Oct 07

China’s KIRF marketplace captured on hidden camera

Posted in: kirf, Today's Chili

Love ’em, loathe ’em, or love to loathe ’em as you will, but the humble KIRF has a big place in our geek DNA — that’s why we were tickled when the gang over at Shanzhai.com paid the markets of Shenzhen, China, a 60 Minutes-esque visit complete with hidden camera. Although we’ve been hearing tales for years now about the legendary stalls deep in the heart of KIRFdom, Western visitors have rarely made the trip — until now! And this clip has it all, including one of our all-time favorite head scratchers: the Buddha handset. But don’t take our word for it — grab yourself some popcorn and move on past the break to see it for yourself.

Continue reading China’s KIRF marketplace captured on hidden camera

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China’s KIRF marketplace captured on hidden camera originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 06

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVII: PXP-2000 aspires to little more than playing NES games, a host of video formats

Posted in: gaming, kirf, Today's Chili

If we were tickled by how quickly the PSP Go was hacked, we must say that we’re surprised at how long it took for this bad boy to get KIRFed. And as most shanzai manufacturers do, they packed as many features into this portable as they could: 4.3-inch display (compared to the PSP Go’s 3.8-incher), all kinds of retro gaming support (including NES/Famicom, Gameboy / Gameboy Color, SNES, SFC), a camera of some sort, FM radio, microSD card slot (the device’s only form of storage), TV out, and generous video codes: RM, RMVB, AVI, WMV, ASF, MPG, MPEG, MPE, MP4, DAT, and MOV. Not exactly “aspirational” at $84, but we’ll take it nonetheless.

Gallery: PSP Go KIRF makes due with NES emulation, generous codecs

[Via PMP Today]

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVII: PXP-2000 aspires to little more than playing NES games, a host of video formats originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 05

SciPhone smells success with Android-powered clones, orders up an army

Posted in: Android, kirf, LG, Today's Chili

You know that N12 we were thrilling about back in June? After faking Android with the Dream G2+ as a skin over its regular OS, SciPhone decided to put real Android on the N12 much to our surprise. Now in the works are the N16 (a phone that looks so much like the Magic that SciPhone just stole the real Magic’s press shot instead), the LG-styled N17, and a Storm-esque N19 (pictured). At least the N12 and N16 have 624MHz Marvell processors and 3G, while the N19 sounds to be a non-3G phone running a mere 400MHz chip and 128MB or RAM. The N12 is due this month wherever clones are sold, no word on when the rest will follow.

[Via PMP Today]

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SciPhone smells success with Android-powered clones, orders up an army originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 29

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVI: Nokia N900 rip shows no trademark fear

Posted in: kirf, nokia, Today's Chili

It’s pretty typical for serial KIRFers to make minor changes to the names of the brands they’re ripping — take Sany Ericssan, for example — but we’ve never really known why. “Go big or go home” is the KIRF mantra we prefer to live by, and if you’re going to gank a phone’s design, by golly, do it with gusto. Give it 110 percent. In your heart, after all, that NOKLA’s really a Nokia — it’s what you feel deep inside that really matters, and no well-staffed, well-funded Finnish legal team can tell you otherwise. That’s why we’ve got to hand it to this particular model, simply called “Copy Nokia N900” in a painfully honest, accurate admission of its true raison d’être. Strangely, though, they’ve missed a few basic points: the Copy Nokia N900 trades the genuine article’s landscape QWERTY slider for a dual slide configuration in the same vein as the N85 and N95, for example, and Maemo 5 has gone missing — instead, you’re treated to a frighteningly accurate S60 5th Edition knockoff. If you can tolerate the dismal VGA cam, GPRS data, and QVGA screen, you’ll be pleased to discover that the phone features an analog (yes, analog) TV tuner and an accelerometer with “support” for flick control, which you can watch in action on video after the break — looks super fun and usable, doesn’t it?

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVI: Nokia N900 rip shows no trademark fear

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXVI: Nokia N900 rip shows no trademark fear originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 28

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXV: TigerG3 looks like a Hero, doesn’t act like one

Posted in: cellphones, kirf, Today's Chili
If we weren’t too terribly impressed when the HTC Hero made the leap from Europe to the States, at least our funny bones are tickled by the device’s inauguration into full-blown KIRFhood. Reports differ on the OS of the thing, but the features are 100% iPhone knock-off, including: dual SIM support, 1.3 megapixel camera, analog TV, FM radio, WiFi, and support for a host of audio and video formats. It’s too bad this thing is only supports overseas (900MHz / 1800MHz) GSM — for $140 we might be tempted to play. If you’re in Oceania and looking for a new phone, hit the read link to see for yourself.

