These fake Microsoft Surface tablets run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

At the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) tradeshow, a company called FVIEW was promoting a 13.3-inch Windows PAD and a 9.7″ Media Tablet. The former was accompanied by an image showing a Microsoft Surface tablet apparently running Windows RT while the latter was depicted as a tablet running some form of Windows 8. Too bad it’s all a big lie: always look at the fine print my friends.

For the larger tablet, the following text was included at the bottom of the poster: “1280*800 IPS/Google Android 4.1/Dual Core/1.6GHz/WiFI/BT.” I can’t make out the text for the smaller image, but it clearly shows an Android 4.1 logo in the bottom left.

Arvid Bux took a picture of the stand and posted it to Instagram, so you can see for yourself:

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That’s right, these little buggers are apparently running Google’s latest and greatest mobile operating system, not Microsoft’s yet-to-be released OS. Maybe they are skinned to look like Windows RT, but the point here is these devices are knock offs. Windows 8, Windows RT, and the Microsoft Surface aren’t shipping until October 26, and somehow I doubt FVIEW got exclusive access from Microsoft.

To add insult to injury as Neowin points out, FVIEW doesn’t even have an official website. The firm does have a support forum for tablets at mobilestore.be/fview but that’s about it. The company doesn’t have the money to build a home for itself on the Internet, but it can rip off Microsoft thanks to Google with ease.

This is probably the first of many Windows RT tablet copycats to come. After all, not even all of Microsoft’s OEMs get access to Windows RT: HTC screwed itself over and HP chose to skip the program.

Since Android is free for anyone to put on their hardware, it’s a great alternative to iOS and Windows. It’s also an excellent option for knockoffs, like the Goophone I5, which attempts to sell itself as an iPhone 5 that runs Android.

Image credit: stock.xchng