Watch out Apple! The Goophone I5 is here!

Ahead of its release, Apple’s iPhone 5 has new demons to tackle in Chinese cloners who have not only audaciously copied the device to come up with their own cheap version but also hold your breathe for this – run Android software on it! And calling it the Goophone I5!

For a number of years, Chinese underground cloning industry has been in operation and has been successfully creating clones of popular devices, and the iPhone 5 is only an addition to the long list of gadgets that have been unceremoniously copied over the years.

With Apple being busy suing Samsung for infringement of its patents, Chinese cloners worked overtime to not only build a clone but even release it before the original iPhone 5. The cloned iPhone 5 is a replica of the original with rounded corners, the eponymous single button and the lock-screen that is synonymous with iPhone.

But the picture changes as soon the user unlocks the device. There isn’t be any Apple’s iOS operating system powering this device. Instead, the device runs on Android. Yes, you read it right! Moreover, the design is that of iPhone 4S with a 3.5-inch, contrary to the iPhone 5 leaks that say that the device will have a 4-inch screen.

Also, the back-case appears to have Android’s ‘Honeycomb’ logo, indicating that the device runs the previous version of Android’s OS. The phone features a 5MP camera with a 940 x 640 resolution, which is nowhere close to Apple’s Retina displays.

So the desperate Chinese have done it again with the Goophone which has a proud track-record of ripping off Apple gear – its Goophone Y5 4S looks almost exactly like the current version of the iPhone.

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