Hardly a week goes by without the tech world spotting a humorous fake piece of electronic detritus coming out of China’s seedier factories, and these days it’s usually running Android. (Hooray for open source!) But at least one Chinese retailer has decided to go all out and copy Android for their entire storefront. It’s not necessarily “fake” in the sense that the branding is misappropriated; anyone selling Android hardware can make use of Google’s Android logos and typefaces. But simply naming your store “Android”, as the shop in Zhuhai, Guangdong province has done, is a no-no.
Inside the “Celebrities Smartphone Experience Store” you can of course buy Android phones and accessories. But there’s a nasty surprise for anyone expecting a little slice of green-tinted heaven: half the store is dedicated to iPhones, accessories and other Apple products, That’s not exactly surprising – small stores like this all over the world cram a relatively wide selection of mobile detritus on every open space – but the targeted branding seems a little strange if they’re going to let just anybody in.
The tiny store reminds us of “Androidland“, Australian carrier Telus’ heavily branded mini-store in their premiere Melbourne retail location. But not much. Aside from the exterior and some admittedly nice lighting on the inside, it could be any one of a hundred thousand independent phone resellers across the globe. The shop has dozen, perhaps hundreds of Android phones on display, some of which are inside the Apple case next to grey-market iPhones. In at lest some display of possibly accidental brand loyalty, HTC gets a case all to itself.
[via The Register]
