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US Customs seized $35,000 worth of counterfeit Fitbits
Being one of the most identifiable names in a technology sector means that people will always want in on your turf. It's a problem that Fitbit knows all too well, since it's now dealing not just with generic clones of its devices, but counterfeit models as well. US Customs and Border Protection has revealed that it seized $35,000 worth of fake Fitbits as they arrived into Philadelphia on a shipment from Hong Kong. The devices were nabbed on January 4th, putting the stops on at least 350 people's new year's resolutions to slim down.
Counterfeiters already have fake 'BTTF' Nikes with power laces
Nike won't have its Back to the Future 2 kicks on shelves until next year, but it looks like the folks who make their money selling knockoffs aren't waiting around. Since Nike announced the Mags with power laces will be a very limited edition available only via auction, we can expect a healthy market for fakes. Kicks On Fire points out this Instagram video by fake_education -- an account that generally points out ways to tell real shoes from their unauthorized twins -- showing a power lacing system already integrated with a pair of knockoff Mags. Of course we're sure you would never stoop so low as to intentionally buy fakes, but when Marty McFly's futuristic shoes start to surface in suspicious quantities and prices, remember this video.
Bell Canada gets slapped for fake App Store reviews
Bell Canada has been handed down a $1.25 million CAD ($970,719) fine by Canada's competition bureau after its employees posted fake reviews of Bell apps. According to the regulator, the carrier "encouraged" staff members to post glowing testimonials of the MyBell Mobile and Virgin My Account apps on the App Store and Google Play. Unfortunately, these overenthusiastic write-ups neglected to mention that they were written by people on Bell's dollar. Oops.
Luxury brands sue Chinese online shopping giant for allowing fakes
It's no secret that luxury designers see Chinese online stores as a haven for fake goods, but they're now taking concerted action to shut down these less-than-official outlets. Kering, the parent company behind brands like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, is suing shopping giant Alibaba for allegedly letting counterfeiters sell their wares in the US and elsewhere. The company did nothing to shut these operations down even when told what was going on, according to the complaint. Kering had tried suing Alibaba last July, but it dropped the case in hopes of hashing out a deal -- clearly, those negotiations didn't get very far.
Etsy's counterfeit problem is getting worse
News of Etsy's battle against sellers pedaling knockoff goods on its site isn't a recent revelation, but an analyst report this week details the extent of the problem. Investment firm Wedbush says that up to 2 million items listed on the marketplace may be counterfeit or infringe on either a copyright or trademark -- items like these. That's around 5 percent of all goods promoted there. It's not just fashion and jewelery brands, either: products with pro sports, cartoon and comic book artwork abound on Etsy as well. The company recently went public, and as you might expect, its stock fell in response to the report. What's more, a class action lawsuit was filed against the site for making "false and misleading statements" about the counterfeit issue. Etsy took aim at questionable merchandise in the past, banning the sale of Washington Redskins items back in September. However, if it wants to continue being the go-to place for handmade goods, it'll need to do some spring cleaning. [Image credit: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Dangerous prank brings SWAT team down on gamer
A Littleton, Colorado, man named Jordan Mathewson was raided by a heavily armed SWAT team thanks to a false shooting and hostage report, and all the chaos was captured on a Twitch game stream (see below). During a Counter-Strike session, Jordan "Kootra" Mathewson -- a founder of The Creatures -- suddenly noticed things around him were amiss. "Uh oh. This isn't good. They're clearing rooms. What in the world, I think we're getting swatted," he says in the video. Luckily, Mathewson stayed calm throughout the ordeal and was released a short time later. On top of invading his offices, police locked down several schools and businesses in the Littleton area. Suffice to say, the situation was extremely dangerous, and the police chief said, "We have real guns and real bullets, and there's potential there for some tragedy."
Google partners with Pikachu in Google Maps: Pokemon Challenge [April Fools!]
