HONG KONG (Yonhap news) ― Samsung Electronics Co. took the No. 1 spot in China’s smartphone market, beating Apple Inc., the maker of the hit seller iPhone, a market researcher said Monday.

According to technology research firm Gartner Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. has risen as the top smartphone vendor in the world’s largest mobile phone market, grabbing a 24.3 percent market share in the fourth quarter of last year.

Apple slipped to fifth place in terms of smartphones sold in China, with a 7.5 percent market share, following Nokia Corp. and two Chinese local makers ― Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp.

Samsung Electronics’ success in China was attributed largely to the release of its high-end Galaxy S2 device and lower priced smartphones.

Gartner expected Apple will see a further dip in China, saying the January launch of Apple’s latest iPhone 4S has made limited impact.

Market analysts expect the number of mobile users in China to surpass the 1 billion mark this year, of which 137 million people are expected to use smartphones.

In terms of global shipments, however, Apple overtook Samsung in the October-December period in 2011, according to an earlier report by Strategy Analytics.

The research firm estimated Samsung sold 36.5 million smartphones in the period, while Apple ‘s iPhone sales reached 37 million units.