Possible DS Lite clone?

[Hawanja]

Someone sent me this link in an email:

http://www.dhgate.com/brand-new-expe...c26184307.html

So what do you think? Is this a clone? A special edition? Or something else?

[Matthijscoman]

I'm fairly sure it's a regular DS-lite put in a cheap Chinese shell made of flimsy plastic. They sold craploads of these and other 'limited' editions when I was in Beijing last year.

[mdmx]

This is an iQue DS Lite. Look at the various models on the bottom of the page:
http://www.ique.com/DSi/iDSLite.htm

The Nintendo DS is sold under the iQue brand in China. It's definitely not a clone.

[subbie]

Yeah, as stated. It's a iQue DS lite.

They are not a clone as they are from iQue, a chinese company that nintendo owns part of.

It's essentially the same as a normal DS lite other then it having a slightly modified firmware.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQue

[ave]

Actually I'm fairly sure this is just one another of the fake DS Lites that are commonly available on ebay.

see this post for reference:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/ds-ds...e-dilemma.html

And a fake DS Lite (presumably inspired by the Chinese iQue models, hence the colors)
http://cgi.ebay.de/Neu-Nintendo-NDS-...item439c198566

All the actual fake DS's come with a white/yellow filter thingy, that's what got me suspicious here. As there is no packshot as well I'd hesitate to expect an actual iQue branded handheld, it's probably saying "Nintendo DS Lite" on the cheaply faked box just like on the other fake DS's boxes.

[subbie]

All the actual fake DS's come with a white/yellow filter thingy, that's what got me suspicious here. As there is no packshot as well I'd hesitate to expect an actual iQue branded handheld, it's probably saying "Nintendo DS Lite" on the cheaply faked box just like on the other fake DS's boxes.

You have any actual pictures of a fake DSL? (not stock photos). Maybe they're just refurb/used machines with fake replacement shells?

Also I do find the lack of a box package shot to be questionable but not the inclusion of a case/filter. I get that **** all the time on legit stuff I buy from HK (my 360 came with free t-shirts, my PSP 2k came with a usb charge cable & umd case, ...).

[Trenton_net]

I am pretty sure these are not IQue DS Lites. They are regular refurbished US/EURO machines which are case-modded using clone aftermarket parts. You can tell by the price as real IQue DS's sell for about 1100+RMB, while DSi IQue's sell for 1400+RMB. These refurbished units are quite common in China.

What you want to see is something like this (for example):



If the seller doesn't post something that looks like this, its because they are selling refurbished products and they do not come complete, nor are they IQue branded units. You can tell you have a real IQue because the system firmware is in Chinese.

[subbie]

1400RMB for a DSi, really? Lord that is overly pricey.

I don't get why they don't try selling these things for cheaper in china. 1,400 is a lot to ask for in china.

Too bad DSiware in china will end up horribly.

[Trenton_net]

I agree. I slap myself every time I see the prices. It's more expensive than buying it in the States! So how on earth do they expect the average Chinese family to get one? Of course! Buy refurbished units, change the housing to fool people into thinking it's a real IQue (sans Chinese firmware), and sell the system for an average price. Then sell an R4 to go with it! (>_<)! No wonder Official Nintendo stores go out of business so quick - They refuse to adjust to normal pricing!

[ChiefPFF]

That is definately not an iQue DSL. Its not exactly a fake either. What you'll have there is a real nintendo motherboard (which has been reconditioned) inside a fake shell. The screens, speakers and mic can be either official or fake, I guess its just pot luck.

The repairs carried out on the motherboards in these machines are very often rather horrible bodge jobs - hence why I have had so many come in for repair.

If you see a brand new but cheap ds lite on ebay, with shipping from Hong Kong - this is the kind of machine you'll be getting.

[port187]

Hmm bad news reading all this, I was still in the market for a cheap one.. now I have to look out :/

[Trenton_net]

That is definately not an iQue DSL. Its not exactly a fake either. What you'll have there is a real nintendo motherboard (which has been reconditioned) inside a fake shell. The screens, speakers and mic can be either official or fake, I guess its just pot luck.

The repairs carried out on the motherboards in these machines are very often rather horrible bodge jobs - hence why I have had so many come in for repair.

If you see a brand new but cheap ds lite on ebay, with shipping from Hong Kong - this is the kind of machine you'll be getting.

What kind of stop-gap fixes have you seen done, just to move consoles on to unsuspecting buyers? I've never been suckered into one of these, but it sounds awfull given the motherboards arn't even new.

[Shadowlayer]

So how on earth do they expect the average Chinese family to get one?

The average chinese family has all their members from 8 years and up working in some sweatshop.

The Gini index, which its a much better way to tell real average income from a country rather than GDP, is quite low in china, showing a higher disparity upper and lower classes than any developed country.

You couldnt make the DS accessible to the average chinese, but those well off to not-starve are well-off enough to buy it at twice the international price and even more.

Why you think Buick is making a killing in china? and those are shit cars nevertheless!

[Hawanja]

Thanks for all your help on this guys, I didn't even know this HK refurbished DS lite racket existed. So my question to you all now is, how does one know when one is buying the official Ique branded DS verses one of these refurbs? In the link for this sale below the packaging and such has the Ique branding, is that enough to guarentee it, or would one need to examine it more closely?

http://www.dhgate.com/p_ff8080811e1a...ec4c34bb7.html

Thanks

[l_oliveira]

I'm fairly sure it's a regular DS-lite put in a cheap Chinese shell made of flimsy plastic. They sold craploads of these and other 'limited' editions when I was in Beijing last year.

I've seen one of those. Was probably an Japanese or European DS which was dismantled and re-assembled as Zelda special edition. Also came with a silly counterfeit battery >.>

[subbie]

Thanks for all your help on this guys, I didn't even know this HK refurbished DS lite racket existed. So my question to you all now is, how does one know when one is buying the official Ique branded DS verses one of these refurbs? In the link for this sale below the packaging and such has the Ique branding, is that enough to guarentee it, or would one need to examine it more closely?

http://www.dhgate.com/p_ff8080811e1a...ec4c34bb7.html

Thanks

That one looks pretty legit actually. It even comes with a CHN power cable (note its 240v).

The only 100% official way to make sure is a screenshot of the unit booted. If memory serves me correctly, only iQue units support Chinese characters in the firmware. It also most likely says iQue in the firmware.

[ChiefPFF]

Trenton_net - The most common one I've seen is a bypass of an IC related to battery/charge management. When a DS gets water damaged, theres some common places that the liquid can get through. The IC I mentioned happens to be in one of these areas. Instead of replacing the blown IC and components, they just stick a jumper from the main power IC straight over to the battery! Lovely :s

The iQue linked to by Hawanja does indeed look legit. The seller has taken time to post photos of the areas of the console that would otherwise give away a fake machine. Bear in mind, that might not be what you recieve in the post though!

Here's an example of a recon US version. The plastic film on the case gives this one away. I'll try to bring my camera into work and take some comparison photos for you all, to show you where to look to spot a fake.

[Trenton_net]

Like it was mentioned before, just because the seller uses a real iQue picture doesn't mean thats what you'll get. As a good benchmark, if the photos you see are iQue and the price is very high (Equal or more than a new legit one in north america), then it's very likely a legit machine. If you see a low price, I'd be suspect as no picture can be 100% reliable as sellers steal/copy/misrepresent items all the time. Only the honest ones list at full+ price because they know they have legit stuff.