[Via Shanzai.com]

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXV: TigerG3 looks like a Hero, doesn’t act like one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 10

Toshiba’s 1.8-inch 160GB PATA disk is ready for KIRFers

Posted in: Apple, ipod, kirf, Today's Chili, Toshiba

Wonder what’s inside the latest iPod classic besides suave marketing and Pixi-dust? In a not-so coincidental announcement following yesterday’s classic capacity bump, Toshiba unleashed specs on its newest 160GB 1.8-inch single-platter spinner that just happens to come in 120GB versions too. The Parallel ATA interface holds-tight the 5-mm / 48-gram disk spinning at 4,200 RPM. Interestingly enough, Tosh claims that its hard disk holds 45,000 digital photos, 42,000 songs, or 130 videos thereby besting Apple’s claims on all counts. So get to it KIRFers, the MKxx34GAL series is shipping now and your marketing bullets have already been written.

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Toshiba’s 1.8-inch 160GB PATA disk is ready for KIRFers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 28

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIV: JXD1000 PSP clone has no UMD drive, shame

Posted in: kirf, psp, Today's Chili
Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXIV: JXD1000 PSP clone has no UMD drive, shame

Sony may or may not have given up on the UMD format, but it’s safe to say that KIRFsters never really got on board in the first place. There’s a long and storied line of PSP knockoffs, and none have had room for little spinny discs. This latest one doesn’t either, but it will play 720p video in a slew of formats, serve up game ROMs in a variety of flavors, tune in FM radio, and take two megapixel pictures. It sports a 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 screen, which won’t do much justice to those 720p vids, but with only 8GB of storage there’s not much room for high-def content anyway. Just $88 gets you one, but if you order 15 you can save a whole buck!

[Via PMP Today]

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIV: JXD1000 PSP clone has no UMD drive, shame originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 26

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIII: MacBook Air loses two inches, adds a Windows key

Posted in: Apple, kirf, laptop, macbook, macbook air, MacbookAir, netbook, Today's Chili, ultraportable
If we’ve learned one thing ’round here, it’s that the KIRFsters love taking on Apple. And you know, at first glance this KIRFacious take on the MacBook Air doesn’t seem half bad. Of course, check it out in profile and it looks a lot more like your average netbook than it does Cupertino’s ultraportable — but at least the shanzai manufacturer in question as thrown in a few things that were neglected in the original, including: two USB ports, a removable battery, and a PCIe slot for a 3G module. That said, they also went with an 11.1-inch display (as opposed to the Air’s 13-incher), which could be a good thing or not, depending on your POV. Of course, with a 1.6GH Atom processor and 1GB RAM, this thing isn’t exactly a workhorse, though it’s safe to assume that the price point will fall far below that of the “real deal.” But don’t take our word for it — check out a couple more views of the thing after the break.

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIII: MacBook Air loses two inches, adds a Windows key

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXIII: MacBook Air loses two inches, adds a Windows key originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 21

Wiipod modder shoves an MP3 player in his Wiimote, calls it a day

Posted in: ipod, kirf, mod, Today's Chili
Readers, don’t act like you’re appalled that this mod consists entirely of an old iPod shuffle shoved into the battery compartment of a Wiimote game controller. If anything, you should be amused that this mod consists entirely of an old iPod shuffle KIRF shoved into the battery compartment of a Wiimote game controller. See for yourself after the break.

[Via Technabob]

Continue reading Wiipod modder shoves an MP3 player in his Wiimote, calls it a day

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Wiipod modder shoves an MP3 player in his Wiimote, calls it a day originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 16

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXII: Nokla strikes again with E81 rehash

Posted in: kirf, nokia, Today's Chili

Due to Nokia’s continued dismissal of the ripe-for-the-picking E81 model number, the diligent folks at “Nokla” (fresh off their E97 design win) have seen it fit to issue a second handset under that fake moniker. Surprisingly, this one actually boasts a rather unique swivel design — even beating Nokia’s own effort in this regard — a QWERTY keyboard and some decent specs. There’s even a mirror on the swivel-up back (we hear that women love mirrors), along with a hole at the swivel hinge for working a lanyard through. We’d venture to say it’s the best E81 Nokia never made.

[Via Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

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Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXXXII: Nokla strikes again with E81 rehash originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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