A fake version of Apple’s latest iPhone

'HiPhone 5', fake of Apple’s latest iPhone, on sale in China.
A fake version of Apple’s latest iPhone – named the hiPhone 5 – has hit the Chinese market.
The handset is selling for as little as 200 yuan (£19) on China’s biggest e-commerce site Taobao compared to the £510 price tag for an iPhone 4 from the Apple UK website.

Its design is said to have been based on leaked images of the yet-to-be-launched iPhone 5 and is thinner and with less rounded edges than the existing iPhone 4, Shanghai-based daily newspaper Metro Express reported. However, it is extremely light and feels almost like a plastic toy, it added.

Western governments have repeatedly criticised China for widespread violation of intellectual property rights, but pirated goods from branded watches, to bags and computer software can be easily found in shops.

Last month, an American blogger set off a media storm after she posted pictures of an elaborate fake Apple Store in Kunming, selling genuine if unauthorised iPhones, Macbooks and other widely popular Apple products.

Reuters also uncovered a lookalike of the Swedish furniture giant Ikea in the southwestern Chinese city.