Brazilian Company Launches 'IPHONE' Android Smartphone

By Zak Islam
published

IGB Eletronica won exclusive rights to the word 'IPHONE' in 2008.

Brazilian electronics company IGB Eletronica has announced a slate of devices that feature the moniker "IPHONE."

The first device in the lineup is the Neo One, which is a low-powered smartphone running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It has a single core 700MHz processor and a low-resolution 320 x 480, 3.7-inch display.

As well as dual-SIM capabilities, a rear 5-megapixel camera and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera is included, as is 3G connectivity and 2 GB of storage. Its retail price, meanwhile, is $287.

The Brazilian firm won exclusive rights to the word 'IPHONE' in 2008, a year after Apple launched the original iPhone handset in 2007. The former claims to hold the rights to use the name through till 2018.

During the opening stages of 2007, Apple was taken to court by Cisco Systems over the naming rights of "iPhone" in the United States. Cisco had sued the firm for trademark infringement after the iPhone itself was unveiled at the annual Macworld conference. However, the two companies ultimately settled during the February of 2007.

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Zak Islam
32 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Cazalan
    I smell more lawsuits.
    Reply
  • guru_urug
    So is the IPHONE a phone or a line-up of phones? There are no details on this so-called 'IPHONE' in the article only the Neo One.
    This small Brazilian company better have its legal fronts covered, cause Apple with be coming for them if they get popular. They better have thought this through. Nice troll though :D I still wonder how they managed to get the rights to the name after the iPhone was launched. Seems like Apple didnt care much abt patents until they were threatened and lost popularity to Android and Samsung :P
    Reply
  • house70
    I don't care about the name. If they got the rights, fine.
    But it's a very expensive phone for the specs. Even for their first device, it's a very outdated one.
    Reply
  • house70
    guru_urugSo is the IPHONE a phone or a line-up of phones? There are no details on this so-called 'IPHONE' in the article only the Neo One. This small Brazilian company better have its legal fronts covered, cause Apple with be coming for them if they get popular. They better have thought this through. Nice troll though I still wonder how they managed to get the rights to the name after the iPhone was launched. Seems like Apple didnt care much abt patents until they were threatened and lost popularity to Android and SamsungIt may have something to do with the way the trademark name is spelled. iPhone vs. IPHONE.
    Reply
  • sliem
    Too expensive. Lawsuits due to name.
    Reply
  • The news are a bit incomplete... they won the rights in 2008, but they submited the register in 2000.

    They released those cellphones now because if they didnt make any commercial use of it after 5 years of being granted the rights they would simply lose it.

    There is an international protocol that allows patents to be applied simultaneously in 185 countries... but Brazil isn't one since it was rejected because it doesnt allocate enough people to examine patents. (it takes an average of 30 months up to 8 years to finish the examination process).

    Also I dont think Gradient sells anything outside Brazil... so It doesnt seem they have much to worry since its all legal.

    Apple cant use the mark in Brazil until 2018 though, now I guess thats a problem.
    Reply
  • hoofhearted
    Maybe Brazillian copyright law is case sensitive?
    Reply
  • Camikazi
    house70It may have something to do with the way the trademark name is spelled. iPhone vs. IPHONE.It's actually iphone all lowercase that they are are using and have trademarked.
    Reply
  • shqtth
    hoofheartedMaybe Brazillian copyright law is case sensitive?

    If thats the CASE then Apple has no cAse just incase they thought they had a case, but either way i don't feel too SENSITIVE to the case, because "I HATE APPLE". Apple at there Patents and trademarks and trolling. Its funny to see Apply wine for a change.

    My iphone 3G pisses me off. If it was this slow when I bought it, I would of never bought it. So, its funny someone is mocking the iPhone @ 700 MHz hahahaha.
    Reply
  • Camikazi
    hoofheartedMaybe Brazillian copyright law is case sensitive?You don't copyright brand names you trademark them and yes how you spell the name matters. How the name is filed in the trademark form is what will end up being protected so it is important.
    Reply