The Engadget store

So Engadget finally has a store. Aren't you stoked? Too bad it's absolutely not affiliated with Engadget or its parent companies (if it is, in fact, real, and not a photoshop or hoax). That, and apparently it's located in the Midvalley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So, next time someone's in Malaysia, would you do us a favor and check up on 'em, make sure they're doing the Engadget name good? And since we can only assume the Engadget store's proprietors are reading this, we'd like to shout 'em out and say hey, what's up, were you planning on telling us about this at some point? Yeah, we can understand why not.

Update: Uh, yeah, we can with some amount of certainty confirm that this isn't a photoshop job (see pics here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). Thanks to David, Sunil, and SCH! So, anyone talk to these guys yet?

[djphatjive @ Apr 8th 2006 9:07PM]

How is that even possible? Sue them! Or demand 60 percent of there profits!

[skinnydude @ Apr 8th 2006 9:09PM]

dude, like, can they do that??
i know a good lawyer, =] lets sue their stinky behind!!!!
heheheh,,,jk
that rules, too bad u guys can make profits out of it,,,but dude, they even took your logo!!

[Threnody @ Apr 8th 2006 9:10PM]

Uh you might want to sue them before you lose your trademark

[andy @ Apr 8th 2006 9:14PM]

uuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmm

[ScottE @ Apr 8th 2006 9:15PM]

Those Crazy Malaysians!

[Lonin @ Apr 8th 2006 9:16PM]

A closer look at the picture shows the words Pusat Komputer, which seems to be a computer electronics store in Malaysia: http://www.ukm.my/pkukm/

Also, the Midvalley Megamall website doesn't have an Engadget store on its listings, or a Pusat Komputer for that matter: http://www.midvalley.com.my/

I'm going to go with photochop on this one.

[Jonathan C @ Apr 8th 2006 9:20PM]

i think it was photoshop'd

[malaysian @ Apr 8th 2006 9:21PM]

sue them!

[linkman2004 @ Apr 8th 2006 9:21PM]

I think it's a fake. Shouldn't the glowing sign be casting some sort of green glow on the board it's on?

[SwedeX @ Apr 8th 2006 9:22PM]

#2 - the American way of "sue first, ask later" luckily doesn't work outside the US. In most cases that's a very good thing (Did I hear anyone say software patents?).

However, in this case I'd still side with Engadget - The Site... :)

[koo @ Apr 8th 2006 9:23PM]

Those dirty sons of bitches!!.. This is a travesty... an outrage! You should take immediate legal ac... oh wait did you say Malaysia? Well I guess all we can do is sit back and watch as they start mass marketing limited edition KeepinItRealFakes under the Engadget name.

[malaysian @ Apr 8th 2006 9:26PM]

wait a minute, is "engadget" a registered trademark?

probably not (here) in malaysia, right?

[ipodman715 @ Apr 8th 2006 9:31PM]

lol awesome!

[J-MoNeY @ Apr 8th 2006 9:32PM]

That looks Photoshop'd to me... They could have done a better job too. There isn't enough shadowing from the glow of the letters onto the white background.

[Chris @ Apr 8th 2006 9:33PM]

Oh My God!! I SO had that idea ages ago!

[Ned @ Apr 8th 2006 9:36PM]

thats faker then Carlos Mencia! Here is the real photo the photoshopers used, FAKE!

http://www.nedcorona.com/gi.jpg

[crap @ Apr 8th 2006 9:36PM]

dear Lonin (#7),

translation: "pusat komputer" literally means "computer centre".

i'm positive they are real, as those chinese in malaysia do that all the time.

[holy_cow @ Apr 8th 2006 9:39PM]

To Lonin,

What I'm finding funny is how easy the linguistic barrier can cause all sorts of confusion in ways I'd never imagined possible. Not that I blame you, but I'd like to be put right if I were in your position so here goes.

'Pusat Komputer' is Malaysian for 'Computer Centre', and the reason it's on that sign is because under Malaysian law (I believe) stores in shopping malls have to provide an explanation on their signs as to what they really are - therefore, if you run a mountaineering store you could call it 'Crazy Scalers', but you'd have to make sure you put 'Pusat Alat Mendaki Gunung' (which means Mountaineering Equipment Centre) somewhere on your sign.

That website your first link leads to is in fact the page for the computer centre of a local university, UKM or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Hence the use of the phrase Pusat Computer.

