June 19 - 11:45am EDT   Chinese handset manufacturer Meizu recently announced its M8 cellphone will soon get a firmware upgrade to its true 1.0 status and there are rumblings on various forums that the handset may eventually rely on a Google Android operating system. Meizu's CEO Jack Wong has himself apparently confirmed there is a dedicated team investigating the Android platform. [full story]

May 15 - 4:55pm EDT   Meizu's planned sequel to the M8, its at times controversial shadow to the iPhone, is now said by company chief J. Wong to be a significant but more evolutionary upgrade. In place of a complete overhaul, the Chinese executive says the phone will support both China-native 3G through the TD-SCDMA standard as well as GPS. A camera upgrade is also due with a 5-megapixel sensor and an LED flash. [full story]

March 3 - 5:40pm EST   After recently unveiling the M8 handset, Meizu CEO J. Wong has announced a new handset, the Meizu M9, is already in the works. It will be available in two versions, the M9c and M9t, with the former supporting conventional CDMA2000 networks and the latter built to work on China's government-supported TD-SCDMA 3G network. [full story]

February 18 - 1:25pm EST   Chinese maker Meizu has at last officially launched the M8, a phone widely seen as an attempt to clone Apple's iPhone. Though technically already available for a short space of time, the M8 has only now left testing status, losing Wi-Fi support, likely in accordance with Chinese law. An 8GB model is selling for 2,380 yuan ($348), while a 16GB version costs 2,880 yuan ($421). [full story]

November 28 - 7:55am EST   Meizu's M8 touchscreen phone will bear similarities to the iPhone in more than just the hardware design, a first look from a Chinese publication shows. Confirming the shipping-ready status of the device, the report shows both the extremely derivative design of the M8 itself but also the packaging and accessories, which mimic Apple's black box and white accessories. This includes earbuds and a USB sync cable patterned as closely as possible to the iPhone pack-ins. [full story]

November 5 - 1:05am EST   Meizu's shadow to the iPhone, the M8, should be available in at least a limited form before the end of the month, according to a post by company head J. Wong. While already tentatively slated for November, the touchscreen phone should be launched in Meizu's native China no later than November 30th. The company is waiting for a government license for the phone but will release a test version to users even if the license isn't granted by the end of the month, Wong explains. [full story]

October 2 - 4:30pm EDT   Meizu's long-in-production M8 phone could be available in a month's time, company head J. Wong has told visitors to its company forum (link may be broken as of press time). Although suspected of releasing in December, the M8 is now said by the executive to be nearing a launch in late October or early November. Pricing is less definitive but is now heading towards the equivalent of an unsubsidized $350 in the phone's home country of China following Wong's canvassing of the community for a price it would accept. [full story]

September 29 - 11:00am EDT   Meizu's frequently delayed M8 touchscreen phone should finally have a release date, Taiwans' Geek IT Stores claims today. The device is now purportedly set to ship at the start of December and will initially be available only to China-area buyers with an Indian release later. It should also carry a single 8GB trim level and is described as selling between $384 and $469, though whether this involves contract changes or the distributor's planned pricing isn't known. [full story]

September 1 - 10:35am EDT   Meizu has demonstrated a working example of its long-delayed M8 cellphone in action, courtesy of a new video posted by company founder J. Wong. The nearly four-minute clip confirms that the device closely mimics the iPhone's interface down to its home screen, media player, and photo management app; a relatively new addition seen in the software is a file browser for navigating content outside of what's immediately recognized by the touchscreen device. [full story]

August 5 - 4:05pm EDT   The web browser at the heart of Meizu's still-unreleased M8 smartphone will borrow more than a few elements from its closest cousin at Apple, according to a post made by company chief J. Wong shows the Windows Mobile phone running a custom browser that shares a similar design to Safari on the iPhone, including its minimal address bar and buttons that mimic the navigation and new page features of Apple's interface. [full story]

July 16 - 2:40pm EDT   Meizu's long-delayed M8 (MiniOne) touchscreen phone may be ready next month, according to posts by company chief J. Wong. The Chinese firm plans to release more images and details of the phone in August and hints that it may launch a basic version with 128MB of memory and an unspecified amount of permanent memory the same month. A second version, with 256MB of memory and 8GB of flash storage, would ship in October for a price equal to $320. [full story]

March 21 - 3:30pm EDT   The interface for Meizu's iPhone clone, the M8 -- also known as the MiniOne -- is undergoing subtle changes, according to various reports. Meizu itself is now claiming to have added more touch software to the phone, though it is not disclosing specifics. The company should eventually release a framework describing the entire interface of the phone, a potentially risky move given the device's association with the iPhone and Apple's plans for a Chinese release. [full story]

March 5 - 2:20pm EST   (Update from Meizu on the raid) Meizu has been removed from the show floor at the CeBIT technology expo over copyright issues for its MiniOne smartphone, according to a new report by Germany's Heise. Local police on Wednesday morning declared the booth closed and insisted on the removal of virtually every item on display, including marketing pamphlets as well as demonstration models. Meizu has not commented on the action, which brings a premature end to its presence at the Hanover show. [full story]

March 4 - 3:30pm EST   Contrary to speculation, Meizu's miniOne iPhone clone -- also known as the M8 -- has made an appearance at the ongoing CeBIT expo in Hannover, Germany. The device on public display can only display four different images, but is said to closely mimic the interface of the iPhone, including its finger-flick touchscreen motions. The miniOne operates on Windows CE 6.0 instead of Mac OS X, and is further differentiated by dedicated buttons for answering calls or playing and pausing music. [full story]

February 29 - 3:45pm EST   The M8 by Meizu -- designed as a Chinese answer to the iPhone -- may be experiencing unexpected delays, accounts suggest. Although unconfirmed, posting in the official Meizu forums indicates that the M8 will not be at next week's CeBIT expo in Germany, despite Meizu itself being scheduled to appear. The phone may even be delayed until the second or third or quarter of this year, despite recent hints that shipment might be imminent. [full story]