Portuguese pranksters mock up giant HTC "Magnum"

Spoof of new tablet makes tech headline news

6 February 2008 10:00 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Portuguese phone site Pocketpt.net got the blogosphere all atwitter overnight with the apparent release of specs, pics and even video for a surprise new HTC product.

The chaps mocked up the HTC "Magnum" a large tablet PC running Windows Mobile, with a purported OLED display, 30 hours battery life and Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Bluetooth and HSDPA connectivity.

International tech sites picked up on the product and the story was run across various sites until Pocketpt held up their hands and admitted it was all a Carnival-related joke.

A message on the site reads: "A small prank to a regional community has been extrapolated to international sites as a 'real' piece of news".

"This article about the HTC MAGNUM is indeed the result of a Carnival-related joke that was supposed to end tonight at midnight."

"There was never the purpose or intent of spreading this as virus news, and also because we never write articles in English, and our target is the Portuguese speaking only."