Keepin' it real fake, part XXXIX: Apple teams with Palm for... wait, nm

Our iPhone-addled brains almost ran the wrong way with this one. Turns out it's just another one of those ubiquitous iPod nano ripoffs, with a very special branding twist. Friendly tipster Alberto sent this one in, after spotting it in Fortaleza Brazil for a whopping 579 reais ($270 US). But we suppose that's just the kind of reais you have to be willing to drop for a piece of the future.

[luiseargote @ Dec 15th 2006 9:42PM]

hooooly shit.... this thing is way expensive, IDK how much a real iPod nano is in Brazil but I doubt it's more expensive, they're certainly not $270 here in Mexico

[T.H. @ Dec 15th 2006 9:51PM]

Now I've seen it all...a knockoff that's more expensive than the real deal.

[KenjiFinster @ Dec 15th 2006 10:15PM]

A 2GB nano goes for R$799 (US$372), a 4GB for R$1099 (US$512) and the 30GB goes for R$1399 (US$652).
So, in perspective for this aprticular case, this ripoff is not that expensive, for brazilian standards, that is (Where 33 to 43% of the product price are just taxes)

[fearless @ Dec 15th 2006 11:28PM]

wow, someone could make alot of money smuggling ipods down to brazil then... *ponders*

[Luis @ Dec 15th 2006 11:35PM]

hoooly shit... Apple really shafts brazilians, and I though we mexicans got it in the ass, i'll have to reconsider now....

[jmil @ Dec 16th 2006 12:08AM]

I live in Uruguay, here all electronic products are worth exactly double the price than in the US. I have used this advantage to update all my electronic products for free over the last few years. All you have to do is shove some electronics in your case and when you get here you can sell then over the internet for only a bit less than they sell them in stores and you sell it in seconds. In other words, if you buy two iPods in the US and come to Uruguay and sell one, then the one you keep is free, further on, you now own an iPod that has doubled it's shelve price! (This can only be done in small amounts and when you travel personally to the US)

[Semi @ Dec 16th 2006 5:37AM]

i wonder how many americans think that XXXIX is a replacement for a swear word

[Ignacio @ Dec 16th 2006 8:54AM]

Here is a picture I took a couple of weeks ago at the "Rio Sul Shopping Mall" in Rio, Brazil (shortly before my camera got stolen :-/ ). I just *had* to document the ridiculous prices:
http://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture1rx5.jpg
(1 dollar is about 2 reals)

Before that I thought Apple prices here in Argentina were absurd, and... well, they are but Brazil wins by a bit:
MacStation Argentina:
http://www.macstation.com.ar:16080/store/index.php?seccion=subcategoria&cat=11&code=76
(1 dollar is about 3 arg. peso)

So, a 2GB nano silver costs u$s 330 in Argentina, and about u$s 500 in Brazil. Fun uh?
>:(

[Simon @ Dec 16th 2006 9:55AM]

No Luis, it's not apple, Brazil has a nearly 100% import tax. If you try to get anything into the country then they will BAM!!! slap u with that nasty tax!!!! Argentina is similar, it helps to know someone working in customs so that you can bypass it!!!! ;)

[mitch @ Dec 16th 2006 11:13AM]

So it is fake, but imagine, a nano treo, that would own everything else.

[Chasqui @ Dec 16th 2006 8:53PM]

Import duties are a bitch. They love to go after luxury goods too. I lived in Peru for some time and I remember the taxes on my gadgets all too well. Jmil is right - if you take a gadget down for personal use, sell it before you leave and get a new one on your return. Don't be tempted to take a whole bunch though. If you get caught, you will get SKEWERED at the airport with the duty taxes!

[Dave Pevsner @ Dec 17th 2006 6:04PM]

funny thing is, that ripoff control wheel has the same design (with the bold capital M on top instead of the word "menu") as the ripoff iPods they sell in china (and that engadget has already wrote a KIRF article about, i think). so whoever puts this out makes ripoff MP3 players for a living, and doesn't even put any variation between models except uhh......the logo on the front, which never belonged to them anyway.
and apparently, the packaging it comes in. although, under the "fake treo branded fake nano player" (say that 10 times fast), it seems to say "ayer", which is spanish for yesterday, and probably similar to the portugese word for yesterday. so this ripoff MP3 player biz is yesterday's news.

[Andrew @ May 26th 2007 5:37PM]

Did you think that maybe it says mp3 player? or music player?
Thats what i thought when i looked at it. but it could just be me. :-)
(although i did get the joke... )

[John Baeyens @ Dec 18th 2006 4:53PM]

I bet it has 'Industria Brasileira' on it ;)