Mobile phone and wireless

Only in China: One phone to rule them all

phone160.jpg
The Black-Voda-Pod. Click to enlarge.
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, is famous for being the home of China's most beloved (and endangered) species - the Giant Panda. Last week, while visiting the city, I discovered that together with rare animal species, Chengdu is also home to one of the 21st century's most remarkable digital creatures: the Black-Voda-Pod.

The Black-Voda-Pod, also known as the Voda-Pod-Berry, encapsulates the dreams and realities of China's average mobile phone user: It is a fake BlackBerry device, sporting a fake Vodafone logo, and running a fake iPhone operating system, including a fake Opera web browser. And it works too.

The owner, a local soldier, did not seem to find this to be unusual in any way. "The only problem", he told me, "is that the BlackBerry Push Mail in not working. It's just not available in China". Strange, mine seems to work.

Further investigations with local community revealed that the "Emulational Mobile Phone" (山寨手机) is gaining popularity due to its sleek design, low cost, and general appeal.

There are currently 13 Comments for Only in China: One phone to rule them all.

Comments on Only in China: One phone to rule them all

it's a very common mobile in Vietnam. In my office of 50 persons, there is at least 10 of this mobiles.

Chinese is a very creative nation

Erm, copying everyone and patching it in one product, you call that creative ?

'Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination...And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to."

-- Jim Jarmusch

I'm sure this will be misinterpreted but its worth a shot.

actually that would be very convenient, does it works with AT&T here?

i've seen SonyEverything for 300 RMB Yuan. you've gotta admit they do place a good sense of humour in these products and it's an intriguing cultural economic phenomenon.

“It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to."
----------------------i will remember the quote!

It's not fake, it's just second-hand. I've got one for 380 yuan.

Sab - this one was fake.

what is a "fake iphone operating system"? more specifics...?

Kurt: I don't have any details available. I only held it in my hand for a minute. The OS looked like the iPod's, but it had different functions. I don't know which platform it runs on. Maybe one of our readers has more info...

It's a second-hand blackberry,which runs a RIM system with some iphone theme.

PCPop is running an ad from a Shanghai electronics dealer for an in-box, 299-yuan Blackberry 7290 (refurb?), and this iPhone theme also comes in a black variant. Which is not to say that this isn't a fake, but it'd be pretty cheap to set yourself up with a legit Blackberry, too.

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