The Meizu M8 is a

Windows CE Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products. Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...

-based 3.4"

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

. It is often regarded as having a Chinese iPhone-like design and similar to the features and UI: The M8 runs a version of Microsoft Windows CE 6 with a modified

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

, similar to that of the iPhone. It was created after the success of Meizu's 2 MP3/MP4 players — the

M6 Mini Player The M6 miniPlayer, from Meizu, is a flash-based portable media player that plays audio files in MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE and Ogg and is also capable of AVI video playback (using the XVID codec) on a 2.4-inch QVGA screen. The Mini Player inc ...

and the

M3 Music Card {{Infobox Information appliance , name = M3 Music Card , image = , manufacturer = Meizu , type = Digital audio playerPortable media player , releasedate = , connectivity = USB 2.0 , lifespan = since 2007 , unitssold ...

. The phone was delayed several times due to not meeting Chinese cellular phone guidelines.

Announcement dates

CEO Jack Wong had announced the Meizu M8 four days after the announcement of the iPhone as a direct competitor. The product was soon set for a November release. The M8 was released for public testing in April, 2007 in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

and

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, drawing positive reviews.

Specifications

Some expected specifications of the M8 (not final): * Dimensions: 108 mm × 59 mm × 12 mm (H × W × T) * Processor: Samsung ARM11 667 MHz CPU * Display: 3.4-inch 16600K (OS 65536 colors), 720 × 480 pixel resolution, LTPS TFT LCD, with multi-touch (2 points) * PC Interface: USB 2.0 Ultra-Fast Data Transfer * Flash Memory: 8 or 16 GB of built-in basic Memory * Operating System: Windows CE for Meizu M8 (Based on Windows CE6.0) (Mymobile) * Video Playback: AVI, MP4, RM, RMVB, 3GP, MOV, ASF, WMV, MPEG, MKV, FLV, MPEG-4/H.263/H.264 at 30FPS * Camera: 3.2 MP camera on the back. Supports auto-focus, and no flash. * Battery: Removable 1200 mAh

Li-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...

Support for

* GSM (850,900,1800, 1900 MHz), GPRS, EDGE, WiFi

Additional features

* The light sensor allows the phone to automatically adjust screen brightness in accordance with the lighting in the environment. * Tilt and movement recognizing sensor that will allow it to auto-adjust screen orientation in accordance with tilting. It can also recognize movements (i.e. shaking), a feature that can be used for games. * Proximity sensor for calling

CeBIT Appearance

Meizu appeared at

CeBIT CeBIT was the largest and most internationally representative computer expo. The trade fair was held each year on the Hanover fairground, the world's largest fairground, in Hanover, Germany. In its day, it was considered a barometer of cur ...

on March 4, 2008, with a non-functional, plastic

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

of the M8 able to display three screenshots of the UI, and a development board running a partially working UI with most common phone functions. No fully working unit was shown, however. On the second day of the exhibition, March 5,

German police Law enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system. Policing has always been a responsibility of the German states even after 1871 when the country was ...

initiated by Sisvel raided 51 booths including Meizu; where a newly developed MP3 player was thought to infringe a

Fraunhofer Society The Fraunhofer Society (german: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., lit=Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research) is a German research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany ...

patent and promptly confiscated.

Production Halt

On October 9, 2010, it was reported that Meizu had shut down production of the M8 due to pressure from the Intellectual Property Offices and Apple Inc. because of its close similarities to the iPhone. Apple also was looking to ban all sales of the M8 as well, which some media outlets have speculated could bankrupt the company due to losses from unsold inventory, but no official word on this has been heard.

References

External links

Official Meizu M8 Website
{{Meizu, smartphones=yes, MP3=yes Meizu smartphones Mobile phones introduced in 2008 Portable media players Windows CE devices Discontinued smartphones