Can a Samsung Galaxy S III mini, which went on sale in Singapore last month for S$568, be going for as little as S$179 at a store at Sim Lim Square? Apparently not, unless you’re interested in a fake, or rather, shanzhai, version of the smartphone.

A Techgoondu reader sent us some interesting photos earlier this week, showing copy versions of Samsung phones being sold at one of Singapore’s popular IT malls.

The Galaxy S III mini copy is among several, he said. Yet another model that looks like a Galaxy Note II is also on sale, he added. …

When the Galaxy Note was unveiled a year ago, I saw it as a niche product aimed at folks who might do a bit of sketching on the go. Why would people go back to a stylus and isn’t a 5-inch screen too big for a phone?

Well, if you see the queues this weekend in Singapore for the Galaxy Note II, the followup to the surprise hit last year, you’ll know how wrong many geeks like me have been.

The new S$998 “phablet” – a cross between a phone and tablet – comes with a slightly bigger screen and now looks even more like a sure-fire crowd pleaser. …