Now the iClone is here

Can't afford the iPhone ? Try its Chinese clone, available in the city for Rs8,000 – one-third the price of the original.

For anything manufactured anywhere, there's a cheap Chinese counterpart. Now, it's the turn of high-end mobile phones to get their Chinese avatars.

So the Nokia N95 has a twin named Nokla N95, and the iPhone has a clone named 9U. It may not have all the features of the iPhone, but is remarkably similar in appearance and function, including bluetooth technology that allows you to transfer data with other bluetooth-enabled gadgets wirelessly.

For the throwaway-minded gen next, the 'China phones' as they're called are becoming popular options. "They're so cheap that you don't have to worry about losing or replacing them," says Geetanjali Parekh, who decided to give the big brands a miss and went instead for a Chinese phone about two inches long for Rs6,000. "It looks cool, and the sound quality is great."

Apart from rip-offs of the popular brands, Chinese phones also come in funky new designs. Popular ones are shaped like Porsche and Ferrari cars as well as Marlboro and 555 cigarette packs.

In fact, Chinese manufacturers produce new models every week for people who want to flaunt designs that stand out from the crowd, so much so that dealers are finding it hard to keep up with them.

"With new models launched every week, it becomes difficult for us to choose which ones to stock up on," says Farookh Qureishi, a mobile phone vendor in Manish market. 

Another vendor, Zakhir Ahmed, who has a store in Parle West, adds: "We have to update our stocks regularly. No one these days hangs on to one model for long. This is even more so with China phones as they are not expensive."

The phones are becoming popular with college students, who want the latest features at the cheapest price. Nikita Tailor, who recently bought one, gushes: "My phone has FM, TV, a big touchscreen, internet connectivity and a high-resolution camera.

Did I mention that it has a TV and that I can watch 66 channels on it by simply connecting a cable wire to the phone? I can also watch Doordarshan anytime, anywhere." Dipti Agarwal, who has a phone named Anycall, which has a three-way sliding interface, says it gives her the feeling of playing on a PlayStation Portable at quarter the price.

Nobody will guarantee the durability of these phones. But with the most expensive of them costing no higher than Rs8,000, no one's complaining.