It’s almost Halloween, so why not post something for the occasion. Well, I have just the story for you and it’s a true one. A few days ago I had a few N95 screen protectors from Martin Fields for sale and I was contacted by a gentleman interested in buying of these items. At the same time he informed me that he had a brand new N95. Because it recently fell it had developed a crack in the middle of the screen, so he asked if I knew any place where he could buy a replacement touch screen for his N95. This immediately sounded an alarm in my head as I knew perfectly well that the N95 doesn’t have a touch screen, neither do any of Nokia’s Nseries devices. So I informed him that the Nokia N95 didn’t come with a touch screen and that the device he had definitely was a fake! Upon asking him how much he paid for the thing, I expected to hear something in the range of $200 to $300 dollars. But honestly I was shocked and horrified when he told me that he had bought it on Ebay for almost $600 dollars. Not sure about the current prices, but for that amount he could have had the real thing. Now he’s stuck with a broken replica N95. So to prevent this sort of thing from happening, especially when buying from Ebay make sure you’re buying from a reputable seller. Sometimes it’s not that obvious as they advertise as the real thing with features that closely resemble those of the N95 and in many of these they look pretty similar. Certain features like a touch screen, dual SIM support, 3’’ screen and 2 megapixels camera should indicate that something is horribly wrong and that this is not the real thing. Take a picture of the N95 and put it next to one that you’re interested in on Ebay and I’m sure you’re bound to find some obvious differences. I noticed that many times they get the camera design wrong and that it looks totally different, so if possible see if you can get a look at the back of the device being sold. Some of these fakes include the CECT N95: it’s 3’’ screen and dual SIM card support should indicate that it’s not the real thing. Besides it’s obvious from the name that we’re not dealing with a Nokia. But first time buyers might just look at the pic and assume that this is the N95.

Next we have the Nokla N95 (yes that’s a “t instead of an “i”) of which the box and 2 megapixel should tell you that it’s not the real thing. Other brands might use exactly the same name, box design and phone design and in those cases it might be a bit more difficult to tell. But generally it pays to do your research ahead of time, check the specs, included pics and most importantly buy from reputable sellers. To help you out in your search for the N95 (if you don’t dont have one yet), I have included some photo’s of replica N95′s. By the way, while we’re on the subject: There’s no N97 (yet) so trying to buy one from a site claiming to have is not a good idea. Do you have a horrific fake N95 story to tell or you know more replica N95 models? Share your thoughts on the matter.