Two devices, supposedly Apple’s prototypes of the iPhone, have gone up for sale on eBay. The handsets – only one of which runs – are believed to be manufactured around six months before the launch of the original iPhone; the working device has a beta OS with a plastic matte screen and limited functionality.
Demo video after the cut
You can tell it’s a relatively slow news day, when a pink iPhone 3G on eBay causes so much drama. The handset, which has a buy-it-now price of £400 ($582), is advertized as being possibly “the only pink iPhone 3G on the market”, and together with the proximity to MacWorld has got several people foaming at the thought of a new color option. Has Apple really taken a leaf out of the RAZR playbook? It seems unlikely, with almost identical aftermarket replacement back plates – in not only pink but gold, red and other colors too – being available elsewhere on eBay.
Take a 60GB PS3, add a carbon fiber Fox Hound logo, laser cut stainless steel Metal Gear Solid 4 marquee, “digital camouflage” paint-job and the signature of Hideo Kojima and you might be lucky enough to end up with this: a Metal Gear Solid 4 one-of-a-kind console-tribute. Currently rocking in at $7,600 (at time of writing) on eBay, it’s the work of Morpheon Mods and being auctioned, in part, for the “Child’s Play” children’s hospital charity.
It almost sounds a little too much like those “Bill Gates will send you a check for forwarding this email” scams, but apparently Microsoft is subsidizing certain hardware purchases to encourage use of its Live web search. The “Live Search cashback” logo appears next to certain sponsored results for searches such as “cheap netbook” or “cheap wii”; log in to your Live.com account and you can find discounts of up to 30-percent at collaborating retailers.
Last week’s “He Said, She Said” editorial pitted Brenda and I against each other discussing what sort of touchscreen device Apple might have on their cards. This week, it’s something equally as topical here on the frontpage of SlashGear: netbooks, or budget ultraportables. They’re the niche of the moment, certainly, but are consumers really getting the best value for their hard-earned dollar?
There were stories floating around that one guy had managed to spot the Wii Fit Girl in a store then also got an autograph. Well he posted it on eBay to try to get some extra dough out of it.
Rich? Love Star Wars? Obsessed with collecting models used in the making of the original films? Did I mention rich already? You’ll need to be almost obscenely wealthy to win this eBay auction: one of four original T.I.E. Fighter models used in the filming of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. In fact, this is the Fighter that helpfully collided with Darth Vader and allowed Luke to blow up the Death Star, constructed from resin and cannibalized parts from other model kits. The auction doesn’t officially kick off until August 1st, but if you fancy you could drop an absentee bid at the starting price of $170,000.
After the iPhone launch I expected all kinds of stories to pop up about it, yet never in a million years did I imagine this one coming up. Although the item has been removed from eBay, at one point there was a seller attempting sell a haunted iPhone.
If you’re looking for a laptop that nobody else will have – and that will interest everybody - ignore the MacBook Air, any Tablet PC or even Alienware’s super-strength gaming notebooks. Instead, stick a bid in for this Xentex prototype currently up on eBay: at first glance it looks like it should be a mockup, but this is actually a real, working laptop, it just so happens to be one with a folding chassis and twin swivelling screens. The screens are in fact two 13.3-inch panels, and they can be independently rotated so that people can view them from each side.
Attractive technology going towards a good cause always ranks high on the list. This one-of-a-kind Paul Frank HP Dragon Laptop is being sold on eBay.
SlashGear JP
