GeekSugar

Knock Off Gadgets and Goods to Be Donated to the Poor

GeekSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:40:49 -0700

Last year alone, the US Customs and Border Protection seized an estimated 23 million dollars worth of counterfeit consumer electronics. In addition to knock off gadgets like iPods and TVs, they also seize items including clothing, shoes, household goods, and toys. New York and New Jersey customs checkpoints - both airports and seaports - have decided to emulate other US checkpoint locations by kicking off a program next month to donate the cargo items to the poor in third world countries. Naturally, they will primarily focus on distributing items of need - like clothing and footwear - before electronics and handbags. Trademark owners are usually open to donating the goods once the fake logos are removed.

Lost's Fake and Freaky Gadget!

GeekSugar — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 10:14:34 -0800

When a new gadget shows up on Lost, odds are that its presence is dubious at best. Those touchscreen satellite phones by the new other Others, Other-controlled ultrasound machines - if technology shows up on this island, you have good reason to be freaked out by it. I'm already scared of who the new foursome with those iPhone-lookalikes are contacting, and I think I have good reason to be: One of them is a ghostbuster! New character Miles has one of the scariest backstories in Lost history - he's some kind of a ghost-whisperer! Apparently spirit hunters like Miles need more than just their mind control though. He busted out this wacky ghost-busting gadget in a scene illustrating his talents:
Is anyone else thinking what I am? That this looks freakishly like the Dirt Devil I kept in my car in high school?!

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Google Perfume: Love It or Leave It?

GeekSugar — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:00:01 -0700

I happen to love this Google perfume because I think the idea that any man would want to douse his body in the scent of a search engine is hilarious.

While it is clearly a cheap knock-off product, it has that same kitschy appeal of the fake Shuffle from Korea or even the iNoPhone. And where do you find something like that? Perhaps in the fake Google store in Istanbul, Turkey?

If my experience with geeky men is any indication I am gonna guess it smells like a spicy mixture of Cheetos, candy and Play-Doh. Snap!

Source

Closer Look: Fake Korean Shuffle Returns

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:00:14 -0700

When I first shared a sneak peek at this faux shuffle that a friend of mine found in Korea most of you were mesmerized by its octagonal navigation and suspiciously familiar body shape and color. Some of you even wondered if the packaging for the fake shuffle was anything like the real Apple packaging. I was able to get my mittens on some additional pictures and the verdict is in: The creators of this noteworthy knock off may have focused on making the iClip.Se MP3 look just like the shuffle, but they went for more modern, iPhone-inspired packaging. (Note the plain black cardboard and the sleek plastic case.) Is it just me, or is this thing more entertaining the second time around?

View 5 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of chuger

Korean Knock Off Shuffle Goes Octagonal On Us

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:00:13 -0700

Remember Molly's Dispatches From The Future (i.e. awesome diary from her trip to Hong Kong)? Well, consider this a Back 2 The Future part two moment. A friend of mine is in Korea for work and managed to snap us a picture of this fantastic faux iPod shuffle, which provides us a tiny window into the Korean iPod Black market. Oh. I love it so. It doesn't look as authentic as the ones Cult of Mac's Pete found in San Francisco's Chinatown, but its octagonal navigational bar gives it a fun twist and a fair chance should a copyright lawsuit ever come up. ("No, your honor, it was inspired by the Apple shuffle, but it's completely different, see the octagon? It looks nothing like the Apple wheel!") No word on whether it comes in light green or purple. I've spent the last five minutes trying to make out the other MP3 player copy cats in the background. Yeah, I'm just geeky like that.

Thanks, Chuger!

Would You Buy A Fake iPod Shuffle?

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:01:00 -0700

Uber Apple geek Pete Mortensen spotted these Shockingly Well Executed Counterfeit iPod Shuffles in San Francisco’s Chinatown and I had to agree with him: They're pretty close to the real thing. They are actually MANNDigital Mp3 players that have the very same look, size and even packaging of Apple’s teeny tiny iPod shuffles. While there are some differences - the volume and skip track buttons have switched places and it comes in black, which the real shuffle doesn't - the casual fan wouldn't know the difference. No word on the price, or if it's cheaper than the real shuffle (although I suspect it is). Would you buy a fake iPod shuffle?

Source: Cult of Mac

Geek Tip: Get A Harry Potter Preserver!

GeekSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:14:10 -0700

It hasn't been easy averting our eyes and ears from the Harry Potter spoilers on the web. If you have stayed true you only have a few hours left until you can legally get yourself a copy of the book, which you will undoubtedly stay up all night reading while munching on some Harry Potter inspired treats. If your friends are like mine and think it's funny to keep taunting you with spoilers, I suggest you protect yourself by getting my original Potter Preserver-WX1 set. It's a fool proof, hear-no-evil-see-no-evil device that no true Potter fan should be without.

The Potter eye glasses protect you from any website that's leaked photos or plot points while the Potter Noise Canceling Headset blocks out all those people who keep walking by you whispering "I know who dies...." If you don't have time to make it to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes this afternoon to make a purchase, you can even make your own by whipping out your favorite headphones and a blindfold.

Lightning Strike Detector: Be Safe And Look Geeky

GeekSugar — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:00:03 -0700

I miss my pager. It was my lifeline during my (gasp) pre-cell phone teenage years and now the very thought of getting a "pager code" message or call and then running to the nearest phone sends waves of nostalgia through my body. If you too are worried about waves going through your body you better pick up this totally tubular StrikeAlert Lightning Strike Detector, which will keep you updated on incoming lightning. The device detects electromagnetic pulses that indicate the proximity of cloud-to-ground lightning and can tell you whether the most recent strike is within 20-40 miles, 12-24 miles, 6-12 miles or within 6 miles.

Before scoffing this bad boy off heed Thinkgeek's warning: lightning is fourty-thousand to one-hundred-twenty thousand amps at three million volts and carries enough power to light a hundred watt bulb for two months. It travels at fourty-five kilometers per second and can kill you faster than rocket to the face. read more

The device runs on two AAA batteries and is intended for use outside because electromagnetic pulses made by distant lightning strikes are also made by nearby things like computers and televisions. It costs $79.99.

The iPhone Evolution

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 15:00:50 -0700

Just when you thought you had the latest new gadget on the block, it becomes outdated, am I right? First Engadget's iPod family cemetery and now this hilarious iPhone graphic from cellphone9? If you just got an iPhone, I'm sure you're wondering when your hot new device will be a vintage geek prime target. We all know that Steve Jobs and his crew will have a second gen iPhone in the works- new and improved, minus all the glitches of course. Don't have a panic attack, it's going to be okay, you've got at least till the end of the year before the iPhone nano is released!

Faux iPods Pop Up In China

GeekSugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:00:39 -0700

While the iPhone will launch exclusively in the US this Friday Americans aren't the only gadget lovers drooling over the prospect of having a snazy touchscreen iPod/cell machine. Brokenhearted over the fact that the iPhone won't be sold in China for some time, a small army of "iPhone copycats" have popped up to fill the void.

At first look the Meizu Minione appears to be the fraternal twin to the iPhone, whereas the knockoff "iPhone" (seen at right) has complete paternal twin status. The Equinux blog found that once turned on, the "iPhone" features a watered down replica of the real phone - two-megapixel camera for photos and movies in MPEG4 format, two SIM-Cards, which you can switch between on the fly, WAP browser, 64MB of built-in memory, 256 MB micro SD Card in an expansion slot and stereo speakers on the front face and two additional speakers on the back that boast “3D Sound.”

Major downer? The touchscreen is controlled by a stylus, which as Shanghaiist points out is sooo 2006.
Source