RSSiPod Shuffle Clone Stirs Controversy
By Ed Oswald | Published March 14, 2005, 5:56 PM
Taiwanese company LuxPro was asked by Apple representatives at CeBIT Friday to remove what it calls the "Super Shuffle" from its display case. To the casual observer, at first sight the LuxPro Super Shuffle looks nearly identical as Apple's recently released iPod Shuffle except for some minor changes.
Most notably absent from the Shuffle clone is support for Apple's AAC format, although it does support Windows Media with digital rights management. It also has an FM tuner, which the original Shuffle does not.
It is not clear how Apple will handle what appears to be a clear-cut case of copyright infringements on its design work, as Apple representatives did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
However, Apple has successfully sued companies in the past for attempting to copy its designs, and some press reports indicate Apple is weighing legal options.
LuxPro had its Super Shuffle on display on Friday at the trade show, however, it was removed after requests by Apple lawyers. But according to German technology site Heise Online the unit reappeared in its display case the very next day.
Heise desribed a heated discussion between an Apple product manager and the company representatives Saturday night, which did not bring about a mutual agreement. According to reports, the stand where LuxPro was showing off the unit even had the look of Apple's ad campaigns.
where's the ogg vorbis support?
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|for this product ought to be a scuffed briefcase or a trenchcoat.
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|......if only it had a screen! I'd SO buy one!
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|Yeah, as soon as someone does something against Apple, people start complaining. Get over it for god's sake. It's a free country, and even if it is patented, it's useless, and maybe Apple can learn to implement an FM tuner and the ability to play WMAs, otherwise I'm staying with Creative. Most online music stores only sell WMAs, not ACC or MP3 because the compression is better and the quality higher.
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|Do you mean: "As soon as someone does something illegal, people start complaining"?
Because, then yes, that's how law is supposed to work. Ripping off someone else's copyrighted work is illegal.
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|... last time i checked my shuffle was full with copyrighted material that somehow got there without me paying for it. but then that probably just me :)
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|You wouldn't be saying anything if someone ripped something off Microsoft
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|Hilarious!
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|So are you a mind reader or something? How do you know he wouldn't say anything about that? If he did, I'm guessing he'd say "Who would WANT to rip off Microsoft?"
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|normangerman, just for info, you are clearly very wrong about saying that wmas quality is better than apples LC-AAC that is m4a
many tests in independent labs have verified that the quality of aac is better than wma and above all, mpeg-4 (aac audio) is a standard unlike wma
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|I support the competition, so what if it looks similar.
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|It's not just similar; it's pratically identical right down to the silhouette advertising images, part of the name, and nearly everything except the logo (and small differences in the switch on the back). It's clearly intended to draw in customers by confusion, and Apple holds copyrights on the design.
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|It's more like taking a well known song, changing a few words and calling it your own.
This is not similar. This is blatant copying. They even used Apple’s silhouette style advertisement.
Look... http://www.ipodlounge.co...nts.php?id=6654_0_7_0_M
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|i'm sure on the inside it is quite different. the only thing that was copied was i'm sure the "style". i'm sure with a diff set of contols they can get around the whole thing. and still have a shuffle size competition.
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|Exactly what i thought.
Seriously if they wanted to make something similar to the iPod Shuffle they should have atleast hired some designers to create a look for it, not just purchase the iPod Shuffle, pull it appart and replace the insides with their own.
This is just like www.supernova.org and the idiots from www.supernova.com/net who made the same site but started charging people for torrents.
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|that's cool
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