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Newegg terminates supplier relationship over counterfeit Core i7 CPUs

By Sean Hollister

This weekend, up to 300 Newegg customers who pulled the trigger on a new Intel Core i7-920 processor found themselves puzzling over a clever fake instead. Who’s to blame? It’s not exactly clear — Newegg initially said that the processors were “demo units,” but has now posted a statement to Facebook saying that supplier IPEX shipped counterfeit chips and has had its contract revoked. That’s good news for D&H Distributing, another Newegg supplier that responded to an initial wave of finger-pointing by issuing legal nastygrams to sites covering the story, thus ruining whatever good vibes the truth’s generated.

Finally, here’s the statement Intel just sent us, explaining in no uncertain terms that these are counterfeit parts:

“Intel has been made aware of a limited number of counterfeit i7 920 packages in the marketplace, specifically Newegg, and is working to how many and/or where they are being sold. The examples we have seen are not Intel products but are counterfeits. Buyers should contact their place of purchase for a replacement and/or should contact their local law enforcement agency if the place of purchase refuses to help.

Intel is getting samples to inspect and until then we can say that everything in the package appears fake. Some of the photos of the processor look like it is a casting and not even a real processor of any kind. Newegg has moved quickly to replace the suspect units.”

No matter who’s at fault here, the damage has been done. We’ll never build another PC without losing precious seconds carefully examining its CPU first.

[Thanks, Cody C.]

Newegg terminates supplier relationship over counterfeit Core i7 CPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NewEgg sells 300 counterfeit Core i7-920 CPUs, KIRFers pump their fists

By Darren Murph

Oops. Over the weekend, it seems as if 300 or so unlucky individuals were shipped a counterfeit processor from the normally reliable warehouses at NewEgg, and Hard|OCP has the images (and video) to prove it. Vincent Waller couldn’t have possibly been more eager to receive the Core i7-920 that he had ordered, but upon unboxing it, he realized that he had received a well-disguised fake. After a fair bit of digging, it seems as if one of NewEgg’s “long time partners” (D&H Distributing) got ahold of 300 fakes in a batch of 2,000, though not everyone’s buying the “it was an honest mistake” line — especially when you consider that said company has already issued cease-and-desist letters to the sites who published the news. At any rate, NewEgg has already arranged for an authentic CPU to be rushed to Mr. Waller, and it’s purportedly working around the clock in order to make things right with any other negatively affected customers. Hop on past the break for a look at the knockoff, particularly if you just took delivery of a shiny new Core i7.

Continue reading NewEgg sells 300 counterfeit Core i7-920 CPUs, KIRFers pump their fists

NewEgg sells 300 counterfeit Core i7-920 CPUs, KIRFers pump their fists originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple, Siemens and Sisvel patent infringement leads to CeBIT booth raid

By Darren Murph

Mama always said that some folks just never learn, and we reckon there’s plenty of wisdom to be had from that very statement. Year after year, German police are called in to raid select booths at CeBIT (and IFA, to be fair), and yet again we’ve seen a booth cleared out at the request of powerful lawyers from a few companies you may have heard of. Word on the street has it that Apple, Siemens and Sisvel were all kvetching over patent infringements made by an unnamed company exhibiting at last week’s show, and within an hour or so of the fuzz showing up, the whole thing was stripped and a hefty fine (€10,000) was levied. Unfortunately, the exact details of who was violating what remains clouded in mystery, but for whatever reason, we get the feeling that something extremely similar will be going down in Hannover next year. We blame KIRFers determination.

Updated: Turns out one of our editors at CeBIT saw this whole situation go down at the FirstView booth. Within minutes the entire booth was surrounded by the Polizei, and though we tried to dig further on the situation our inability to speak German caused some communication issues so we decided it best to move on to the next craptablet on the floor. We will, however, always have the shot above to remember the confusing experience.

[Thanks, TheLostSwede]

Apple, Siemens and Sisvel patent infringement leads to CeBIT booth raid originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Core i5 And Core i7 MacBook Pro Leaked?

By Ubergizmo

Apple Core i5 And Core i7 MacBook Pro Leaked?

This actually seems a little suspect at the moment, especially since Apple is probably the king of secrecy, but it’s still interesting to note that an online store has started listing MacBook Pros powered by Intel’s Core i5 and Core i7 processors. According to the site, it’ll be released in April 2010, which is next month, and features a new 8-hour battery and new multi-touch trackpad, amongst other things. What do you think? Fake listing, and cheap publicity, or the real deal, with interesting specs? Chances seem to be higher that it’s not genuine.

Update: A Tosh New Zealand representative has come out and stated that they don’t have the actual details of the upcoming MacBook Pros, but it was just “to let their customers know” of the upcoming refresh.

It’s also worth noting that the 9400M and 9600M graphics listed on the site can’t be used together with the Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, due to the legal wrangling between NVIDIA and Intel.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLIX: X-Slim X340 KIRFed, MacBook Air empathizes

By Joseph L. Flatley
The secret to a great KIRF is that it represents not just a knock-off but an homage to a beloved product (at least, that’s what we tell ourselves when we sit in our workshop, trying to build the first ever shanzhai Grippity). Recently spotted in the stalls of Shenzhen, the above device is reminiscent of the MacBook Air, yes, but more tellingly, the MSI X-Slim X340. This 13-inch (1366 x 768) bad boy features a 1.2GHz Intel ULV processor, 1GB of RAM, up to 250GB of HDD, WiFi and Bluetooth, an SD card slot, three (count ‘em!) USB ports, and HDMI out. You can expect to spend about $350 if you ever manage to track ‘er down — or you can just say the hell with it and go back to reading Garfield Minus Garfield. Either way, we support you. Get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLIX: X-Slim X340 KIRFed, MacBook Air empathizes

