New Word of the Day: Shanzai

What's a Shanzai?

A Shanzai is a small, nimble, knock-off cellphone maker out of China. They ignore government regulations, avoid taxes, have no R&D, and no sales promotion. The leverage China’s huge Electronic Manufacturing Service (EMS) industry to come up with low-cost cellphones for people who cannot afford Nokia, Samsung, and, of course, Apple.

The most egregious example is the "HiPhone", a blatant knock-off that is selling like mad in China.

These guys get a phone from concept to market in about six weeks and the companies come and go pretty quickly, allowing them to avoid authorities.