LONDON: For smartphone users in China, an Apple is less tempting than small rice. That is the translation of Xiaomi, a mobile phone brand that is unheard of in the West but now outsells the US technology powerhouse in the Chinese market.

Owners of an Apple iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy in Europe and America will soon find other brands such as Yulong and ZTE competing for their attention. Buoyed by success on the domestic stage, Chinese smartphone makers are ready to take on the technology establishment.

More than a third of all smartphones are sold in China, and Xiaomi is one of five companies whose success in their domestic market has propelled them on to the international stage.

China now accounts for one-fifth of the branded smartphones shipped globally, according to research firm Canalys, and the breakneck growth of its largest handset makers has begun to shake up the industry.

Gartner says four of the 10 largest global makers are now Chinese.

Their names — Lenovo, Yulong, Huawei and ZTE — are not well known outside China, and they are still considerably smaller than Samsung and Apple. Nonetheless, these four companies already outsell Nokia and BlackBerry.

Chinese manufacturers, it seems, are no longer content with their traditional role of making phones for other firms. Instead, they are gearing up to take on the market leaders under their own name.

By arrangement with the Guardian