AW08 (Photo : www.taobao.com)
Apple announced that its highly-anticipated Apple Watch will be officially released next month; however this news did not deter enterprising Chinese manufacturers to create their own imitated version of the much-awaited smartwatch.
Chinese counterfeiting is a massive worldwide market that imitates almost any kind of product, from ready-to-wear clothes to digital devices and the biggest marketplace of this is Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce website.
A report from Yahoo News said that one of the advertisers in Taobao is flaunting a product described as "Apple Smart Watch with Bluetooth Bracelet."
Photos used on the Taobao website appear to be real Apple Watch. Some advertised products include features such as text messaging and music player. Introductory price starts at 288 Yuan which is about $45, official Apple pricing for the Apple Watch is $349 for the entry-level model.
Another Apple Watch imitation was caught by Market Watch, which reported the AW08 Watch that claims to have "the same design as Apple's iWatch." The report added that the AW08 has additional features not even present in the Apple Watch such as complete compatibility with Google and it also runs on the Android platform.
Many tech and business analyst said that the overflowing of counterfeit products in China is evidence of the country's growing electronics industry. The counterfeit market attracts skilled electronics manufacturer to create their own products based on devices offered on the world market and what entices customers to buy it is its affordability.
It is also important to note that some of the world's biggest computer and mobile phone manufacturers have set up their own manufacturing plant in China. However, China's own tech companies have only started to develop its own unique brand of breakthrough products.
