# MDG's "iPod Style" - Knowing counterfeit?



## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

www.mdg.ca









I am outraged that MDG would hawk this item with their computers!

These are these Chinese-made counterfeits available in Asia.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

Counterfeiting would involve making something that almost looks and performs like the original, I don't think you would call this a counterfeit.


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

Ya but they can't just use the iPod name like that, even accessories for the iPod now have to be careful about how they name their products. Wow, how long before it is taken down? I give it till tomorrow!


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## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

Ya, saw that. Annoyed me too, mostly because it is misleading to consumers. Poor decision on their part. Cheap approach to advertising.


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## mrt_mcfly (Oct 25, 2005)

i think it's cheesy to rip off a product/look, but it's all part of business. have you seen Hyundais latel...their cars look just like other cars. Or have you gone into an Aldo's...their shoes are "styled" after other brand names. these companies offer cheap knock-offs, and people buy them. i'm not so much "annoyed" at MDG, aldo, or hyundai, as i am those who purchase these products. however, at the same time, i understand that not everyone can afford a nano, or whatever the original product may be. at least MDG is upfront about it...unlike hyundai and their "european styling". 

that's capitalism for you.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

It's very misleading. Not only are the coloured/highlighted areas only "Free iPod" but also one who didn't know better would think there's possibly a model called "iPod style".


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## Boomcha (Jan 29, 2004)

What do you expect from a company like MDG?? They're machines are crappy, the components they use are of lower quality. A lot of those machines are infested with substandard hard drives and monitors. I had to help someone purchase a pc about 4 years ago and we totally avoided MDG like the plague after going in to their store.

Jorge


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

No kidding,
Hyundai New Accent? Hello Toyota Yaris
Hyundai Elantra? Hello BMW 3 series
Hyundai Tuscon? Hello cross between Toyota RAV4 and Suzuki Vitara
Hyundai Sonata? Hello Honda Accord Euro Spec front end (Acura TSX) with a Honda Accord US Style rear end.
Hyundai Avera or whatever it's called? Looks like the previous generation Infinitis.

Mind you, Toyota was like that decades ago, remember the Toyota FJ40? The US wouldn't let them sell it here because it looked too much like a Jeep, they had to extensively restyle it before it could be released here.

Mind you


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## Pelao (Oct 2, 2003)

Hmmmm

Not sure I agree. Hyundai also has vehicles that look like no other and have been well received. When you chase a market segment you come up with a similar formula. To say a car is a "cross between"..well doesn't make sense to me.

It might be interesting to look at the launch dates of some of the models named: who came out first? Just because Hyundai's cars are less expensive does not mean they are copies of other cars.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## scootsandludes (Nov 28, 2003)

Anybody click on the the free iPod like image. That has got to be the funniest site on the web. For example, a free 80 GB harddrive with purchase with the largest capacity a retail value of $499.
Or 512 MB of RAM with a retail value of $279, and you thought Apple was expensive, Ladies and Gentleman We have a new winner. 

vince


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

Unfortunately, MDG will profit by simply mentioning the iPod brand, I don't even think they can legally market their .mp3 player that way. At least Hyundai doesn't market their Elantra by saying it is a "BMW 3 Series" style car.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I like the Sonata btw, I think Hyundai's much better from the Pony days of the past. There is little innovation these days, everyone copies one another in hopes of improving the technology. Apple is pretty innovative but they still copy quite a few things, but much like these other companies, they take a good thing and make it even better. iPod (as opposed to the Creative Nomad Jukebox), Spotlight (as opposed to regular search functions, you name it they simply made it better. Sorry I didn't mean to get off track with the Hyundai thing earlier. I do realize that this MDG thing is not making something better, it's just blatantly copying, and it looks like such a poor quality product. Anyone notice that the hard drive picture on the MDG website is a Maxtor? Now would anyone pay $499 for an 80GB Maxtor hard drive? And I'm guessing that the iPod-Style audio player they have is a 512MB... they're just milking the "Value" as much as they can to make it seem like a better deal "Oh you're getting $1500 in free stuff! Woohoo!"


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## JPL (Jan 21, 2005)

Boy that is cheesy, saw those at the Pacific Mall couple of weeks ago, looked like the nano cept for the name in silver on it.


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## Pavmentsurfer (Jan 4, 2006)

You can buy those on e-bay for like $50 US. I was thinking about getting my girlfriend one because she liked my nano so much but I didnt have money at the time to buy another nano. But then I woke up. Iought her a used Mini instead. Much better decision.


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## Apple101 (Jan 22, 2006)

Well I hope this gets reported to Apple. Then maybe they will sue the bastards at MDG:clap: 

http://www.apple.com/legal/contacts.html


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## green_ears (Feb 26, 2005)

gmark2000 said:


> www.mdg.ca
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually, I'm amazed that they can get away with using the product name "iPod" in an ad that has nothing to do with Apple's products...


