WeTab boss resigns over fake Amazon reviews

CHIEF executive of company that makes iPad rival steps down after writing phony reviews on Amazon.

The WeTab tablet PC, a rival to Apple's popular iPad, sold by German company Neofonie. Picture: Supplied

THE chief executive of a company that makes a tablet PC similar to the iPad has resigned after he was caught spruiking the device under a false name on Amazon.

Helmut Hoffer von Ankershoffen stepped down from his position at German company Neofonie earlier this week, news website The Local reported.

His resignation came after a blogger investigated glowing comments made about the company's WeTab tablet on Amazon.

The comments were made under the name "Peter Glaser".

"I must correct my previous review — The WeTab is not good, but very, very good," Von Ankershoffen wrote, under the phony name.

Von Ankershoffen apologised this week and announced his resignation.

"I wrote both of the Amazon reviews in question privately, without approval from the other company leaders or our communications department," he said.

"It was, however, a mistake not to put my own name on the ratings."

The WeTab, formerly called the WePad, was designed to compete with Apple's popular iPad device.

With an 11.6" display, the touchscreen WeTab is slightly bigger than the 9.7" iPad and runs a version of Google's Android operating system.

Amazon removed the comments immediately, a spokesperson said.