From January to May this year, iPhone application downloads on the Chinese mainland grew rapidly.
The Chinese mainland has become the world's second-biggest market for iPhone application downloads, behind only the United States, a Netherlands-based mobile analytic company said Wednesday.
It showed the wide popularity of Apple Inc's smartphone in China, the world's biggest mobile phone market.
However, most iPhone application downloads in the domestic market are free, according to the analytic firm Distimo.
In the first five months, application downloads on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, India and Japan grew rapidly while they decreased in countries such as France and Germany, according to Distimo.
The real Chinese user base of iPhone app downloads is much higher because many Chinese users register with US Apple accounts, industry insiders said.
Compared with China's App Store, which opened last year with limited content and no music or videos, Apple's US online store provides more multimedia content and social networking functions.
Meanwhile, some users in China "jailbreak" their iPhones to download and install applications directly online, without going through Apple's online store.
The proportion of paid downloads and the overall revenue of Asian markets still lags behind that of the United States and Europe, which means Asians are more inclined to go for free applications.
Chinese firms have closely watched the wave of enthusiasm for the iPhone and want to obtain income through localized applications, analysts said.
For example, Shanghai-based Shanda Games may debut its first games for the iPhone next year.
