Some Reports from the Geeky Side

The Technology section of the New York Times is a daily read for me. I have to admit that i have a penchant for things geeky and erm, gadgety. Anyway, would like to share this little piece of news i just read:

"The Zzzphone, a made-to-order cellphone, recently captured the imagination of the gadget crowd. But it remains to be seen whether it can live up to its promise."

Source: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/technology/personaltech/21phone.html?em&ex=1203829200&en=dbd3c403b1e4b99d&ei=5087%0A

Pretty cool ain't it? A cell phone made to order. Imagine the kinds of junk you will like to dump into your phone. Everything but the kitchen sink? Whoa.

Talking about cell phones, it seems like China companies are really inspired by the cell phone industry in the US. (READ: iPhone) Ok, maybe pretty much the whole consumers electronics industry in the US. OK. Heck, China is copying everything from cars, TVs, chips and even maybe TV show.

While generally the so called clones are of sub standard quality than their intended originals, China is definitely picking up in terms of R&D in the recent years. This sort of reminds me of the Japan success story in the 70's. Japan took the long and arduous process in re-inventing its industry by progressing from imitator, manufacturer, designer and now innovator. And look where Japanese companies are standing now in the consumer electronics scene industry.

In so i believe, while now as we scoff at so-called cheap and lousy China products of today, don't forget they might well be the ones providing the world with cars that run on water one day. At the mean time, let us marvel at the craftsmanship of the supposedly iPhone clone.

Like you can tell the difference.