Makers of grey handsets copy popular devices like the iPhone andSamsung Galaxy, and ship products at between $60 and $120. Since their entry into the handset market in 2005, they have steadily gained traction.
Now, ARC predicts that the grey market will grow over the next two years, eventually peaking in 2013 at nearly 150 million shipments.
Part of the appeal of grey handsets is how they are often first to introduce features that legitimate phones do not have, such as dual SIM functionality, but at a greatly reduced cost.
As a result, grey handsets have considerable penetration levels, accounting for a much as 14 per cent of the overall handset market in several Asia Pacific markets and a worldwide average of seven per cent