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iPad launches in China (illegally)
Tue, 27th Apr 2010
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Chinese pirates have released a bootleg version of Apple's iPad, just three weeks after the device went on sale in the US.

Reuters is reporting that Chinese consumers looking for knock-off versions of the iPad don't need to look very far as they're already available in electronics shops in the Shenzhen region of south China, near the Hong Kong border.

Apparently the shops are “stuffed with pirated versions of everything” from Windows 7 (US$2 each) to iPhones, MacBooks and MacBook Airs. Reuters describes the bootleg iPad as “hefty and thickset with three USB ports and a more rectangular shape than the original”. It runs a Windows operating system and costs 2,800 yuan (UD$410).

The pirate retailer said that it was just a first rough version and that while the shape isn't quite the same; the external appearance is very similar to the iPad and he didn’t see it affecting sales that much.

“Eventually, the factories will be able to make a much better copy," he added.

Back in the real world, dangerous malware is being spread through a malicious link asking iPad users to update their iTunes software. Full story here.