Okay, so titling your article “Greedy Apple users will trust anyone” is link-baiting to the extreme, but he makes some good points all the same:

“But the desire for games and more applications is driving relatively security-minded people to point their new mobile device at a Web site that was specifically designed to exploit, hack and upload unknown software onto their system … This is crazy. Do we really know what is being uploaded onto the iPhone/iPod Touch when we visit these sites? How much do we care?” Munir Kotadia

You’ve spend a not-inconsiderable about of money on your device, and it does seem foolhardy to flaunt it to any website that catches the eye, but Munir does seem to overlook the filtering effect sites like this and others has on the spread of new hacks.  You can be sure that if MY iTablet discovers a site is potentially dodgy then we won’t be recommending it to you – in fact we’ll actively warn you about it – and it’s a safe bet to say the rest of the blog community would do the same.

Yes, be cautious – don’t entrust your iPhone or iPod Touch to just anybody who invites you to try their mod – but if everybody pulled down the shutters and retreated under the bed then we’d have none of the amazing hacks, unlocks and other modifications currently available.  Experimentation is potentially risky, but it’s also at the core of new advances.

The store, G-World in Mong Kok, has priced the 100 handsets it has in stock at a whopping HK$13,800 ($1,765) each, and claims that until it has sold them all it won’t be offering an unlock service to customer’s own iPhones.  Still, that might not actually be much of a hardship, since it plans on selling a basic unlock for $767.

What is interesting is that they’ve posted a few convincing pictures along with a full list of specs for it. There’s a part of me that hopes that they are real. If they are, then chances are that Apple must be close to putting the finishing touches on the iPhone.

I wouldn’t advise attempting to purchase one of these. First, I don’t generally trust foreign importers of unreleased goods. Second, if they are real, they’re not going to be the full version that will be released in June. Finally, if these are the real deal, they were likely not procured in a legal manner, which means they are stolen goods, and no one wants to get caught with that.

‘iPhone’ surfaces at Chinese exporter [via macnn]

However, in order to make his buck it seems that he has decided to create a false buzz surrounding his dating application for the iPhone. He contacted Macworld UK and told them “This will be an application running on the iPhone in summer. It’s currently in development and will soon be in Beta testing. It will not be a Widget.” So naturally, people have assumed that his program is going to be a full-fledged application. That’s what it sounds like to me.

He just failed to leave out one minor detail. It’s a web-based application, not an actual iPhone app. He went out of his way to let us know that it’s not a Widget. What a pointless statement, if he’d just said that it was web-based, he wouldn’t have needed to clarify whether or not it was a Widget. He also could have saved us all the trouble of covering a product that wasn’t what it seemed.

So now this piece of software that seemed pretty pointless in the first place (what with the millions of dating sites out there and all) just blew the only thing it had going for it and turned out to be web-based. You’re going to make the layout of the application match that of the iPhone, big deal. Google could take their Docs & Spreadsheets and format it so it fit on an iPhone, but that wouldn’t make it an “iPhone application.”At the end of the day, it’s still just a web-based program.

So what have we learned today? If you don’t want bad publicity, don’t try to fool people by playing word-games. While Miguel didn’t “technically” say that the program was going to be a full-fledged iPhone application, he carefully worded his statement so that we would believe it was. So if you’re going to make an application that can run on pretty much any browser, say so. That will prevent you from having to having to clarify yourself in a crappy email and a comment on your Flickr page.

Just so everyone knows, we here at My iPhone are dedicated to bringing you all of the latest news related to the iPhone. This includes the latest release info, accessories and applications. We do this to benefit you, our readers, and it also helps get the word out for developers and manufacturers. By doing this we are trying to create a community where you can learn everything there is to know about the iPhone, and discuss it with other like-minded individuals.