Google wants to hire the very best. Like no one ever was. If you're a Pokémon master and can meet some extreme physical fitness requirements, you might have what it takes to survive the Pokémon Challenge, a fictional Google Maps-based job application that employs an augmented reality interface. The latest version of Google Maps for smartphones now includes a built-in Pokedex, so even those who aren't seeking employment with Google can capture nearby critters. Google is fond of video game-themed April Fools' jokes, having previously launched a faux 8-bit version of Google Maps in 2012. This year's prank is such a simple and engaging concept that you have to wonder why Nintendo hasn't attempted something similar -- and no, the stripped-down Pokémon Dream Radar doesn't count. Forcing players to scale real-world cliffs in order to capture rare Pokémon dovetails nicely with Nintendo's recently announced shift into the health sector, too. Get on it, Nintendo! [Video: Google]
WRUP: You won't believe these incredibel WoW headlines
It's been a slow week. Month? Let's just say: the news hasn't been rolling in like we'd hope. So your intrepid WoW Insider staff took matters in our own hands and took a page from other news organizations. If there's no news worth telling, then we'd just make it up. Keep reading below. You won't believe what we uncovered. (That isn't true.) Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) I'm working to get all the pets I need up level 25 to do the Celestial Tournament. Only about 12 more pets to go... Fake Headline:World of Warcraft players to have their real names displayed in-game
iPhone 3G mini? Looks legit to me
Apparently all you need to do to knock off an imaginary Apple product is put "Mini" on the back in really crappy vinyl lettering. [Photo credit: Juska Wendland]
Chaos Computer Club says it's beaten Apple's Touch ID fingerprint reader (video)
Already feeling secure about using just your fingerprint to unlock the new iPhone 5S? European hacker association Chaos Computer Club claims it can be circumvented with "easy everyday means." According to CCC hacker "Starbug", tactics laid out in a how-to from 2004 are all that are required, with just a higher res fake needed to beat the Touch ID reader. The process, requires a 2400 DPI photograph of someone's fingerprint from a glass surface, which is then laser printed at 1200 DPI and used to create a thin latex sheet that serves as the fake. Simple, right? It's a bit more labor intensive than the old way (just watching someone input their passcode or pattern) but users may want to consider fingerprint access as a measure intended more for convenience than security. [Thanks, Frederic]
Lumia 1020 KIRF swaps PureView camera for '41-megaplxel' audio
You'd think that the Lumia 1020's 41-megapixel camera and unibody design would deter clone makers -- how do you even get close to the real thing? That hasn't stopped an anonymous Shenzhen company from giving it a shot, however. As you'd expect, this attempt at keepin' it real fake is nowhere near as well-designed as the Nokia original. It's housed in a crude two-piece shell and carries just a 2MP camera at the back. Most of the rear hump is occupied by "41-megaplxel" speakers and an attempted revival of Nokia's XpressMusic badge. At least the Windows Phone-like Android launcher is more convincing. We'd advise against spending $69 on this knockoff for serious uses, although you may want one for the novelty; now that Microsoft is buying Nokia's device business, it may the closest we get to an Android-based Nokia phone. Check out a second image of the clone after the break.
Keepin' it real fake: HTC One gets a convincing plastic clone (video)
We hate to say this, but the KIRF market is often a good indicator of how popular certain devices are, hence the plentiful fake iPhones and Galaxy phones in China. (Meanwhile, MediaTek is shamelessly cashing in as it ships its SoCs to those cloning factories.) Now, we're not saying the HTC One doesn't have any clones, but most of those we've seen weren't very convincing -- they were either of different sizes or had very poor build quality. But we eventually stumbled upon a pretty good fake in Huaqiangbei. The offending device is pictured above on the left. Externally, it bears a disgustingly strong resemblance to the real deal thanks to the same 4.7-inch screen size, the same curved back, the same micro-SIM tray, the same dual-soft-key layout and even the same metallic chamfer on the front. But if you look closer or touch it even, the tell-tale signs start to show up. See for yourself in the gallery below -- the fake One is to the left or on top of the real thing.
EVE Evolved: The Battle for Caldari Prime
The empires of EVE Online have long and bloody histories that, until now, have been played out largely through fictional chronicles and in-character news posts. This week saw conflict erupt in-game between two NPC empires in the Battle for Caldari Prime live event. The neutral CONCORD faction has managed to maintain order between the four main empires of New Eden for decades, but that doesn't stop the Gallente and Caldari factions occasionally violating the peace. The Caldari were originally part of the Gallente Federation but gained independence in a war lasting almost a hundred years. Following an attack on a Gallente city, a right-wing faction in the Gallente government seized power and ordered the bombing of the Caldari homeworld. Millions of Caldari citizens were evacuated from the homeworld, a planet that has been under dispute ever since. Caldari Prime resides in the Luminaire system and is officially inside Gallente territory, but recent events have seen the tables turn. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the story behind the recent Battle for Caldari Prime, accusations that the event was staged and scripted, and what the future may hold for live events in EVE.