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLIX: X-Slim X340 KIRFed, MacBook Air empathizes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVIII: shanzhai PSP Phone dampens our excitement for an actual PSP Phone

By Joseph L. Flatley
When one thinks of a PSP Phone, they usually imagine a handset with a number of cool, gamer-centric features, such as some sort of integration with the PlayStation network or — imagine! — the ability to actually play PSP games. What they don’t imagine — correct us if we’re wrong — is some sort of KIRFy cellphone shoved inside what is essentially the shell of a PSP. That said, we do have to give our friends in Shenzhen some props: not only have they beat Sony with this knock-off, but with the way things are going, they might have the PSP Phone market all to themselves in perpetuity. No specifics on this one yet — price, stats, or street date — but you probably weren’t going to buy one anyways. Get a closer look after the break.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVIII: shanzhai PSP Phone dampens our excitement for an actual PSP Phone

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVIII: shanzhai PSP Phone dampens our excitement for an actual PSP Phone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly

By Vladislav Savov

It would seem like we’ve recalled our editor from Shenzhen a little prematurely. The land of Yao has gone and answered all the iPad’s critics in resounding style: TESO’s 10-inch clone tablet features a full-blown Windows 7 install (check), 1024×600 capacitive touchscreen display (check), HDMI output (check), a 1.66GHz Atom N450 (vroom vroom!), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, GPS, 3G, and a 3,000mAh battery. Yep, it’s a netbook sans the keyboard, and it might weigh 1.2kg while stretching to a portly 2cm thickness, but are you really gonna let a few well-rounded edges get in the way of experiencing a grown-up desktop OS on that tablet you so desperately need? Couple more pics await after the break.

Update: 9to5Mac has alerted us to the fact that this clone seems to be sporting the same front plate as the one purported to belong to the iPad in the days before its release. Good to know all the engineering that went into inflating the iPhone’s bezel up to 10 inches didn’t go to waste.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVII: iPad meets Windows 7, sparks fly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVI: BlueBerry gets upgraded with optical pad

By Chris Ziegler

You see, this isn’t our first run-in with BlueBerry. Nay — this is a firm that has shadowed Waterloo’s moves for some time, so when it came time for the real thing to make the transition from trackballs to optical pads, the Shenzhen doppelganger naturally had to follow suit. The result is this here BlueBerry 9500, a device that looks more like a Bold 9500 grafted to a Nokia E72 than it does a Bold 9700 — but hey, for folks torn between their Finnish and Canadian loyalties, this might be the perfect solution. The impressive spec sheet includes a TV tuner (complete with 9-inch retractable antenna), dual SIM support, and WiFi, and — most importantly — the optical pad is said to be “decent.” Check out the gallery for a couple more shots — just don’t expect any App World access with this one.

Gallery: Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVI: BlueBerry gets upgraded with optical pad

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLVI: BlueBerry gets upgraded with optical pad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLV: ME600 rips Motorola Backflip down to its shivering Blur skin

By Paul Miller

There are many of us simple humans who “just don’t get” the Motorola Backflip. Their poor minds can’t fathom this oddest of twists on the QWERTY flip, and now here comes the “MOTOROIA” ME600 from Shenzhen to wrap their brain into ever more elaborate pretzel knots. The phone is a pretty faithful reproduction, but it’s a bit thicker, has a mere VGA camera, and doesn’t run Android — despite that hint of Blur on the home screen.

[Thanks, xleung]

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLV: ME600 rips Motorola Backflip down to its shivering Blur skin originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLIV: HTC Tattoo joins the WinMo gang, or appears to anyway

By Richard Lai

No matter how realistic a KIRF phone looks these days, there’s always a catch somewhere. For instance, this GSM handset is pretty much an exact clone of the HTC Tattoo, except for a couple of debatably important things: the suspiciously-cheerful $169 price tag, and the fact that Windows Mobile (and not Android) is running the show. Oh, and it doesn’t end there: judging by the photo, you’d assume this evil clone runs WinMo 6.5, yet the spec sheet mutters 6.1. A typo? Maybe. Something far more baleful? Maybe. A KIRF OS to go along with the KIRF hardware? Probably. That said, it’s hard to turn down a cheap phone that packs GPS, FM radio, stereo Bluetooth audio, a spare battery and a 2.8-inch touchscreen (240 x 320), but that’s assuming that you’ve no self-esteem to speak of. See if the full kit after the break will seal the deal for you.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLIV: HTC Tattoo joins the WinMo gang, or appears to anyway

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCLIV: HTC Tattoo joins the WinMo gang, or appears to anyway originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fake security camera moves, pretends to keep you safe

By Dave Freeman

So you want your neighbors to think that your house is an impenetrable fortress, but you don’t really feel like shelling out the hundreds of dollars needed to buy actual security cameras? Maybe you’re seen those other fake surveillance cameras in stores, but you want something that moves, damnit. Well here you go: the Hammacher Schlemmer panning Faux Security camera set.

Unconfirmed: iPhone 4G Faceplate Leaked?

By Ubergizmo

Unconfirmed: iPhone 4G Faceplate Leaked?

Considering the amount of secrecy Apple always has around its unannounced products, it’s hard to imagine that leaked parts from the upcoming iPhone 4G being leaked. Despite that, the folks over at iResQ have posted pictures of what they claim is the new faceplate for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 4G. Based on the pictures, there seems to be a new reflective surface directly above the speaker, which is claimed to be the location of the proximity sensor. If these images are true, the iPhone 4G will be even bigger than the current iPhone, though if you squint you’ll probably guess that the screen size looks the same. Would Apple come up with a physically larger iPhone without a larger screen? It’s hard to imagine that, so the smart money would probably be on this being a fake. What’s your take?

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