Brazilian electronics manufacturer IGB Eletronica on Tuesday unveiled a slew of Android-powered smartphones under the brand name 'IPHONE', raising the possibility of a lawsuit from Apple Inc.
IGB claimed that it possessed the right to use 'IPHONE' since 2008 after the Brazilian government accepted its request on the grounds of growing technological revolution. It was reported that Apple will clearly take a stand on it as brand name iPhone is one of its registered trademarks.
"There would be a technological revolution in the world of cell phones with the convergence of voice and data transmission and reception via mobile Internet," said IGB Eletronica said, Associated Press reported.
The IGB device, known as 'IPHONE Neo One', is the first smartphone under the brand name to run on Android operating system. Neo One sports a 3.7-inch display with a 320 x 480 pixel resolution and is powered by a single-core 700MHz processor. The device runs on Android 2.3 and houses 2GB of internal storage. On the connectivity front, the device supports 3G and WI-FI and comes equipped with a 5-megapixel camera. According to reports, the device bears the identical look of Apple's own smartphone .
The company had not been using the name till now because of its corporate restructuring priority. "In Brazil, Gradiente has the exclusive right to use the iPhone brand," the statement said according to AP. "This company will adopt all the measures used by companies around the world to preserve its intellectual property rights."
