Zhongxing is the 4th largest smartphone manufacturer in China

On October 31, 2012, according to relevant sources, Samsung and Apple’s share of the global smart phone market continued to expand over the past year, while companies such as Nokia and HTC were in trouble and market share declined. Then, there is also a smart phone manufacturer quietly increasing market share: This is China's telecommunications equipment maker ZTE, and now, ZTE is already the world's fourth-largest smart phone manufacturer.

Consumers in the United States may have heard of ZTE because the U.S. Congress recently issued a report saying that this Chinese company poses a threat to U.S. national security. The report released earlier this month stated that people are worried that the telecom equipment provided by ZTE and Huawei may be used by the Chinese government to monitor Americans. The two companies have consistently denied such accusations.

Although ZTE's main business is to provide network infrastructure and equipment for telecom operators, this company in Shenzhen is also a major global supplier of cheap smartphones. China and other emerging markets in the world have strong demand for cheap smartphones, and people in these areas are starting to eliminate basic mobile phones and upgrade them.

According to a report released by the research company International Data Corporation (IDC), the share of ZTE in the smartphone market rose from 3.3% in the same period of the previous year to 4.2% in the third quarter, making the company the second only to Samsung Electronics and Apple. And BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) is the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer.

In stark contrast to ZTE's market share growth, the market share of major smartphone brands that compete more directly with Samsung and Apple in the mid- to high-end smartphone market has declined. RIM’s market share in the third quarter fell to 4.3% from 9.6% in the same period of last year, and HTC’s international market share dropped from 10.3% to 4%. In the third quarter, Nokia’s market share did not even make it into the top five. Nokia was the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world after Samsung and Apple in the second quarter.

At the same time, Samsung continued to sit at the top spot in the global smartphone market in the third quarter, with a market share of 31.3%, up from 22.7% in the same period of last year, and Apple's market share increased from 13.8% to 15%.

IDC said in the report that ZTE’s recent smart phone sales growth was mainly due to rising sales of lower-cost smart phones in many emerging markets. ZTE has a strong mobile phone business in China and has made remarkable progress in North America in the third quarter.

Nevertheless, as a major player in the low-end smartphone market, this identity does not help ZTE’s revenue. Analysts said that given the very low profit margins in the low-end market (ZTE's strong performance in the low-end market), the company’s bigger challenge is how to turn sales into profits.

Last week, ZTE had a net loss in the third quarter due to sluggish demand from its telecommunications equipment due to the global economic slowdown.