VERTU replicas are great, but what about iPhone replicas? Today I want to talk about production costs and branding. VERTU replicas are cheaper because of the materials that are used: instead of real gold – gilt, instead of expensive leather – cow-skin or leatherette, instead of steel – plastic, instead of welding – glue. That is why the original VERTU phone costs from 10 times up to 300 times more.

What about other electronics on the Chinese market? Replica SAMSUNG, SAMSVNG, SUMSUNG, MOKIA, NOKEA, and all that other BS? Those phones are made of plastic. What is the difference? The brand and the name. It’s no secret that we end up paying much more for the brand than for the product itself. Of course, most exported electronics are so low-grade that you will regret buying the thing before you even receive it.

The iPhone replica has aroused much commotion in the past 2 years. From as low as 60 bucks one could get an iPod Touch replica, and prices as low as 150 USD were quoted for iPhone replicas. The real iPhone was on sale for around 800 USD in Asia, without a subscription. But what’s the real production cost of the original iPhone?

iSuppli, a market research company, has estimated the 16GB iPhone 3G cost at 172 USD, and 7 USD for manufacturing and assembly. The original costs 180 bucks to produce! The replica would a couple of ‘tenners’ less since the workforce employed is paid much less, materials and software are of a lower-grade (yes, plastic has got grades). So what do you exactly get for 800 USD? Quality software, compatibility, support and guarantees. Of course, you can get the original for 200 USD with a two-year AT&T subscription (that’s where Apple gets the income from), but for Europe and Asia – the cost is two or three times higher.