Dual SIM "Android based IPHONE" in Brazil

Gradiente (aka IGB Eletrônica) is a company that filed a trademark for the iPhone name in Brazil way back in 2000. As of 2012, the company is even selling a smartphone called iPhone – more exactly, "iphone neo one." The new iphone runs on Android - and it has nothing to do with Apple. Apple is obviously also offering its own iPhones in Brazil. And it cannot sue Gradiente, because the country's Institute of Industrial Property has recently ruled that both companies can use the iphone name when it comes to mobile devices.  

Gradiente iphone

Brazil's patent authority has taken a bite out of Apple with an announcement Wednesday that the iPhone name in Brazil belongs to a local company called Gradiente SA, not to the global computer giant. Stopping misuse of the name is beyond the patent office's purview, and would have to be decided in court. Another option is for the two companies to reach an agreement, he said. The smartphone that you see in the photo is a run-of-the-mill Android 2.3.4 handset. It has a 3.7-inch screen, a pair of cameras, two SIM card slots, and other unimpressive characteristics listed on its specs sheet, which is why at a glance there doesn't seem to be anything interesting about this device. According to BBC, Apple "is pursuing an appeal", and will try to gain exclusivity on the name. The Cupertino company believes it deserves exclusivity because Gradiente didn't release any products named iphone until last year. However, it's hard to believe Apple will win the appeal. Most probably, if it wants exclusivity on the iPhone trademark in Brazil, it will have to buy the rights from Gradiente (it has done the same in the US, where Cisco owned the iPhone trademark long before Apple). The official publication of the verdict doesn't forbid Apple from using the name in Brazil. It only makes it clear the rights belong to the Brazilian company, said Marcelo Chimento, spokesman with the national patent office.

Gradiente iphone

  Gradiente filed its request to use the iPhone brand in 2000, believing that "there would be a technological revolution in the world of cellphones, with the convergence of transmission and reception of voice and data via mobile Internet," it said in a press release. The company was the first to make cellphones in Brazil, and launched the first national smartphone in 2004. Their request to use the iphone trademark was granted in 2008, and the company started making 'iphones' - with a lowercase 'p' - in December. Their phones are entirely different from the Apple's product. For starters, the Gradiente phones

• run on the Android operating system, developed by Apple rival Google Inc
• also have lower screen resolution,
• weigh more than the Apple phone, and
• sell for a fraction of the price.

Back to the Gradiente iphone, this is an entry-level handset that runs Android Gingerbread. Features of Gradiente iphone -

• Dual SIM
• 3.7 inch display with 480x320 pixel
• VGA front camera
• 5 MP rear camera
• No flash
• Micro SD card support

Of course, iPhone users feeling a sting of jealousy towards their Android-wielding peers can always download Gmail, Chrome, Field Trip, YouTube Capture, Google Search, and now Google Maps, to get pretty much the same experience. Perhaps the only good thing about the new iphone is the price. It retails 599 Brazilian Real - about £180 - $305, and you can check it out here (official webpage) and can be bought on an interest-free ten instalment plan. As far as EminentYouth knows, there is no plan to market the phone outside of Brazil.
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