A New Number Three

Phones from Xiaomi still haven't arrived in the U.S., but the company's booming sales in China have been enough to make it the third largest smartphone vendor in the world.

                                                   

Xiaomi reached the ranking, behind Apple and Samsung, in the third quarter, said research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics on Thursday.

The Chinese vendor only began selling phones three years ago but it has quickly risen to become a leading vendor in its home market, by offering feature-packed Android phones at affordable prices.

In the third quarter, Xiaomi had a 5.3 percent share of the smartphone market, still far behind second place Apple, which had a 12 percent share, according to IDC. But unlike its rivals, Xiaomi posted triple-digit year-over-year growth in smartphone shipments, of 211 percent, making it the fastest growing among the top vendors.

It is the first time Xiaomi has entered in the top five smartphone rankings, IDC said. During the quarter, the company began selling its latest flagship phone, the Mi 4, a device that has all the latest specs, but with a selling price starting at 1999 yuan (US$326).