Bangalore: Almost 18,000 fakes resembling the iPad and Android devices are available for sale on 23 e- commerce sites, according to MarkMonitor Inc, a San Francisco-based firm that helps companies protect their brands. The success of Apple's iPad is attracting thousand of duplicate products reports Times of India.
Fred Felman, chief marketing officer of MarkMonitor said " The tablets can be illegal for instance, if they have a bogus Apple logo and often they don't work well and have no warranty protection," "The copycat products and suspected counterfeits found in MarkMonitor's survey were offered by more than 5,000 sellers, many of them located in China." he added
"Knockoff iPads may proliferate during the year-end holiday season, as shoppers beset by the economic slump go hunting for bargains. That's creating more competition for Apple, even if many consumers only buy the tablets because they believe they're getting the real thing. Apple's advantage is its software is hard to replicate," said Francis Sideco, an analyst at research firm IHS Inc.
"You can only copy to a certain degree," he said. For instance, knockoff tablets may not connect to Apple's iTunes and App Store. "It's not necessarily about hardware but the software, and it's very difficult to copy that," Francis added.
In April 2010 as soon as Apple launched the iPad, it quickly arose as the company's No. 2 product category behind the iPhone. The tablet generated $6.9 billion for Cupertino, California-based Apple last quarter, out of a total of $28.3 billion.
The device has attracted bundles of legitimate competitors, with many manufacturers using Google's Android software. Amazon.com also is moving into the market this holiday season. It will release its $199 Kindle Fire tablet later this month, aiming to undercut the iPad, which starts at $499.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, Counterfeiters are increasingly targeting mobile technology after years of copying pharmaceuticals, handbags, software and other products. Tablets are obvious targets because they are the most-desired technology gifts beating laptops, televisions, e-readers and video-game consoles.
To avoid getting cheated, shoppers should stick with retail sites they know, Felman stated. A dramatically low price is another red flag, he added. The clone tablets in MarkMonitor's survey were typically 69 percent less than the retail price of the genuine item.
Simultaneously higher prices, often can indicate that shoppers are dealing with gray-market goods -- genuine tablets that have not been authorized for sale in a given country. Buyers of such devices typically pay a 15 percent premium, and then risk having no warranty or a way to resolve technical problems. When MarkMonitor conducted the study more than 5,500 gray-market tablets were offered for sale on the day in July.
"It's very important for consumers to understand as they go into the holiday season, there's a very high likelihood there are scammers out there," Felman said.
