One out of every five phones is a fake

According to a recent statement from Nokia, the giant Finnish mobile phone maker – 20% of the mobile phones on this planet are fakes. Nokia was speaking about how counterfeit phones were hurting their businesses especially in developing countries where the mobile phone market is still in its infant stages. Nokia is probably the most popular handset maker in the whole world, and almost everyone uses or has used a Nokia phone before. It’s no surprise that they are one of the biggest victims of counterfeit. They mentioned that while a lot of the fake phones originated from China, they are found all over the world including Latin America and some parts of Europe. But Nokia aren’t the only victims of this unlawful activity. With handphone factories getting better at forgery; companies like Apple and Motorola that sell popular smartphones, are also being targeted. Since most people have no use for an original phone or can’t tell the difference between the real and the fake thing, they see no sense in spending extra money on an original device – especially in countries that aren’t very well off. What do you think about counterfeit phones in emerging markets? Have you ever purchased an imitation phone before?

[image credit: cbsi]

George Wong
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: fake, imitation, Nokia, phones, sales