(Image courtesy of Reuters)

There’s one group that was happy to hear Apple was delaying the iPad’s international debut by one month: The Chinese knock-off makers.

Reuters is reporting that the iPad being delayed internationally for a month after the huge demand in the United States has only amplified demand for knock-offs of the new device in China, where the electronics malls are filled to the brim with pirated versions of every technology imaginable. That includes Apple products, ranging from iPhones to MacBooks to even the MacBook Air, and now a knock-off iPad has surfaced as well.

Among them is a much thicker and more rectangular model sporting three USB ports. Looking “more like a giant iPhone,” the device runs… Windows operating system. But it’s cheaper than Apple’s own iPad, costing only 2,800 yuan ($410) compared with the iPad’s $499 price of entry.

“This is just the first rough version,” says a shopkeeper named Lin who showed off the device in a dark back room of the electronics mall. “While the shape isn’t quite the same, the external appearance is very similar to the iPad, so we don’t think it will affect our sales that much.”

Chinese bootleggers have been hard at work creating knock-offs of the iPad since it was unveiled in late January. The device has already racked up 500,000 units sold in its first week in the U.S., and the knock-off makers are wasting no time taking advantage of the void left by Apple delaying its international debut.

Taobao, China’s largest online marketplace, “contains hundreds of listings for the coveted product, many real but some dubiously labeled as ‘China goods,’ with claims to have even better features than the real deal,” the report reveals. The fake iPads have the advantage of being priced lower than the real thing -- 2,800 yuan for the knock-offs, versus 4,000-6,000 yuan for the real deal.

“China is basically a market that has the ability to clone everything, so it’s really not surprising,” says Beijing-based researcher Edward Yu of Analysis International. “I don’t think piracy is a bad thing for the iPad given that China has a huge population, maybe the clone iPads will give more of the potential users a look and feel.”

“This is just the first rough version,” Lin concludes from his shop in Shenzhen, where the actual iPads are manufactured as well as their knock-off counterparts. “Eventually, the factories will be able to make a much better copy.”