Smartphone shipments in China are expected to outpace those of feature phones in the country by next year, according to research firm International Data Corporation.

In 2012, IDC estimated that out of the more than 280 million mobile phone shipments in total, features phones will only pip smartphones by eight million.

The reason why the number of smartphones is rising is partly because 3G handsets are flooding the market, said IDC.

Chinese telecom operators are likely to benefit from people turning from feature phones to smartphones. The carriers would provide higher-priced mobile subscription contracts and the average revenue per user would continue to grow, IDC explained.

shenjingting@chinadaily.com.cn