How to spot a counterfeit iPod
Today I received a new iPod Nano from a reader that just returned from Shanghai (that’s in China in case you were wondering). It took me a few minutes to realize that something was just ‘not right’ about this model and another minute or two before I figured out that it was a total fake. For fun showed this fake iPod to two other people to see if they could tell if it was a fake or not: One realized it was fake but it took 4 or 5 minutes. The other, who has never touched an iPod had no idea it was fake and assumed it was real.
Because this thing looked so real and it could easily fool someone that may have never seen an iPod (and even fool someone that has seen one) I decided I would post some pictures and point out the differences between the real iPod and it’s counterfeit Chinese cousin.
The reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) purchased this fake iPod at a small storefront in downtown Shanghai. The asking price was 680Yen which is roughly $89USD. After some haggling and bargaining he was able to get the price down to 187Yen, or $22USD. I did not ask him which orifice he used to hide it in when he returned to the USA.From the outside there is almost no way to tell that this iPod is counterfeit, and I would say that the packaging is almost a perfect fake. Below is a picture of the counterfeit box on the left, and a real box that came with my Nano on the right.
About the only giveaway that might tip you off that this ipod is counterfeit is one small typo:
The counterfeit box does not have a serial number tag, the genuine iPod box on the right does.
The real iPod on the right has a highly polished, beautiful aluminum case (that scratches kinda easily), the counterfeit Nano on the left has a cheap plastic case. Note also the lanyard loop at the bottom of the counterfeit iPod that prevents it from standing on a flat surface.
The real iPod on the right has no screws and is virtually seamless. The counterfeit iPod on the left has screws and an unidentifiable hole. Note that on the real ipod the only swich is the “hold” or ‘lock’ button on the top. On the fake iPod the on/off switch is on the top, where the hold switch should be.
The real Nano on the right has nothing but the proprietary Apple iPod connection and micro earplug hole on the bottom. The counterfeit Nano on the left has screws, the lanyard loop, a standard USB connector and a larger, 1/8″ earplug connection. The fake on the left also has a cheesy “8GB” sticker, whereas the real Nano has the amount of RAM engraved (4GB on the real one) into the aluminum case.
One of the biggest differences between the real iPod and the the fake iPod on the left is the lack of the patented Apple iPod “clickwheel”, which is virtually seamless and smooth. The fake iPod on the left has raised click-buttons with noticeable gaps. The fake iPod on the left has a slightly larger and rectangular LCD than the real iPod on the right which has an almost perfectly square LCD.
Once your turn on the fake iPod you will quickly see that the menus are also quite different. The text and graphics are also very low quality compared to a real Nano. Some of the playback screens are also a bit more cheap and ‘flashy’ looking compared to the simple but elegant menus of the real iPod.
Overall, this fake Nano is a decent MP3 player if you were to only pay $22 for it, but if you paid anything more than that it would be a total ripoff. Remember, if someone is offering to sell you an iPod for only $20 (or $80 for that matter), whether you’re in Shanghai, looking on eBay or at the swap-meet, take a good look.. It’s probably fake.
