, tech whores who don't know what they're at IMO!

A lot of talk across Mobile blogs that a lot of the leaks have been initiated by Apple themselves after the first one Gizmodo got their hands on!

120_Minutes

kmart6 wrote: »

Refuted is getting a bit carried away!

Well anyone who tries to brag about what their phone can do just annoys me, its as if they need some reassurance that it's a good phone or something, tech whores who don't know what they're at IMO!

i dont need no reassurance. i know my 3gs is a good phone for me and if you get an app once in a while that reminds you of that you can be forgiven for showing it off.

case in point: my thread tonight on the whisper app. never would have found if it weren't for my wife.

kmart6

Ah yeah I know you prob don't need it!