I bought a fake Mophie Juice Pack (so you don't have to)
I find it wryly amusing that the first phone I ever owned with a sealed-in, non-swappable battery -- the iPhone, of course -- was also the first phone with a battery life so short as to warrant the ability to swap the battery. Hence the commercial popularity of battery cases like the various Mophie products. These are particularly handy when travelling, as the need for a phone when navigating foreign climes is greater and access to charging points is less frequent. That's why, in December 2011, I ordered two Mophie Juice Pack Plus battery cases for the iPhone 4 handsets my wife and I were about to take on a vacation to America. The Mophie models have plenty of fans amongst the TUAW staff, and had received a good review from Macworld's Lex Friedman too, so it seemed like a safe bet. However, unknown to me, the cases were fake, and could potentially have been very dangerous (fortunately, they weren't). I've written the story up to let you know what you should be looking out for and help you to avoid repeating the mistakes I made. %Gallery-176498% The tale of the fake In hindsight, I should have guessed right away, but I'd never heard of fake battery packs before so it simply didn't occur to me. I've heard plenty of stories of other types of accessories being riddled with fakes -- notably, Sandisk SD cards are a common target, and I once bought a 2 GB "Sandisk" SD card that turned out to be rebranded 512 MB fake. (There's an excellent in-depth look at fake SD cards by famous hacker-activist Andrew Huang.) But fake battery packs was a new experience for me at the time. It wasn't the packaging that should have tipped me off. I examined that very closely after uncovering the true nature of the counterfeits and it was absolutely perfect; high quality glossy cardboard, well printed, with a flap on the front held closed with magnets -- impressively elaborate. I suppose that when the counterfeits are sold in a retail setting, consumers can examine the packaging, and thus will be tipped off if the packaging isn't perfect. It wasn't anything about the transaction, either. These pseudoMophie cases came from Amazon Marketplace, from a "Fulfilled by Amazon" seller, so the order was packed by an Amazon staff member. I paid £34.99 each for the cases. Now, that's cheap -- around half the price of the Apple Store -- but it wasn't too-good-to-be-true cheap; as I recall, there were several other sellers in the £35-40 range, and the cases were around the £40-45 mark from most online sellers. At the time of writing, Amazon stock is £39.99. No, what should have clued me off was the poor fit the cases made with my phone. If you haven't seen one up close, the Mophie battery cases consist of one large piece you slide the phone into from the top, then a smaller piece that clips over the top and holds the phone in place. This part sits on the phone's power switch, with a small plastic pass-through button so you can turn the phone on and off. The top part on my two cases made quite loose contact with the main part of the case, meaning it rocked back and forth a little. Not much, but just enough to cause the occasional spurious power button press. With the case on, a few times a day I would pull my phone out of my pocket, press (usually without looking first) the Home button to wake it from sleep, and find myself taking a screenshot of my lock screen instead as the battery case was simultaneously pushing on the power button. I wasn't particularly impressed. Other than that, the cases worked fine... at first. After we came back from our vacation, we took them off our phones and didn't use them for a few months. Then I had to travel for work, so I got them back out, only to find they'd both Gone A Bit Strange (technical term there). One of them had developed a loosely fitting USB jack, and I had to fiddle with the cord when plugging it in before it would charge up. The other one wouldn't charge the phone correctly, as if it was flat, even though its own little indicator lights claimed it was fully charged. Plus, I noticed, both of them had somehow accumulated noticeable cosmetic damage, despite being very lightly used. Mophie cases have a kind of soft-touch rubberised coating over a hard plastic shell, and on my pseudoMophies, that coating had worn off in a number of places. I still didn't think "fake!" though. I just assumed they weren't very good, and tossed them back in a drawer until I eventually got around to emailing a warranty claim to Mophie, several months later. In fact, I remember glancing over the one-star Amazon product reviews and seeing people complaining about all the problems I had -- poorly fitting cases, problems getting the case to charge up, problems getting the case to connect to the phone, excessive cosmetic wear -- and assuming that Mophie's quality control had gone downhill since the glowing reviews were written. Looking back now, a small number of these reviews mention that they were dealing with counterfeits; but at the time, no-one had said anything like that. One seller even pinned the blame on the iPhone 4S being different from the iPhone 4, which I find rather suspicious. Eventually, my irritation at being sold what I thought was a couple of lemons overcame my reflexive procrastination, and I contacted Mophie customer support. I did the usual dance of filling in my product serial number and describing my problems, but then had an unusual request come back: "In order to move forward with your replacement, we need to gather some information. First we need a copy of your receipt. Please reply to this email with a scanned copy. If you purchased your item through our website, we can look your order up internally. If