The Unofficial Apple iPhone Flip Phone

Pfft. Research in Motion isn’t the only one who knows how to translate an existing brand (BlackBerry) into the realm of flip phones. It seems that Apple and Cupertino could be heading that way as well.

Well, obviously we haven’t received any sort of official confirmation from Steve Jobs and there aren’t any rumors that are pointing toward the possible release of a flip-style Apple iPhone, but what we have here is a phone that could represent what a flip iPhone would look like if it were real.

The handset depicted here is not from California. Instead, the iPhone Flip is a fake courtesy of the clone-makers in China. The unofficial Chinese version of the iPhone Flip may not be the most amazing handset in world by itself, but it does represent what Cupertino could consider if it were to head down that path.

Speaking to this specific version, the Chinese iPhone Flip features rounded edges, a basic VGA camera, 2.6-inch QVGA (non-touch) display, media player, and some basic games. They even ripped their version of the operating system and lit up the fake Apple logo with a series of weak LED lights. Whereas the real Apple logo glows evenly, you can make out the five distinct lights in this lid.

Yes, the iPhone clamshell can be yours for just $100, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the quality is nowhere near what you’d get from the real thing.