As for Mid Valley's site, they tend to be late with updating even their in-house directories, so I wouldn't be surprised if their site is simply out of date. That said, until I visit and see for myself I can't say for sure if this is a Photoshop or not. Will visit soon and report back.

[Dan @ Apr 8th 2006 9:40PM]

This is wrong. Next you'll be telling me I can buy mp3 files from Russians for pennies.

[Thomas @ Apr 8th 2006 9:44PM]

umm Ned.. Dont know if you noticed but that picture you linked is a Photoshop'd..

[- k E n - @ Apr 8th 2006 9:56PM]

Well, i'm from Malaysia and i use to stay quite near MidValley Megamall(i'm currently overseas). I can say that this is definitely not fake.

In most shopping centres in Malaysia, there is always an IT centre or better known in the local Malay language as "Pusat Komputer", where all the computer shops + gadget shops + pda shops + laptop shops all dumped in to one area of the mall. When i left Malaysia 2 months ago, Megamall was expanding their IT centre so i am not surpised this shop pop up quite recently. Too bad i'm not back home as it would only take me 15mins to drive down there and check it out.

And about the website, Malaysians are known to not update their websites frequently. Just look at the copyright sign down at the megamall webpage. 2005. Righttt......

[CobraRob @ Apr 8th 2006 9:59PM]

#11 - It's not a matter of just being Sue happy... Trademarks are a wierd beast.. IF you do not activly seek protection of them.. ie sueing people using them without permission it is quite possible to lose that TM to the public domain. I am not saying sue for monitary dammages even though its within the scope and right, but mearly defend by sueing for removal.

However, in this case its probably a PS so no biggie. Been a while since I was in KL but I am e-mailing Ex-GF there to see if she can check it out tomorrow..

[Dark_sHadow @ Apr 8th 2006 10:00PM]

That's Fake...and ned don't diss Carlos Mencia, or i'll bust a cap up yo' ass!

[CobraRob @ Apr 8th 2006 10:00PM]

#20 also agree.. same thing in Singapore with like the Sim Lim area.

[gregenz @ Apr 8th 2006 10:05PM]

dudes, im based in malaysia, and live quite near to Midvalley megamall (bangsar), i'm gona see if it's real or not too :D who took and submitted the shot?

[Joshua 'Z' Hernandez @ Apr 8th 2006 10:05PM]

now you know how apple corps feels ;)

[Ned @ Apr 8th 2006 10:09PM]

#22 Carlos Mencia is a unfunny hack, I wouldnt defend someone who steals their material because he is too stupid to write his own jokes, and pretends to be mexican. for more information check out this: http://www.joerogan.net/main.php?archives=1&article=44170

[Slartibartfast @ Apr 8th 2006 10:11PM]

What's all this talk about engadget puss..... woops I misread.


Anyways... like SwedeX says, no need to involve layers who'll take most of your money. Just hire some local street punks and firebomb the jackholes. Now we can get back to talking about pus...

[Pejman @ Apr 8th 2006 10:11PM]

at first i belived it was a fake after looking at the mall website and seeing it was not listed and looking at the first thing, but im pretty sure the GIZMODO or w/e sign is fake, and this isn't. like i think the "original" someone posted is fake and the engadget one isn't... the guy is right, their copyright at hte bottom is 2005. i mean OBVIOUSLY they odnt update their website and this could very well be true and be a new addition to the mall.

[adam hodge @ Apr 8th 2006 10:16PM]

hey if it's real and you make them take it down, at least make them send you the sign.

[james @ Apr 8th 2006 10:17PM]

#15, that looks even more photoshopped than the ine with engadget.

[cycomachead @ Apr 8th 2006 10:19PM]

theresalso 3 air waves inthe corner instaed of 2 and the fonts dont match up- FAKE!!

[Brian @ Apr 8th 2006 10:33PM]

Guys, Gizmodo is another tech blog much like engadget. If you read the link Ned posted you'll see it's his own website.

...He was making a joke.

[Troy @ Apr 8th 2006 10:43PM]

Malaysia Boleh!!!!! LOL Next time when I travel back home for a visit, I will check up on this store. ;) Sue them, for what? They are just a small shop that sells gadgets, and the owners happened to be a fan of engadget.

Engadget, start a chain in US. Beat Best Buy and Circuit City. I am tired of their stupid sales people that don't know what they are talking about.

[CubeGuy @ Apr 8th 2006 10:50PM]

The sign may be flush with the white background. It doesn't have to be protruding type.

[Othello @ Apr 8th 2006 10:56PM]

This looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.

