Posted on 09/29/2010 9:48:27 AM PDT by PugetSoundSoldier
The Apple Peel 520, a Chinese-developed product that drew the media's attention for being able to turn an iPod Touch into an iPhone-like device, is coming to America.
The add-on device, which just went on sale in China, has been billed as a more affordable option for users wanting to get their hands on an iPhone, but lack the budget. The Apple Peel is a protective case equipped with a dock connector, battery and SIM card, that slips on to an iPod Touch. Once connected and properly installed, the device will allow the iPod Touch to make phone calls and send text messages.
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.idg.com.au ...
Take your $200 iPod, add a $75 sleeve, and have a replacement for your iPhone that is carrier-agnostic: no need for AT&T since this sleeve takes SIM cards (normal sized ones at that) and you're not locked to a specific carrier.
Makes you wonder why you can make an iPhone from a $200 iPod and a $75 sleeve, how AT&T and Apple can "justify" a price nearly twice that amount!
Anyway, this is a VERY creative idea...
Thought you’d get a kick out of this - get an unlocked, normal-SIM-card-using iPhone for half price, thanks to a slick add-on for an iPod Touch!
Cool device, but you’re not quite getting an iPhone. It will be missing some features, and it’ll be bigger and heavier.
Prediction:
The very next “update” will “break” this device. Apple had a running series of updates to ensure that Palm devices would not synch.
You could probably do this with a MicroSoft Zune, too, but nobody’s bothered.
Wonder why, lol?
Source: OSX Daily - iPhone 4 16GB without contract: $599 , iPhone 4 32GB without contract: $699
An unlocked, no-contract iPhone (which is what you get with this sleeve and an iPod) would run you at least $600, versus $275 for this approach.
They might be able to break it (it uses the audio in/out of the 30 pin Apple Dock connector), but given the rate of jailbreaking releases (which are basically breaking the OS), any break would be a few days at most before it's overcome once again.
Sensational!
the device will allow the iPod Touch to make phone calls and send text messages.
A little bit less sensational, but more accurate. I don't have an iPhone, but I know they have stuff like GPS...and the apps that rely on GPS will, of course, not work. Probably more features, but I am not that familiar with the iPhone. Still cool, but the headline certainly grabs ya.
I look forward to seeing what others do with that connector. At the rollout, one thing that was shown was a blood-sugar monitor - very handy.
“Apple Peel”?
My crystal ball shows a trademark infringement suit pending in the near future...
Good luck suing anybody in China.
Debatable...but it was my understanding they would market their product in the US. The most litigious country in the world and home of Apple. Don’t think old Steve-o is just going to let this slide... Are you aware of the legal instruments Apple has at hand to prevent such marketing/trademark infringement?
Sure, then they can call it just “the Peel” for use with iPhones. No problem doing that, you can use another company’s name if you’re building a product that works with that other company’s products. That’s fair use of a trademark.
You’re confusing the original issue.
I said that they’d likely face opposition if they’d call it the “Apple Peel”.
Now you’re saying they might be OK if they call it something else.
DUH!!!
You think they’ll call it the Apple Peel in the US? Seriously?
No, they’ll probably call it the Peel, compatible with the Apple iPod Touch.
You took offense and made a guess at a non-issue...
That said, what do you think of the concept?
I just said that IF they call it the Apple Peel in the US, they’d likely be sued by Apple. No offense taken in any way.
The concept? Don’t know the products personally, but it sounds like they found a nifty way to give customers what Apple wont.
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