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## kloan (Feb 22, 2002)

they can't.. most likely get a call from apple legal.

as it's been said already, it is afterall mdg... s*** marketing from a s*** company.


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## mrt_mcfly (Oct 25, 2005)

my saab 93 looks like a hyundai accent...or is it the other way around!?!
regardless, hyundai makes a good quality car in my opinion. i haven't had much experience with MDG other than family members who see their "great" price, and then end up paying $1K more than said advertised price because of all the "essential/necessary upgrades".


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## MACSPECTRUM (Oct 31, 2002)

Boomcha said:


> What do you expect from a company like MDG?? They're machines are crappy, the components they use are of lower quality. A lot of those machines are infested with substandard hard drives and monitors. I had to help someone purchase a pc about 4 years ago and we totally avoided MDG like the plague after going in to their store.
> 
> Jorge


:clap: :clap: :clap:


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

MDG salespeople are the worst kind of "truth stretchers". There is a corporate culture of lying. Yes the ads look enticing, and the prices certainly look good but you will never walk out of one of their stores without a hefty price increase in the price advertised. This is how they make their margins. There has to be many suckers out there because MDG is making money. The components they use are not bad, I can't say it's all garbage. What irks me is that for the "actual" cost of an MDG machine, you will get a much better one with a DELL or building your own. 

Let's have a look at one of their specials:
For 799$,

Intel® D Processor - Free Upgrade to Intel® Pentium® D Dual-Core Processor
_Notice the lack of processor speed?_

Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

Genuine Intel® Motherboard

512MB Kingston® Memory - Free Upgrade to 1GB Memory ($100 Value)
_The 512MDB is Kingston, by the upgrade will not be_

250GB Western Digital® Hard Drive - Free Upgrade to 500GB Hard Drive ($199 Value)
_No information on the HD (SATA, IDE), the upgrade will be what? White Label?_

19" Monitor - Free Upgrade to 19" Perfectly Flat Monitor
_CRT, no brands named - always suspect_

Genuine Microsoft® Internet Keyboard and Optical Mouse

3D Audio Pro Sound and 3D Video
_This will be on-board_

High Speed DVD Burner - Make Your Own Movies
_What speed? DL or single?_

Microsoft® Software Bundle

FREE LEXMARK Photo Printer

FREE MP4 Player

FREE WIRELESS ROUTER

FREE COREL SOFTWARE BUNDLE

FREE BELL Sympatico High Speed Internet for 3 months

FREE 3 months Unlimited AOL Internet Service

TRY 3 months of AOL Total Talk VoIP Telephone Service
http://www.mdg.ca/en/store/?locations=14

Even if you wanted the advertised machine, good luck getting it. They sale staff will try and upsell you with lies all the way. And some of the lies are quite amusing....


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

Oh MDG did this once...

ATI x300 PCI Express 128MB... _Free upgrade to Intel GMA 950 256MB - Improved gaming and media performance!_


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

I saw their ad in the Sun today, no mention of "iPod STYLE" any more, and it's not on the front of their webpage either, I wonder if someone got to them.

http://www.mdg.ca/en/main/main2.jpg


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## Cliffy (Apr 18, 2005)

They still call it a "best selling" player. And you can bet they would make people believe it is an iPod.


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## UnleashedLive (Aug 9, 2004)

They also put the word FREE over the scroll wheel to make it look like a nano. So you only see the screen which looks similar.


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## okcomputer (Jul 18, 2005)

"Someone" definitely got to them...


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## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

okcomputer said:


> "Someone" definitely got to them...


I notified Apple legal with a very detailed message. Not sure if it was my specific message that tipped them off, but I'm 99% certain they would take action over this blatant infringement.


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## NBiBooker (Apr 3, 2004)

Why does Steve Nash let his name be associated with this garbage?


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## Paul O'Keefe (Jun 3, 2005)

Because he's as "excellent" as MDG.


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## NBiBooker (Apr 3, 2004)

Lmao


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## JumboJones (Feb 21, 2001)

I just received the weekly flyers, they have "free iPod style" pasted at the top of all 8 pages of it. This just can't be legal.


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## Calgary Guru (Apr 25, 2006)

MDG is still at it...

Last page in today's Calgary Sun is a full page ad with the same fake iPod and the wording "iPod Style" in big letters.


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## razz (Sep 21, 2003)

So who's calling Apple?


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

http://www.ipodgear.com/2006/04/fake-ipod-nanos-popular.php

Apparently they're selling like hotcakes in Taiwan.


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

I just got back from China yesterday. There are fake iPods everywhere except the Beijing Apple Centre in the Oriental Plaza where they have the real deal (but not cheaper).


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