Foreign workers, students and men over 50 years old have been spotted snapping up the clones at gadget malls like Sim Lim Square.

And the number of retailers stocking the clones, which are mostly made in China, has also shot up - more than 20 now, compared to just four or five about three months ago.

The clones, including one called the HiPhone, look like the iPhone at first glance, with a touchscreen surface and icon-based homepage. It is slightly thicker, the fonts different, and the screen less clear.

But at between $100 and $300, they cost a fraction of the $1,000 paid for grey-market - and hacked - sets of the first-generation iPhone, the only option for iPhone fans here, since it was only sold in the United States and Europe.

And it is not just iPhone lookalikes flooding the market, but clones of other popular brands like Nokia, Dopod and Blackberry.

Even the sceptics are usually assured by the 'very good after-sales' service, as one retailer, who declined to be named, put it.

He said that most retailers have a 'one-to-one exchange' policy - no questions asked - for the China phones.

Buyers can also purchase warranty plans according to what they need, at about $10 for three months.

But even those sticking to buying original products have options. Cellphones by more reputable makers, such as Samsung's Omnia and HTC's Touch Diamond - which have similar features to the iPhone, for example touchscreens - are already available here.

It gives people the look and feel of the iPhone, said market research firm GfK Asia's director Lee Risk, since 'they haven't been able to get their hands on the official sets'.

But it could mean that when the second-generation iPhone 3G is finally released here later in the year, it may not take as big a bite out of the market as Apple might hope.

The company might be comforted, though, by the long queues that formed outside its stores in places like New York, Tokyo and Auckland. It hit the shelves in places like the US and Hong Kong yesterday.

The real iPhone 3G sets will be priced from US$199 (S$271) with a contract - still more expensive than some clones. But Mr Aloysius Choong, 31, a research manager with consultancy IDC Asia-Pacific, said some might still buy into the brand and image.

To make the genuine iPhones more attractive than clones or other brands, operators could work on a higher 'subsidy' for the phone, he added, citing the example of a Hong Kong operator which gave out iPhones for free as long as subscribers bought a US$63 plan.

But because iClones do attract a particular target market, some may still buy them.

Apple would not comment on the issue, but its spokesman did say the company was 'committed to pursuing counterfeiters and others who steal from us and deceive our customers'.

Ms Lucy Nichols, brand protection director of Nokia, itself a victim of clones, added that the lure of a 'good deal' would continue to entice some to buy products from 'suspect sources'.

But while buying fake goods may seem like a bargain, consumers could end up disappointed with what they get, she warned.

serl@sph.com.sg