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Police Find Apple Branded Stoves In China

An anonymous reader writes "Just when you thought the Apple knockoff trade in China couldn't get any more ridiculous, Chinese Police recently seized 681 "Apple iPhone" branded gas stoves in the city of Wuhan. Yep, that's right, some folks are peddling gas grills and are trying to made the product more appealing by stamping an Apple logo alongside the 'iPhone' moniker on the front."

27 of 212 comments (clear)

  1. Obviously by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cooking dinner? There's an app for that.

    1. Re:Obviously by Jeng · · Score: 3, Funny

      Download my recipes for your iStove, only 99c per recipe.

       

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    2. Re:Obviously by MisterSquid · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually these iStoves run on the same chips as the iPhone, the difference being they have Flash installed. iStove loads a page, Flash pegs the CPU, and iStove gets hot enough to fry an egg.

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      blog
    3. Re:Obviously by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Cooking dinner? There's an app for that.

      Their CEO is Tim Cook.

    4. Re:Obviously by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, look! We just got a sneak peek at Samsung's new line of stoves!

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      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  2. I'll take three of them! by Kenja · · Score: 3, Funny

    and an Apple Care plan to cover them when (I mean if) they break. I shall be king of the hipsters with an Apple iStove! Now if only I had some iGas to power it....

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    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:I'll take three of them! by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

      Now if only I had some iGas to power it....

      For that you will want to invest in a bean heavy diet.

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  3. Obviously by philip.paradis · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apple products are really hot in China.

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    Write failed: Broken pipe
  4. Accessories? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would have thought that the iPhone accessories market could easily accommodate this. But a revision of RFC 2324 for a broader set of appliances would be in order for that to happen.

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    Ezekiel 23:20
  5. Just goes to show by Rik+Sweeney · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That these days you can just stick an Apple logo on something and the drones will buy it.

    Did anyone see the alleged iPhone 5 prototype images last week? Someone on Facebook posted them and people were going apeshit, saying how great it looked and how much they wanted one. It was completely impracticable to use, but that didn't matter because it was the new iPhone.

    1. Re:Just goes to show by Richard_at_work · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Back in 2006 there were very very strong rumours that Apple was going to release a full screen video iPod and PDA - the rumour sites even had (fake) videos of the AV iPod playing video content, with someone using the on screen inputs to forward and rewind. Of course it was slated here on slashdot because "no one wants fingerprints on their screen!" etc.

      No such product emerged that year, but the iPhone and iPod Touch turned up the following year, in almost the exact same rumoured format as the previous year. And now, most smart devices are the same...

      My point? Some people will always see the negatives in something, regardless of how successful it ends up being.

  6. Compatibility by jmv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "We're sorry, the food you are trying to cook is not compatible with this stove. Please obtain compatible food from your local Apple supermarket."

  7. Not a knockoff. by wbr1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Look closely at the picture. That is a patented Apple device! How can you tell? The corners are rounded.

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    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:Not a knockoff. by wbr1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      You keep on with that stupid meme and I'm gonna round your corners, chucko.

      My corners are already too rounded. I need to hit the gym.

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      Silence is a state of mime.
  8. You laugh, but... by ciaohound · · Score: 4, Funny

    Consider the poor SOB's who bought the genuine Windows ovens instead.

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    Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
  9. I was not expecting that... by tnk1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The only thing surprising to me about this is that the Chinese police actually cares about it.

  10. Re:Does it work. by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did it really work to increase sales of a gas stove? Would sticking an apple logo on something just automatically increase sales in China?

    Consider this is only new in China, back decades ago you could expect the same in Japan - anything with English or an American Brand Name associated with it was considered good marketing in Japan. Consider how utterly ridiculous the marketing is in America before laughing at the Chinese. Trucks and Cars named after towns, cities and areas. Honestly, what exactly is 'Silverado' or 'Sonoma' about a vehicle? It certainly wasn't made there. Jeep Rubicon? Excuse me, but that's an Italian river and more familiar with the phrase 'Crossing the Rubicon' akin to making a move from which there is no return, as Julius Caesar took his legion across the river (I'm sure they didn't have Jeeps then). How utterly preposterous, isn't it? I think to succeed in marketing one must have no idea what they heck they are talking about, but absolute belief it's the right thing to name something.

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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  11. Re:Does it work. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    I agree that names are ridiculous, however, WRT the Rubicon, I believe it's named after the famous four-wheeling trail (which itself is named after the river). That actually makes a little bit of sense.

  12. How can anyone be so dumb? by ddd0004 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Morons!

    --Sent from my Maytag phone

  13. Re:Is it legal? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The main problem is that while you can use a trademarked name in a different industry, these gas stoves are clearly being passed off as Apple products when they are not. They are using the Apple logos in combination with a recognizable product, the iPhone. Most legitimate companies let you know their affiliations and non-affiliations like during the Olympics, visiting www.olympic.com takes you to Olympic Paints which says something like "We are not associated with the Olympic games.". Most companies have to protect their brand. These products are a different arena of intellectual property violations. They are not counterfeit but unlicensed merchandise. For example Coca-Cola does not make winter ear-muffs but an ear-muff company can't stick the Coca-Cola logos on the products without a licensing agreement with Coca-Cola without being sued.

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  14. Re:Does it work. by SomePoorSchmuck · · Score: 3, Funny

    Such semantically-vacuous automobile naming reached its ironic barftastic peak back when Toyota decided to name their largest and most gas-guzzling SUV line the SEQUOIA. [facepalm]

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  15. On the plus side... by Arancaytar · · Score: 5, Funny

    These things are supposed to overheat and catch fire.

  16. Re:Apple's next announcement... by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 5, Funny

    Real men grill with charcoal.

    Which is why this product appeals to the iPhone crowd. //ducks

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  17. 1 dog and done. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I could only cook one Hot Dog before runing out of data for the month.

  18. Re:Apple's next announcement... by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Real men grill with charcoal.

    Real men cook over a wood fire.

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    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  19. Discarded iPad prototypes by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Funny

    These are just discarded iPad prototypes that were using the Prescott-core P4 processor. Apple should be more careful where they dump their trash...

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  20. Re:Does it work. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Consider how utterly ridiculous the marketing is in America before laughing at the Chinese. Trucks and Cars named after towns, cities and areas.

    Websites named after puncuation.