Android gains 66 pct market share in China

Google's Android mobile operating system steadily gained solid traction in the Chinese market in the first half of this year, occupying 66 percent of China's mobile platform market.

According to a mobile Internet report issued by Chinese research firm Umeng, the Android system's share of the market increased by 5 percent year-on-year to 66 percent in the first six months of this year.

There were more than 500 million smartphones used by Chinese people in the second quarter of 2013. Of these, about 340 million were Android-based smartphones and 150 million were Apple's iPhone devices, the report said.

In addition, 7.4 million smartphones adopted Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system during the period. Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia said China is the world's largest Windows Phone device market by shipment.

The number of smartphones in China in the second quarter was double that of the number in the fourth quarter last year, the report said.

It also pointed out that about 90 percent of Chinese smartphone users will purchase a new handset every 14 months on average. The device change cycle is shorter than the cycle in other countries.