Counterfeit iPhone 3Gs Becoming More Convincing at First Glance

MacRumors · Jun 29, 2009, 10:54 AM

Apple service provider MacMedics recently had the opportunity to examine a counterfeit iPhone 3G purchased by a customer off of eBay. The packaging and external appearance of the device appear convincingly genuine at first glance, demonstrating increasing sophistication from such counterfeiters.

The software, however, is the difficult part to imitate, and this is where the counterfeit iPhone falls flat. See the video for a complete walkthrough of the device.

Article Link: Counterfeit iPhone 3Gs Becoming More Convincing at First Glance

toughluck · Jun 29, 2009, 11:02 AM

haha thats just sad

andrew0122 · Jun 29, 2009, 11:06 AM

It needs an " S⃣ " that way it can be faster. I really like all of the awesome iPhone knock-off accessaries that come with it.

As for me I'll just stick with my actual iPhone 3g S⃣

alexprice · Jun 29, 2009, 11:13 AM

Who actually buys these things?

People who think they are real or people who wanna look cool but spend less?

I just don't get it!

iPhone FAIL!

retroneo · Jun 29, 2009, 11:17 AM

I'd like to get one of these just out of interest.

Start a collection of the best fake iPhones.

Kwill · Jun 29, 2009, 11:31 AM

Do I have to sign a two-year AT&T contract with it?

oneals2focus · Jun 29, 2009, 11:34 AM

I would like to see it boot up!

lol

DangerIsGo · Jun 29, 2009, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kwill

Do I have to sign a two-year AT&T contract with it?

If not, then its iPhone WIN!

Jasonc23 · Jun 29, 2009, 11:55 AM

Thats completely amazing. The software is as responsive as 3.0

brownieguy19 · Jun 29, 2009, 11:55 AM

The real question is...

do I qualify for the upgrade price, or the regular price?

speakerwizard · Jun 29, 2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexprice

Who actually buys these things?

People who think they are real or people who wanna look cool but spend less?

I just don't get it!

iPhone FAIL!

You have far too much faith in the human race, people are generally speaking....stupid.

freediverdude · Jun 29, 2009, 12:28 PM

That's a pretty amazing fake actually. The average person on the street who had never used an iPhone before probably would not know the difference. If they had put a capacitive screen on this it would be pretty darn close.

Excellerator · Jun 29, 2009, 12:43 PM

That dock actually looked cool. Pretty cool fake.

sonny55 · Jun 29, 2009, 12:44 PM

I can only imagine that it would respond better if he took the plastic off. I don't understand the point of him leaving it on. Was he trying to protect his investment from harmful fingerprints?

fleshman03 · Jun 29, 2009, 01:19 PM

Ok I don't understand one thing.

These people obviously do not care about IP rights, so why don't they hack the firmware and put an iPhone OS on it? Too much programing work? Surely more "programing" went into developing that crap OS.

WildCowboy · Jun 29, 2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonny55

I can only imagine that it would respond better if he took the plastic off. I don't understand the point of him leaving it on. Was he trying to protect his investment from harmful fingerprints?

There's no plastic to take off. The plastic he mentions is the actual touch surface.

coffeemaciphone · Jun 29, 2009, 01:49 PM

That honestly had me in tears of laughter....

Sneakz · Jun 29, 2009, 01:51 PM

Wow that was recorded with a 3GS and I didn't even notice. It was that good. Makes me want one, but I'll stick with the 3G for another year.

Hawkeye411 · Jun 29, 2009, 01:59 PM

Cool!! Where can I get one?

BaronvdB · Jun 29, 2009, 02:07 PM

holy crap....i'd hate to be the person that bought that off ebay....that's why i only buy/sell within the US...i know there are a lot of people outside the us that are perfectly trustworthy but just don't take the risk.

Airforcekid · Jun 29, 2009, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleshman03

Ok I don't understand one thing.

These people obviously do not care about IP rights, so why don't they hack the firmware and put an iPhone OS on it? Too much programing work? Surely more "programing" went into developing that crap OS.

Thats what I have been wondering 1.1.4 would be perfect! How much does it cost?

chr1s60 · Jun 29, 2009, 02:27 PM

Well, it is much better than the original iPhone clones we saw a few years back. It is still horrible though.

NinjaHERO · Jun 29, 2009, 02:38 PM

That is hilarious. I hope people are using paypal or something so they can get their money back.

windywoo · Jun 29, 2009, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleshman03

Ok I don't understand one thing.

These people obviously do not care about IP rights, so why don't they hack the firmware and put an iPhone OS on it? Too much programing work? Surely more "programing" went into developing that crap OS.

No, its much, much more work to get the actual iPhone OS to run on non-iPhone hardware than to make something that just looks like it.

Chaszmyr · Jun 29, 2009, 03:09 PM

I have renewed respect for the quality of Apple's products.

