Samsung Electronics ranks first by market share in the Chinese mobile phone market. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information reports the fact that both GSM and CDMA styles are used in China brings mobile phone makers from around the world to the country. The competitors include giants Nokia, Motorola, Samsung Electronics and Sony Ericsson as well as Chinese manufacturers such as Levono.

Monday's report shows over 90 percent of the phones on sale at present in China were released within the past two years. Samsung products top the list of the 100 models most sold in the country, making up for nearly 11 percent of the pie. Models by Nokia and Motorola also rank within the top 10, along with those from five Chinese firms and one Japanese company. Cell phones made by the three giants account for two-thirds of the 100 most popular models.

Mobile phones priced around 1,000-2,000 yuan (US$120 to $220) are the most widely used. But since last year, models that cost more than that have also become increasingly more popular. And unlike in Korea, where slide and folder types are the most commonly used, bar types account for almost half of all the cell phones in China.