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Fake
iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle portable music players have
been proliferating in the various malls and tiangges
in Metro Manila, leading Microwarehouse, the sole
distributor of the digital music player in the
Philippines,
to fight back.
“It’s
sad,” sighs Ilyong Tuanquin Jr., the business unit head
of Microwarehouse. “We are planning to address that in
our marketing strategy and come out with an advisory to
only buy the genuine [iPod].”
As early
as the second quarter of last year, Apple Inc. has
already issued a warning to its service partners that
many companies are trying to imitate Apple products,
particularly the iPod, and sell these to unsuspecting
buyers.
The
counterfeit iPods, most of which are made in China,
usually lack a dock connector and comes with substandard
earphones. These players are now available in the
Greater Manila Area and nearby provinces and have even
appeared on online auction site eBay.
At first
glance, the fake player’s box, color and accessories
seem authentic, although the low price should already
raise red flags even to the less-than-discerning buyer.
“Halos
pareho naman ng itsura, saka mas mura ito [It looks
almost the same and it’s cheaper], may warranty
din [it also has a warranty],” explains a
saleslady at Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan,
when asked about the counterfeit product.
iPods
fetch at least P4,000 for the new Shuffle depending on
where you buy it or if you were given a discount.
Tuanquin
explains that the real iPods come in a box that should
contain earphones, a USB 2.0 cable, a dock adapter, and
a quick-start guide. It comes in five different colors;
apart from the more common black and white, the newer
iPods come in sportier colors like fuchsia, apple green
and sky blue.
On the
other hand, the bogus units come with fake earphones and
the manual is printed on low-class paper, Tuanquin
points out. They sport a small round sticker at the
back, which some sales staff claim serves as the
“warranty.” They also come with an FM radio—a feature
real iPods do not have.
Besides
campaigning against fake iPods, Microwarehouse is
likewise asking its customers not to patronize pirated
music.
“We are
also encouraging them to use original songs that they
can copy from an original CD instead of extracting music
online or from another MP3 player. Besides that would
also give better sound quality,” Tuanquin says. |
