The $399 Samsung Galaxy Fold That You Probably Shouldn't Buy
The Samsung Galaxy Fold and other various foldable phones are one of the hot new things to come out over the past year or so. With new technology comes expensive prices though. Samsung's Galaxy Fold for instance will set you back $2,000. Recently a company has come out offering basically the exact same phone as Samsung's Galaxy Fold, but with only a $399 price tag. I first heard about this device yesterday when I was watching a Youtube video about it. The phone is question is called the Escobar Fold 2.
If the name Escobar sounds familiar, it should. Pablo Escobar was a notorious Columbian drug lord before I was even born. Even if you don't know much about him, you've probably at least heard his name. Well, Escobar Inc. is the "creator" of the Escobar Fold 2. I put "creator" in quotes because there is basically no difference between this device and a Samsung Galaxy Fold. In fact, most people believe that the device is exactly that. The only difference being that it has a Escobar Inc. sticker over the device (which is very easy to remove) as well as a wallpaper of Pablo Escobar on the device.
The old saying of "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies here though. Several Youtubers have received their review devices and after reviews, they've pretty much said that this device is literally a re-skinned Samsung Galaxy Fold. The specs match it perfectly. There are many many red flags here though from what I've seen and heard.
The first is that the Youtuber that I'd watched yesterday said that he didn't use any information when ordering it that would link him to being a Youtuber, but it somehow seems that they found out who he was and sent him a "review" sample. The second red flag is that in the review that I'd seen, the device had already been set up when the reviewer had first turned it on. No new phone or tablet ever comes pre-setup.
The third red flag is that according to some people, they never received the device that they ordered and simply were given excuses as to why they haven't gotten it yet. According to Esobar Inc, they are expected to ship them to customers in March so we'll see if they do. The forth red flag is that from what I've heard, the device can only be ordered using crypto which would mean that you couldn't file a complaint with your bank if they never delivered your device. It's fine to pay for some things in crypto, but this seems to be one of the shadier uses of it.
The last thing is that it's from a company that prides itself on being associated with Pablo Escobar. While in a way I can understand some of his friends and family wanting his memory to live on, it's not the smartest business move to try to run a legitimate business that's associated with someone like Pablo Escobar, unless of course it's not a legitimate business.
Maybe I'm wrong about everything though. Maybe they actually will deliver the phones to those who ordered them. For the customers' sake, I hope so. Even if they was to get one, I'd recommend them to immediately factory reset the device just in case there was any malware on it.