you have not already submitted your mophie (sic) order number, please reply to this email with the number. "We also need a clear picture showing the product label and serial number on the inside of the product." (Emphasis mine.) Slightly baffled -- I'd already provided the serial numbers, so why did Mophie need these pictures? -- I complied, only to receive a terse message back: "Judging by the serial number, and the label itself, you have two counterfeit devices. As such, we cannot offer you a replacement and urge you to seek a refund through the seller as soon as possible." At this point I became rather concerned. Poorly made lithium-ion batteries can be quite dangerous, and while there's plenty of no-name battery cells that are perfectly safe the fact I'd been stuffing a blatantly counterfeit product in my trouser pocket was rather worrying. Angry now, I emailed my Amazon seller, but after 48 hours I still hadn't heard anything. I followed up with Amazon itself, and it almost immediately agreed a refund and issued me an RMA to return the cases, saying:- "This order was purchased from 'REDACTED' and was 'Fulfilled by Amazon'. As we dispatched this item to you directly from an Amazon.co.uk fulfilment centre on behalf of this seller, we can process the return of this item, in exchange for a full refund." (I have redacted the seller's name as I have no way of knowing if the seller was knowingly selling counterfeits, or itself a victim of an unscrupulous supplier. I have attempted to contact the seller directly for comment, but the details I have are too generic to let me find them, and Amazon would not pass along a message from me. The seller's Amazon Marketplace account appears to be defunct now, although feedback on its profile page indicates it was still trading as recently as November 2012.) Lessons learnt So, how could I have prevented this sorry story from happening in the first place? I contacted Mophie and Amazon UK's press office for comment on this case and to ask them that question directly. I asked what advice they would give consumers when shopping. Ross Howe, Vice president of Marketing for Mophie, said "mophie takes counterfeits very seriously. In order to try and combat this problem, we have developed a page that solely address this issue, offering purchasing tips to the consumer. Additionally, our internal legal team works to monitor the selling of mophie products by unauthorized retailers, taking appropriate action if it is determined counterfeit items are being sold." Howe went on to offer consumers the following advice: Purchase at mophie.com or one of its authorized partners. The authorized partners page provides a breakout of all approved retailers globally. Customers should avoid the 'too good to be true' deals of eBay and the Amazon Marketplace. Even the stores that are "fulfilled by Amazon" are known to sell low-quality knockoffs. Sign up for the brand newsletter to receive the latest information on new products and sales. Suzi van der Mark replied on behalf of Amazon, and of course was keen to stress that buyers are protected (contrary to Mophie's stance of pushing you to its retail partners): "Amazon.co.uk does not allow the sale of counterfeit items on its Marketplace platform. Any seller found doing so will be subject to action from Amazon including removal of their account. Occurrences of counterfeit products on Amazon.co.uk Marketplace are rare and we have an established process in place which enables third parties including rights holders to provide us with notice of counterfeit product. We respond rapidly to any such notice. Every customer who orders on Amazon.co.uk is covered by our A-Z guarantee and if they do receive counterfeit goods from a Marketplace seller we will provide a refund. For more information on our A-Z Guarantee please visit this link." The old adage that "a price that's too good to be true means it probably isn't" applies, of course, as Howe says. But of course a clever seller of counterfeits can easily overcome that by simply pricing their goods just below the genuine ones, which was the case with my purchase. If I'd registered the cases with Mophie as soon as I'd received them, I might have been alerted if the serial numbers hadn't matched up. However, I'm guessing the counterfeiters can use real serial numbers (perhaps duplicated from genuine products), as otherwise my initial attempt to request product support would have failed. Other Amazon commenters mentioned that they had successfully registered their counterfeit case with Mophie, which supports this hypothesis. The bottom line is that I'm not sure there's anything I could have done upfront to avoid being taken in by this, except perhaps paying top dollar from the Apple store. I was lucky that Amazon stood by me and refunded my money promptly, or I would have been out the cost of the goods. In future, when using "market" style reseller services like eBay or Amazon Marketplate, I'm going to pay rather closer attention to retailer terms & conditions, as well as its reputation for aftersales customer care. Notably, Amazon (at least in my case) offered considerably more protection that eBay offers, in substance if not in policy. Many people have written about the difficulties of getting a refund for a counterfeit eBay purchase; stories abound of people having a rough time from Paypal's dispute resolution system. Probably most famously, Paypal forced a buyer to destroy an antique violin worth $2500 that may or may not have been fake. The seller was out the $2500 and the violin at the end of the transaction. Still, it could be worse. Counterfeit products aren't just a headache for consumers, either. At least I didn't buy a job lot of fake military grade processors...