[x @ Apr 8th 2006 10:58PM]

True...they sell stuff with faulty advice from their sales reps...they suck. Now they are a store w/a huge cache of electronics...that's pretty much it.

[huh? @ Apr 8th 2006 11:07PM]

I don't think it's photoshopped. I saw a "Whole Foods" in Chandigargh, India, when I visited a few years ago. Clearly someone saw the name and just decided to use it for their own store.
Also, that's hilarious!

[Dave Zatz @ Apr 8th 2006 11:24PM]

Hahaha Ned, thanks for the laugh! :)

[Drunk @ Apr 8th 2006 11:26PM]

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3895/2435/1600/DSC00002.jpg
Here is the link to that picture
Enlarge it, and you'll find out its fake. =]
If you look closely all lights has a mall glow next to the edges, while the engadget "light doesn't clow at all and if it was 3D, it wouldn't look flat when enlarged. =]

[Sang Hoon Shin @ Apr 8th 2006 11:28PM]

Look GUYS! go read #22.
I'm pissed that they copied engadget.com's logo
i'm not sure about suing, but you should definitely contact them and let them know about this matter.

and viewers in Malaysia, if you are true fan of the Engadget.com, you should express your concern to the store.

by the way, it's no photoshop

[Damian @ Apr 8th 2006 11:28PM]

I have no grudge against all of you yelling "Shopped!" or "Not!", but it's actually not that interesting reading threads where 90% of the comments are about whether a certain picture is altered or not... If you have some proof, by all means share it, if not those personal theories are mostly a waste of space.

Just my 10 cents...

[oddsends @ Apr 8th 2006 11:31PM]

I can't imagine engadget opening a store in North America, although it would not be as bad as a slashdot store (dupes anyone?)

Nice work Ned (corona), you did not even bother to photoshop the full size version of the photo!!! (or even skew the gizmodo lettering properly to match the sign backing!!!, DOH!!!)

[Jason Gooljar @ Apr 8th 2006 11:53PM]

Now that I'm using Lektora the rss reader I'm able to read more of the 188 feeds I subscribe to, as it only informs me of the ones that are updated and the moment. So now I get to read Engadget!

On the whole store thing, yeah I don't think there's much you can do about all that legal stuff unless they are in the WTO or something LOL.

[Kevin Wood @ Apr 9th 2006 12:01AM]

I don't think its a Photo shopped! Save the picture and zoom in on it. It looks real. Especially the lighting from the ceiling on both sides.

[J.I.G. @ Apr 9th 2006 12:01AM]

Well, I don't know if it is photoshoped, but if it is they did a good job. Increasing saturation and contrast to the max in Preview, I can see that the ceiling has a green glow, which is what I would expect from the sign. Of course, maybe the original sign was green too... ;)

In any case, stores in foreign countries using registered trademarks or logos are not uncommon. There is a store that sells fruits & vegetables in my city (actually, a small franchise that has stores in three cities that I know of) that uses Apple's old logo (the "rainbow colored apple").

Their prices are a lot cheaper than the local authorized Apple resellers, I give them that. :D

[russdogg @ Apr 9th 2006 12:01AM]

I don't think the verdict is totally in yet...pretty well done if it is a PS job... In Fiji they have tons of stores, clubs, etc. all named off of american counterparts and using their logos, but its way the hell over there so nobody cares. The same in China. I went to an "Apple" store in Xi'an and it was a total rip off.

[Badison @ Apr 9th 2006 12:07AM]

So who had the logo design first then?

[George @ Apr 9th 2006 12:07AM]

That looks real to me. Check out the text on the right of the sign, it also says ....ENGADGET...

It really doesn't suprise me. Just look at all the fake stuff that engadget shows on their site that is made in asia. In fact I remember seeing lots of stuff like that in the Philippines... Calbin Klein, Sany, Sonyo, and the list goes on. Trademarks and copyrights mean nothing in those countries.

[genosyde @ Apr 9th 2006 12:26AM]

I'm a Malaysian and I'll check it out the next time I'm at MidValley. However, from examining the picture, I'm quite sure it is real. If you look at the tiny writings under the LOT 18 words on the upper right, you can make out the words "DIMILIKI OLEH ENGADGET DIGITAL MOBILITY SDN BHD" which translate to "OWNED BY ENGADGET DIGITAL MOBILITY LTD". It is common to have the actual name that the company is registered under to be listed on the signboard. While a prankster might take the trouble to fake the main sign correctly, it's unlikely he/she faked the tiny words as well.