"Made in China"

The term 'Made in China' has become synonymous with fake products over the years. But this is a prejudice that needs to change.

 This myth dates back to the time when Europe and other markets were overrun by the first wave of consumer electronics from China that started in the early 90’s—very cheap devices in plain plastic bodies that very often had famous brand names on them.

You should always draw a line between Chinese products manufactured by major international companies like Sony and Apple that guarantee quality, and the tiny Chinese cottage industry, which manufactures anything from four-sim card phones to radio watches. Both are Chinese and will have Made in China on their products but the quality will differ significantly.

They copy the designs and brand names. For instance, you shall come across things like Sumsung for Samsung or Nckia for Nokia. Some are bold enough to print Nokia on the phone, using a different font. This has now changed and you shall see generic logos. It might look like a Sony Ericsson, or Apple’s latest, but turn it on and you will hear a strange Chinese techno ringtone. Turn on the 8-Megapixel phone camera, take a photo, and see something of a 0.5-Megapixel quality. Then scroll through the operating system and you shall shockingly find English grammar and spelling mistakes and the worst case scenario is some parts of the operating system being in Chinese.

 The biggest selling point for most of these fake phones is the price in contrast to the intended use. There prices are more often than not way lower than the real thing that they are a compelling choice for many buyers who just want to make a phone call. It is significantly important that awareness of fake phones be raised, as it can be very difficult for buyers to tell the difference between a fake and genuine product.

 The quality of fakes has reached the point where many buyers will assume they have the real thing. They sometimes look, feel and behave like the real thing right down to start up sequences and graphics.

 That said, keep in mind that the Made in China stamp does not necessarily mean it is of any less quality than that made from elsewhere.