Which One is Real?

[gameking28]

Well there's no fooling (most of) you guys. The answer was indeed the one on the right. As you can see, they're pretty close - without a real one right next to it for comparison, it would be easy to be fooled.


So now those comparison shots I promised. Here's how to tell the difference between a real E305 faceplate and a pretty decent fake:

1) Color
If you look at the picture above, the fake faceplate on the left is darker than the real one on the right. This is true for both the rings and the text on the USB door. The real faceplate's colors almost appear faded when compared to the fake. When compared next to each other, someone who didn't know the difference (like my Girlfriend for instance) would likely assume that the darker one is real.

2) Ring Placement
The rings of light are a mess. Before buying the fake I tried to compare the image of it on eBay to the real one I already had. I thought it matched up perfectly - then it arrived and I noticed a slight (but noticeable if you're looking for it) difference. The rings stretch up over part of memory card slot 2. On the real one, the rings are close together and peak about a quarter of the way through the MC slot - although they continue on slightly higher between the MC slot and the CD tray.
On the fake, the last couple rings have a noticeable gap and the highest ring crosses through MC slot 2 about 1/2 to 3/4 (5/8 perhaps? ) of the way through it - slightly higher than the real one.

3) The Power Button
For this you'd have to see the back of the faceplate. On the front, the chrome power buttons look identical. On the back, the real one should be black and look like this:

On the fake (this one at least) the back is white:


That's about it. Hopefully this will serve as a guide in the future for those that need an E305 plate for their collection and are considering one on eBay.