Samsung retains No. 1 spot in Chinese mobile phone market

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. retained the top spot in the Chinese mobile phone market in December on the back of steady sales of mid-priced phones, industry data showed Monday.

   Samsung's Chinese market share in mobile phones came to 32.3 percent in December 2012, far outpacing Apple Inc. which recorded 14.3 percent, according to the data compiled by market researcher iResearch.

   Huawei Technologies Ltd. and Lenovo Group, the top Chinese brands, accounted for 12.5 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, over the cited period.

   Market watchers said Samsung's dominant presence is attributable to its product line-ups targeting mid-price phones, while Apple focuses more on its avid users.

   The average sales price of Apple handsets came to 5,104 yuan (US$818.46), hovering far above 2,100 yuan tallied for Samsung products.

   While products above 5,000 yuan accounted for 55.6 percent of Apple's sales, such products accounted for only 9.2 percent of Samsung's mobile phone sales, the data showed.

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