Russia has been a major market for foreign handset makers but has so far not been successful in designing handsets of its own. Moscow-based Yota Devices plans to sell the phone in 20 countries next year after making its 2013 debut in Russia, Austria, France, Germany and Spain.
Yota Device's Chief Executive Vlad Martynov said that if his company’s gear takes off, he expects Apple to be copying it in a couple of years. However, he had no plans to take the gear to the US yet. The YotaPhone is assembled in China from components made in Japan and Taiwan, features a backlit LCD screen on one side and an electronic paper display designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper, which is always switched on.