9 signs to spot the fake iPod
Apple’s history can largely be divided into eras; BiPs and AiP’s. With no intention of bringing complex commerce jargon(’basis points’ are sometimes referred to as ‘bips’) into the picture, BiPs is the ‘Before iPods’ era. Everything Apple made in this time was the stuff wet geek dreams were made of. But they weren’t exactly something everyone could afford; only a select group of artsy blokes preferred them. But after iPods were born, everyone wanted one even if they weren’t the artsy types. iPods still are one of the coolest gifts to give and are cool to own as well. Romping around with a pair of white ear buds puts you in the ‘music junkie’ category and the tag isn’t half as bad as it sounds.
And given the fact that Apple updates its line up every year, iPods’ become more desirable and rather unaffordable at times too(if you’re a broke college kid, like me). And everything desirable and unaffordable is at least attempted to be faked. This is where our East Asian (read Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese) and Communist brethren step in to give you what you want. You could add Ulhasnagar(India’s duplication hub) to the list as well, but I’m not too sure.
Walk around the many electronic markets in your city and you are bound to spot something largely similar to some iPod. Apple doesn’t really have a very complicated design language, so it won’t be too difficult to fake at least the looks. Even established players don’t create new designs and try their level best to ape Apple. (It’s becoming a trend, really. Everyone’s trying to rip off the big Apple. Steve Jobs must feel terribly flattered.)
Of course, if you normally keep your eyes open, you can spot a fake rather quickly. They have some or the other el cheapo element on to them which makes it look like a robbery which didn’t quite go out as planned.
Here are some signs to spot a fake iPod.
1) The buttons are a dead giveaway. If they feel tacky and stubborn, no my friends, it’s not an iPod.
2) Play around with the menu. If it uses more than blue and black colors and doesn’t use the Podium Sans font, which Apple uses everywhere, then it’s not an iPod.
3) Boot the player once, if it shows something more than just the chewed Apple logo, like some garish colors and Korean air hostesses waving out to you, stay away please.
4) Look to the backside, East Asian people print every damn certification status their 600 sq ft factory got or didn’t on the back. Like FCC, TUV etc. Apple doesn’t.
(They rather offer you the option to engrave 2 lines of text. Write something socially relevant like “Down with music piracy. Downloading from torrents isn’t illegal in Ireland.”)
5) Apple also doesn’t pack any other feature into its players like FM radio, Bluetooth, voice recorder (you can make use of most of these features, but you need accessories).
6) Listen to the output via the headphones for a bit. If you find that it is too loud or biased towards treble or just plain cheap, look elsewhere. Yes, there are headphones that can get worse than iPod buds.
7) iPods have a different front and back panel. The front is coloured while the rear is a shiny plate of chromed goodness. Communists don’t want shiny stuff, so they dip the whole thing in a bucket of paint for wholesome goodness. (not applicable for the new Nano, but its slim enough to make you forget that)
8) Some don’t have displays. And still look as though the iPod is turned off. Better believe it.
9) “iPod” is never written on the front panel.
Of course, these are but a few measures and most will work only when you are out shopping for your iPod yourself. If you plan on buying it online, make sure you get it from a reliable dealer who’ll also replace it if, just in case, you are delivered a fake.
