When Chinese manufacturer/retailer Wise Technology came up with the marketing strategy for its ePad, it created a mood board of all the rival products and software… and then stuck it on the box.
The packaging and tablet take inspiration from the iPad, the “e” in the name is from Internet Explorer, and an errant Flash logo has appeared on, what is obviously, an Apple-inspired home screen – signifying that the ePad runs on Android. Even in the accompanying photos, it physically transforms from an iPad-alike into a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
We suspect that the truth is that the nice flock wallpaper shots of the device are the best indication of what you’ll get in the box; something fatter but similar to Apple’s hugely successful device. While the other pics possibly show off the operating system, as the ePad itself is operated on Android 2.1.
In fact, the spec list of the bizarre knock-off is reasonable, possibly even impressive. It sports a 10.2-inch (albeit resistive) touchscreen, with a 1GHz CPU. There’s 256MB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage (upgradable by up to an extra 32GB through memory card). And there’s two USB ports.
But its biggest attraction, apart from being able to pass it off as a genuine iPad to your mates (if they’re looking at a peculiar angle, and in the dark) is that it costs $174.99 (£110 UK).
The company also has a 7-inch version for $139.99 (£88 UK), but there’s not quite as much mimicry at work with that one.