Keepin' it real fake: pay peanuts, get a WP-flavored lemon
Either this latest KIRF contender apes Windows Phone to a seriously piratical degree, or someone has simply chopped in a screengrab from an HTC device. Either way, the aptly-named Lemon T109 could at least have tried mimicking the latest version of Redmond's mobile OS instead of Mango. The handset, which has just popped up in India for the equivalent of $54, accepts a pair of SIMs and boasts a 3.7-inch HVGA capacitive touch display. There's a "long" 1,200mAh battery that helps fuel features like the King Movie Player, an automatic call recorder and a 1.3-megapixel snapper circa 2004. We're not sure what the "PC Tablet" accessory refers to, but the free wristwatch on offer could possibly help sweeten the citrusy deal -- especially since the other core specs are MIA. The phone may not look like it's going to smoke anything, but if you're in the area and desperate for vitamins after all that fried bacon, a tap on the source link might just help you meet your match.
EVE Online $6,000 ship kill may be a hoax
EVE Online player "stewie Zanjoahir" made history yesterday when he reportedly lost a tiny ship with cargo worth over $6,000 US. Now it appears that the value of the kill may not have been accurate or that the kill could even be a hoax. Evidence that the kill may not be authentic surfaced last night as players found that three Hulk blueprints listed on the kill were marked as originals. That would make them priceless items that change hands for over 500 billion ISK each, which would raise the kill's value to a ludicrous 1.71 trillion ISK ($51,685 US). It's believed that many of the original blueprints in the kill were actually cheaper blueprint copies. One possible explanation for the aberration is that there was an error in the EVE API that supplied the original kill data to third-party killboard websites. It's also possible that the kill was marked as API Verified without actually being checked, in which case the kill may have never even happened. An alternative version of the kill valued at only 34 billion ISK ($1,024 US) has also surfaced, but this was manually uploaded and so isn't verified at all. CCP Games posted the kill on its Facebook page and Twitter feed, but didn't officially confirm the kill or its value. We reached CCP for comment, but privacy concerns prevented the company from confirming or denying the kill's authenticity. If this monumental kill turns out to be an error or a hoax, the next-highest value confirmed EVE kill would be Bjoern's Avatar class titan destroyed in March 2011. The titan was kitted out with expensive officer modules and came to a total value of over 128 billion ISK. As the price of PLEX was much lower in 2011, this would have bought 355 PLEX worth a total of $6,212.50 US.
McAfee shows how major Android scamware ticks, prevents us from learning first-hand
Most Android malware lives in the margins, away from Google Play and the more reliable app shops. It's nonetheless a good idea to be on the lookout for rogue code, and McAfee has stepped in with thorough explanations of how one of the most common scamware strains, Android.FakeInstaller, works its sinister ways. The bait is typically a search-optimized fake app market or website; the apps themselves not only present a legitimate-looking front but include dynamic code to stymie any reverse engineering. Woe be to anyone who's tricked long enough to finish the installation, as the malware often sends text messages to expensive premium phone numbers or links target devices to botnets. The safeguard? McAfee would like you to sign up for its antivirus suite, but you can also keep a good head on your shoulders -- stick to trustworthy shops and look for dodgy behavior before anything reaches your device.
