Thanks to globalization and the unmitigated flow of products across national borders, Apple products such as the MacBook and iPod remain very popular in India. This is largely because locals consider Apple's products as status symbols, showing the rest of society that iPod owners know what's cool and hip outside of their country.

However, due to the usurious taxes and added price from customs imposed on Apple's products in the country, few people buy their iPods legally, and instead resort to what they call the "gray market." The gray market is where tons of smuggled iPods and MacBooks from Singapore, Dubai, and Malaysia are being sold in India.

Om Gani, a stall-owner in Burma Bazaar, Chennai's most notorious illegal market in India, says "You can't buy Apple in India. I have to fly out of the country every month to get more." The 30GB video iPod reportedly sells for $280 in the gray market, which is $20 cheaper than the amount they sell it for at Best Buy in US. BUT, guess how much the 30GB iPod sells in authorized retail shops in India? A whopping $440.

If this is the case, the "logical" thing for many buyers is to go where you can get the product at a cheaper price. As for Apple, they don't have any cause to complain or force retailers to stay legal because the price added to their products go to the Indian government and not to them. And well, legit or not, this still means more profit for Apple.

Buying your Apple products on the gray market has its dangers nonetheless; there's no warranty of any sort. There's always the danger of getting counterfeit parts and iPod units that have barely survived the rough handling of smugglers. We know it's always better and safer to buy our stuff the legal way. But in the case of India and the gray market, could you really blame the locals who just want their own iPods?