14 DAY TRIAL // A company in Brazil called Gradiente is planning to sell an “IPHONE” running Google’s Android operating system. The asking price is $285 (€215) off-contract.
The Brazilian company apparently owns exclusive rights for the IPHONE brand in the country. They filed for the trademark in 2000, years before the original Apple iPhone came out, and they were granted rights to the trademark in 2008.
Gradiente hasn’t used the IPHONE brand until now because its priority was “to promote the restructuring of its operations and allow resumption of business,” according to IGB Electronics, who owns Gradiente.
Adding insult to injury, the IPHONE reportedly runs Google’s Android OS (version 2.3.4), has a 3.7-inch screen, offers the option to slide in two separate SIM cards (like any respectable iPhone knockoff), and boasts front and rear cameras. Apple will probably have a say in this.