The Chinese Got Tired of Waiting So They Made Their Own iPhone 5

The Chinese Got Tired of Waiting So They Made Their Own iPhone 5

Moskovskii Komsomolets - 31 August 2012

by Алексей Дмитриев

translated by Phil
Click here for the original article in Russian

Goophone, a little-known Chinese company, announced the availability of their new smartphone, the iPhone 5.

The talented and deft Chinese cloned the iPhone 5, which doesn't even exist yet, and ended up with the Goophone i5.  That also happens to be the name of the small Chinese company making the device.  The developers don't hesitate to say that the device was created using the leaked elements of the 6th generation iPhone.  If we are to believe the device's cover image, the Goophone i5 is running Android Honeycomb.

The Chinese iPhone 5 in All Its Glory - planetiphone.ru

A small company, assembling design changes to produce for the iPhone, decided not to deal with Apple and its lawyers and withdrew from the sale of the iPhone 5 back panels.  This didn't prevent others from doing the same and finding ways out of similar situations, writes iguides.ru linking to the Cult of Mac.

For those who can't wait to have a device that is similar to the new iPhone 5, there is the Goophone i5.  It is a cheap smartphone running Android and there really is nothing interesting about it except that the design is made to look like the iPhone 5.

The unit doesn't even use the latest version of the operating system, the one Apple hates, Android ICS!

The specifications are more in common with the iPhone 4, says onliner.by.  The device is based on the MT6575 single-core gigahertz processor with 512 MB of RAM, a 3.5" display with a resolution of 960 x 640 and 2 cameras a 5 MP primary and 1.3 MP front, reports Nowhereelse.

Unfortunately, there is no cost information for this model yet.  But, one can easily assume that it will be much less than a real iPhone 5.  As reported by supreme2.ru, Goophone also marketed a copy of the iPhone 4S which was said to be very successful.

See a video of the phone here

Russian Instrument on the Mars Rover Will Start Working This Week

Russian Instrument on the Mars Rover Will Start Working This Week

Izvestia - 6 August 2012

by Константин Пукемов

translated by Phil
Click here for the original article in Russian

Photo: REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout

How will the neutron scanner DAN [Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons] search for water on Mars?  Izvestia was told all about it by one of its developers, Igor Mitrofanov, from the laboratory at the Institute of Space Research.

Izvestia- Did the Americans buy the instrument?  Does it belong to them?  Or is it still our device?

I.M.- There are 9 units installed on board and one of them is our unit, the DAN.  Being Russian means that it was made with money from the Russian Space Agency and placed on board the Mars Rover through an agreement with NASA and the Russian Space Agency.

Izvestia- What is the device and how does it work?

I.M.- The device includes a neutron generator that we've named "Perfume", created by our colleagues at the Institute of Automation.  The neutron generator irradiates the surface of Mars with neutron pulses while another group of sensors measure the properties of the reflected neutrons to determine surface water content  up to 1 meter deep.  This will be done over the course of the mission.

Izvestia- Could you consider our device one of the principle instruments of the mission?  How important is it to find water?

I.M.- All of the instruments are very balanced and all have unique challenges.  We don't yet know if there is life or understand what form it could be.  It could turn out that finding water has the biggest priority or maybe not.  It's important that the landing is in Gale Crater since that area was a former sea.  The entire surface are deposits of minerals that have accumulated.  What will be the most interesting?  I can't say, but we will for sure try not to miss any interesting areas looking for water.

Izvestia- When will the unit start transmitting the soil characteristics?

I.M.- Recently the rover transmitted the first picture and now the phase of thoroughly testing all scientific equipment and systems begins.  After a few weeks checking and if everything is fine, I think after 2 weeks or so, the Mars Rover can begin moving.

The device is starting to operate this week and will continue next week.  This data is already scientific.  This week DAN is working in passive mode, measuring neutrons that occur naturally on the surface of Mars.  But next week I'm going to NASA to turn on the neutron generator and we'll see how the instrument works at full power.  Again, the first data we receive will be scientific but the most interesting data will come when the rover moves, changing the neutron signal from point to point.

Izvestia- Will you personally push a button to turn the unit on?

I.M.- Of course I won't have a button but we will say to mission control that we are planning to turn on the device and let them know which commands need to be submitted.  The commands are similar to an SMS message.  The device reads them and starts doing the operations.

Izvestia- How long will the unit operate?

I.M.- Unfortunately, the [neutron] generator has a limited lifespan.  It is guaranteed to work for 3 years.  Since it was first assembled a year and a half has already passed so we have about the same time remaining.  As for the detectors and electronics, we hope that they will work as long as the rover will.  Without the [neutron] generator we can still do a rough estimate of the water.  But with the [neutron] generator we can determine its depth.  Its like digging a well in the country.  We know the water is there but not how much digging we need to do.  That's why we need the [neutron] generator.

Izvestia- How much water do you think you will find and what condition will it be in?

I.M.- In the landing area, near the equator, water may be present in a chemically bound form, like in a clay.  There could be about 10% of this kind of water.  That is more than enough.  The device will tell us up to 1 meter depth where this water is concentrated.

Izvestia- How much did the development of these instruments cost?

I.M.- We started work in 2005 and since that time have spent about 100 million Rubles [3.1 mil dollars].