Keepin' it real fake: the 808 PureView that wasn't
Meet the 808 Android: the modern day equivalent of those fake mobile antennas that people would attach to their cars in order to make others think they were a big shot. Yes, this device is an Android 2.3-powered forgery of Nokia's 808 PureView, but instead of 41 megapixels of imaging awesomeness, you'll find a mere 3.2MP setup that occupies the presumably hollow protrusion on the rear. Keeping with the theme of slumming things up, the 808 Android offers a 550MHz CPU, a 3.5-inch HVGA resistive touch display, a stylus for easier input and data connectivity that tops out at EDGE. If you were wondering, yes, it's a dual-SIM phone. All of this -- complete with rip-off Carl Zeiss badging -- can be yours for just $73.50. Be sure to peep the gallery below, where you can almost smell the shame. %Gallery-165849%
Blurrycam Theatre Presents: Fakers gotta fake a next-gen iPhone dock adapter
Remember the fake "iPhone 5 website leak" from last year? To briefly summarize, Apple was supposed to have screwed up last August, with some unlucky soul in the web commerce group posting the "iPhone 5" section early on the Apple Store, accessible only through the internet equivalent of the Konami Code. If you knew where to look -- and our tipster "Peter" did, having sent us a video and everything -- you could see the "iPhone 5" well in advance of its launch. Very well in advance, as it turns out. Peter's video was moderately clever, but there were some obvious clues that it was fake. With nearly a year of hindsight, it seems laughable now; the iPhone 4S that launched two months later looked nothing like the fake renders. You'd think after being publicly ridiculed last year, "Peter" wouldn't bother to try faking out tech sites again. Even if he did, you'd guess he'd at least have the common sense not to do pretty much exactly the same thing he did last year. Failing that, maybe he'd be wise enough not to send another fake to the same website that vivisected his last one. You might think these things, but you'd be wrong. New iPhone Dock Connector Adapter leaked on the Apple Online Store proclaims some blogger you've never heard of, complete with screenshots and a seemingly convincing YouTube video. Here we find rather convincing "photographs" of a Dock connector adapter, one that's rumored to bring compatibility for old 30-pin iOS device accessories to the new iPhone and its smaller connector. It comes in two varieties: black and silver. The "leaked" page even says which devices it's compatible with, none of which have actually been announced yet. Once again, cleverly done. Unfortunately, our in-house detectives are much cleverer. Although our faker went to great pains to correct his obvious mistakes from last year, Mike Rose immediately spotted a telltale marker of the video's fakery. We've embedded the video at the bottom of this post and invite our sharp-eyed readers to see if they can spot it, too (watch it in 720p). We confronted "Peter" (who first claimed to be a US resident originally from Germany) with his hoax and asked him why he went to so much trouble. Yes everything is fake. I'm in the last year of high school in Switzerland and for our final exams we have to make big documented project. My Topic is Viral Marketing and spreading of Rumors in the Internet. Sooo please don't show that all is fake, because the first day is very important for my analytics. After a few days you can do whatever you want. By the way, I'm also the Guy who did the "iPhone 5 Website Leaked" Video last year. Apologies in advance for your project grade, "Peter," but you spins the wheel, you takes your chances. We're not your lab rats. We're not your teachers, either, but it's a good bet that your school's academic policies don't look kindly on sending hoax emails to media outlets as a means of completing assignments. Speaking of fake iPhones, though this one isn't from "Peter," check out this next Photoshop abomination anyway. Aside from obvious image editing artifacts, the phone's lock screen has little widgets on it we know from personal experience aren't included in iOS 6. The entire phone seems to be made of aluminum, betraying the faker's complete ignorance of the words "Faraday cage." There are no volume buttons or mute switch. The date on the screen is Thursday, 22 December -- a calendar date from 2011. Actually, wait. With that date, it makes perfect sense now. This is the real iPhone 5 Apple actually wanted to release last year, but they were forced to settle for the iPhone 4S because of swamp gas reflecting off of Venus and the reverse vampires. The fake Apple Store/iPhone mini-dock adapter video is below. Sorry if you fail your project, "Peter" -- you'll always have a C-minus in our hearts.
Ask Engadget: Are KIRFs worth it?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Sabin, who wants a high-spec smartphone and is prepared to venture to the dark side to get it. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I know, I know. I sound like an idiot, but I'd like a full-featured smartphone without the hefty cost. I'm looking for an unlocked phone and came across some of the China Global iPhone KIRFs that run Android. I'm no slouch in loading ROMs, building jtags, etc., but I'd like to know if the hardware is solid, because I can make the software work if that's the case." Putting aside the various ethical and legal quandaries for the moment, it's a very good question. Are KIRFs usable smartphones for those who know their way around tech? Does the hardware work to such a standard that you can expect useful performance and bluff your way through a crowd of those paying full price? Share your experiences with the group -- we're sure you'll feel better afterward.