It isn’t in our nature to single out an individual developer or company, however, this person has apparently gone out of their way to deceive the media by claiming their software is something that it isn’t. On top of that, he was extremely rude in communications not only with us, but with our friends over at Gizmodo as well. If you believe that something is incorrect on our website, or that we’ve improperly used a photograph, just let us know and we’ll be happy to look into it; there’s no need to be rude about it.

I just can’t get my head around the thought process that goes into something like this. I’m not talking about the person selling the fake item, I get that. They just want to make some quick cash off of a fake item; it’s wrong and stupid, but not half as stupid as the people actually bidding on said fake item.

People, if you’re perusing eBay and happen to stumble onto someone selling a product that hasn’t been released yet, or even cleared by the FCC, don’t even bother to stop and look at it. If you do get curious and stop, here’s a couple of things to look for.

First, if they have no feedback, then this is the first thing they’ve bought or sold. Not good. Second, if they can’t even put up a crappy picture of the unreleased item, then odds are they don’t have it. So you might as well save your $1,125 so you can get out of your current phone contract when the iPhone actually does come out.

eBay scammers target iPhone fans [via tuaw]

The iPhone has inspired many other companies to rethink the way phones are designed, and many iphone “clones” have been floating around. This is one of the first iPhone “rip-offs” that I’ve seen thus far.

At least you won’t have to worry about mistaking this for the real thing. Granted, the white reminds me of an iPod, and there is even a Quicktime wallpaper. But the only thing that actually resembles the iPhone is the slightly modified Apple logo.

Fake iPhone already on the market [via coolasfunk]

• New iPhone Ads Now Available on Apple.com!
• Apple iPhone release date is June 29th, and new video of iPhone ad!

The stunt pulled by MPhone.net is inexcusable. The online cell phone retailer claimed that due to a technical error, which lead MPhone webmaster to inadvertently post availability of the Apple iPhone in March.

Harry Novick, Sr. Site Manager for MPhone had this to say about the incident, No one could believe how quickly the information spread. While the error was contained within 24 hours, the misinformation traveled like wildfire across the web. There was a security breach; MPhone has no agreement with Cingular phones or any other carrier to carry the iPhone at this time. This was not meant to be released.”

[Vincent's take] This is a deliberate act on MPhone’s part in attempt to drive traffic to the company’s website.  It’s my recommendation not to do business with such company.  I cannot stomach the fact that the company was so proud of this action, they’ve even released a press release pouring salt onto open wounds of disappointing customers: “iPhone fans flocked to the MPhone site, only to be disappointed.”

iPhone Release Date Error — Will Not Be Available In March As Reported on MPhone.net

I guarantee that you will, in fact, end up with a real box.

He’s very smart to clearly disclose on the listing in more than one place hat the iPhone is fake, but the realistic images makes it that much more appealing to iPhone fans.

Last I saw, the top bidder is 1996_Camaroz28 with a top bid of $150.

Get the DIY Apple iPhone at Sneakmove and make their paper craft iPhone.

You’ve been warned, so steer clear of such scams. NOTE: the iPhone will ONLY be available at Apple retail outlets and Cingular/AT&T stores. You should expect to pay $499 for the 4GB and $599 for the 8GB. Also, be prepared to sign your rights to switch carrier for at least two years (unless you pay for an early termination fee to Cingular).

Attention Suckers: Fake iPhone For Sale! [WIRED Blogs: Cult of Mac]

This listing (280070612167) has been removed or is no longer available. Please make sure you entered the right item number.
If the listing was removed by eBay, consider it canceled. Note: Listings that have ended more than 90 days ago will no longer appear on eBay.

This is a BIG warning going out to anyone looking to buy an “iPhone” domain name on eBay. Seller by the name of butlertoheb is trying to sell MyLphone.com and RegisterLPhone.com on eBay. At first glance, the lower case “l” looks like an upper case letter “I”. Don’t fall for it!

NOTE: The seller has deliberately linked to MYiPhone.com from the auction page. If you arrived here…MYiPhone is not for sale, and you just got duped.

2 Domain Names = MylPhone.com & Register IPhone . com [eBay]