Shopping for iFauxnes
Nope, this iPhone is not the real thing.
(Credit: Vladimir Olexa/CNET Networks)Like a scourge of weeds, fake iPhones popped up en masse as soon as Apple announced its original handset. Most of the time these "iFauxnes" are easy to spot, but sometimes they'll look so much like the real thing that you'll need to turn them on to spot the fakery.
As the home of Apple, and the first country to get the original iPhone, the United States has not been friendly territory for the imitators. But in countries that have yet to get the iPhone (or are just getting it), the fakes are more common.
Recently, CNET software engineer Vladimir Olexa spotted a few fake iPhones in a mobile store in Slovakia. He managed to snap a few pictures, which we've assembled in a fake iPhone slide show. As we said before, some are obvious but others come close to the real thing.
Editors' note: The iPhone launched in Slovakia on the Orange network on August 22.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent. 
- by waddlingduck August 25, 2008 7:27 PM PDT
- Question:
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
-
- by vladimir.olexa August 27, 2008 1:34 PM PDT
- actually, i played with it a bit. one of the phones actually had 2 sim slots. that's a pretty cool feature i wish the iPhone had. as far as the rest goes, however, it was pretty terrible. they tried to mimic the iphone OS in the worst way and it just didn't work. the touches are unresponsive, delayed and imprecise. likewise with the UI.
- Like this
-
(3 Comments)I've seen some pictures of the iFauxnes on YouTube and blogs. Has anyone done any study of whether these are worthwhile devices in their own right? They might even be BETTER than a legit iPhone in some respects. Lets face it, most of these products come from China, where intellectual property is only protected until it springs from your intellect, and they're assembling the real ones too.
How close is everything? Will they mesh with iTunes? Perhaps they just show up as a flash drive and you can load whatever you want into (and out of) it.
You can use any GSM phone with AT&T if it's unlocked, which these likely are, my question would be: could I buy a 3G service plan intended for an iphone and use it with one of these? It may not even require a 2-year contract.
physical construction of the phones is also very weak. they feel cheap in your hand and are significantly lighter than the original iPhone. everything is made of really low-quality plastic.
i highly doubt the iFauxnes would be supported by iTunes. i didn't look for connectors so i'm not even sure if they have any at all. also, given the size and small weight of the devices, i don't think they even had wi-fi and/or bluetooth.
these phones are sold unlocked so you wouldn't have any problems using it with any of your local GSM service providers (as long as you have their SIM card).