M3 and R4 have always been pretty close to identical (i'm talking pre DSi here) if I remember correctly, you used to be able to convert an M3 to an R4 and vice versa by soldering/desoldering two points on the PCB and then installing the other firmware.
Man the argument that all the new cards are clones of the R4 (Acekard, Cyclo, Edge, etc.) is a terrible argument It takes competition to make a better project. Can Microsoft sue Sony because they the PS3 also uses disks??? No. There are so many examples of how you're wrong man.
Whatever. Thanks anyway Of who is wrong? Me? Acekard is no clone, CycloDS is no clone, EDGE is no clone, M3i Zero is no clone, etc.
Calling all cards with R4 in their name a CLONE is a bit misleading anyway, Clone means identical, which all these R4 cards are not, they have been based on the original R4 idea and have developed at different paces and quality, but they are not identical clones they have just chosen to use the sucess of the brand name R4 in their brand name, as the original R4 is no longer under copyright. If you think about it, they had to do that, as most people only knew the flashcart as the R4... and most casual users would search for it by R4, more advance users kinda know that there are better flashcarts out their now... the next mainstream trend is always started by just a few hardcore users.... (Acekard?)
Clone doesn't mean FULLY identical. The R4 clones have some other hardware, and they have their own kernel. Examples: The people get the R4, open it, make changes and create a kernel for it. - That's a clone. The people make their own card. - That's no clone. But if they use the hardware of the R4 for it, it is a clone though.
Im saying its misleading, so many people think they have bought a "fake" when told they have a clone card.