Strategy Analytics: China's smartphone shipments reached 23.9 million units in Q3 2011

According to the latest report from Strategy Analytics, a US market research company, China has surpassed the US in the third quarter of this year to become the world's largest smartphone market, thanks to product discounts and the promotion of best-selling devices such as the iPhone. According to Strategy Analytics, China's smartphone shipments in the third quarter increased by 58% month-on-month to 23.9 million units, while the US fell by 7% to only 23.3 million units.

The popularity of smartphones in China is due to aggressive subsidies from carriers, which offer subsidies in the hope of luring users into long-term contracts, and cheap Android-based smartphones from companies such as the iPhone and ZTE.

However, Strategy Analytics believes that China's leading position may not last long. The reason why the demand for smartphones in the United States decreased in the third quarter was that many consumers were waiting for the release of the new iPhone. This also made China eventually become the world's number one with a slight advantage, but the United States is expected to regain the top spot in the fourth quarter.

"Whether China can maintain its number one market position depends on the U.S. market and the demand for iPhones in the U.S.," said Linda Sui, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.

The report also showed that Nokia led the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter with a share of 28%; HTC ranked first in the US market with a share of 24%, and Apple with 20.6%.