Jun 29, 2009, 10:54 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Counterfeit iPhone 3Gs Becoming More Convincing at First Glance Apple service provider MacMedics recently had the opportunity to examine a counterfeit iPhone 3G purchased by a customer off of eBay. The packaging and external appearance of the device appear convincingly genuine at first glance, demonstrating increasing sophistication from such counterfeiters. The software, however, is the difficult part to imitate, and this is where the counterfeit iPhone falls flat. See the video for a complete walkthrough of the device. Article Link: Counterfeit iPhone 3Gs Becoming More Convincing at First Glance

Jun 29, 2009, 11:02 AM	#2
toughluck macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Austin, Texas	haha thats just sad __________________ iPhone 3G 16 GB JB 15 in. MacBook Pro 2.8GHz 4GB RAM 500GB HD

Jun 29, 2009, 11:06 AM	#3
andrew0122 macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Springhole, Missouri	It needs an " S⃣ " that way it can be faster. I really like all of the awesome iPhone knock-off accessaries that come with it. As for me I'll just stick with my actual iPhone 3g S⃣ __________________ AL iMac 24" 2.8 C2D, 750GB HD, 3GB RAM, 2 Seagate 1TB FW 800 MBA 1.6 80GB TV 40GB 1st Gen iPhone 8GB iPhone 3G S⃣ 32GB Black

Jun 29, 2009, 11:31 AM	#6
Kwill macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2003	Do I have to sign a two-year AT&T contract with it? __________________ Reactive Imaging Environment-Friendly Printing & Graphics

Jun 29, 2009, 11:34 AM	#7
oneals2focus macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Indianapolis	I would like to see it boot up! lol __________________ AT&T Tilt, 8 GB iPhone 3G 3.1 firmware 80 GB PS3 3.0.1 firmware, 42 inch Sharp 1080p HDTV.

Jun 29, 2009, 11:13 AM	#4
alexprice macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jan 2005	Who actually buys these things? People who think they are real or people who wanna look cool but spend less? I just don't get it! iPhone FAIL!

Jun 29, 2009, 11:17 AM	#5
retroneo macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2005	I'd like to get one of these just out of interest. Start a collection of the best fake iPhones.

Jun 29, 2009, 11:55 AM	#9
Jasonc23 macrumors newbie Join Date: Apr 2009	Thats completely amazing. The software is as responsive as 3.0 __________________ SwagBucks: Free prizes for searching. Sign up through my link

Jun 29, 2009, 11:55 AM	#10
brownieguy19 macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2007	The real question is... do I qualify for the upgrade price, or the regular price? __________________ 17" MBP, 2.8 ghz, 4 GB, 500 GB;12" PB G4, 1.5 ghz, 768 mb; 16 GB iPhone 3GS; 4 GB iPhone (v3.0); iPod Nano 2 GB (2nd gen); iPod 20 GB (clickwheel)

Jun 29, 2009, 12:28 PM	#12
freediverdude macrumors 6502 Join Date: Dec 2006	That's a pretty amazing fake actually. The average person on the street who had never used an iPhone before probably would not know the difference. If they had put a capacitive screen on this it would be pretty darn close. __________________ 17" core2duo white iMac/Snow Leopard, Apple TV, 32gb black iPhone 3GS

Jun 29, 2009, 12:43 PM	#13
Excellerator macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2008	That dock actually looked cool. Pretty cool fake. __________________ Windows Vista, iPhone 3GS 32GB, iPhone 3G 16GB, Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 30D, Canon Digital Rebel

Jun 29, 2009, 12:44 PM	#14
sonny55 macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2009	I can only imagine that it would respond better if he took the plastic off. I don't understand the point of him leaving it on. Was he trying to protect his investment from harmful fingerprints?

Jun 29, 2009, 01:19 PM	#15
fleshman03 macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tampa, FL	Ok I don't understand one thing. These people obviously do not care about IP rights, so why don't they hack the firmware and put an iPhone OS on it? Too much programing work? Surely more "programing" went into developing that crap OS. __________________ Penguin: Early 2008 MacBook Pro C2D @ 2.5GhZ, 2GB, 250GB / iPhone 3GS 32GB Monkey: Early 2006 MacBook Black CD @ 2GhZ, 2GB, 80GB / iPhone 3G 16GB

Jun 29, 2009, 01:49 PM	#17
coffeemaciphone macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2009	That honestly had me in tears of laughter....

Jun 29, 2009, 01:51 PM	#18
Sneakz macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Wow that was recorded with a 3GS and I didn't even notice. It was that good. Makes me want one, but I'll stick with the 3G for another year.

Jun 29, 2009, 01:59 PM	#19
Hawkeye411 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Canada EH!!!	Cool!! Where can I get one?

Jun 29, 2009, 02:07 PM	#20
BaronvdB macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2007	holy crap....i'd hate to be the person that bought that off ebay....that's why i only buy/sell within the US...i know there are a lot of people outside the us that are perfectly trustworthy but just don't take the risk. __________________ 13"MBP 2.53GHz,13"MBP 2.26GHz,iPhone 3Gs,iPhone,500GB TC,20GB iPod,15" MBP Uni 2.4GHz(SOLD),,24" Alum. iMac 2.4GHz(TRADED),MBA 1.6GHz(SOLD),8GB iPod Touch(SOLD)

Jun 29, 2009, 02:27 PM	#22
chr1s60 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: California	Well, it is much better than the original iPhone clones we saw a few years back. It is still horrible though. __________________ 15" MacBook Pro 3.06GHz, iPod 4G 20GB, iPod Classic 120GB, iPod Shuffle 4G, White iPhone 3G S⃣ 16GB,tv 160GB

Jun 29, 2009, 02:38 PM	#23
NinjaHERO macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: U S of A	That is hilarious. I hope people are using paypal or something so they can get their money back. __________________ New New MBP 13" (1st one defective), iBook G4, Two Iphone 3G's NinjaHERO.com, StoppingStupid.com, and SASScience.com

Jun 29, 2009, 03:09 PM	#25
Chaszmyr macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boulder, CO	I have renewed respect for the quality of Apple's products.

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