After surpassing smartphone shipments in the US for two consecutive quarters in the second half of 2011, China has carried that momentum into 2012 and will go beyond.

According to a recent smartphone forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC), it was analyzed that Android smartphones priced below $200 were a hot segment in 2011 in China and these low-cost smartphones were also predicted to remain key drivers for smartphone growth, with prices becoming even more affordable on falling chipset prices and increased competition.

According to their analysts' reports released in March, it was noted that emerging domestic vendors, were one more important engine of smartphone growth as giants including Huawei, ZTE, and Lenovo were taking aggressive steps to give big carrier orders due to their willingness to produce customized handsets. Along with them, International players such as Samsung and Nokia are also expected to drive volume at the low end with cheaper smartphones.

And yes, their predictions were quite accurate, but there is a slight difference, as there is a new unexpected device category taking on the Chinese market.  It is the Microsoft's Windows Phone that is surging in China.

Microsoft may be still fighting for market dominance when it comes to Windows Phone adoption in the US, but the Windows phone has already narrowly eclipsed the iPhone's market share in China, where the battle has only just begun.

Recently, Redmond based network proclaimed a minor victory for the Windows Phone in China, where the mobile OS picked up 7 percent of an extremely lucrative market.

Also, according to Emerce reports, Michel van der Bel, chief operating office at Microsoft for the Greater China region has informed that Microsoft's Windows Phone market share now sits at 7 percent in China. At the last count, Apple's share of the smartphone market in China was 6 percent.

He was noted in the report saying, "We have only just begun." He continued, noting that the combination of Windows Phones and Windows 8 tablets will help Microsoft succeed in the Chinese market. "Our smartphone and tablet-pc are hybrid, making them suitable for the consumer, but also easy to insert within an existing company infrastructure. This will allow us to better anticipate the consumerization of IT than many competitors."

Industry observers repeatedly carry out discussions on how important China is for Apple's iPhone. The Cupertino, California-based consumer electronics giant's iPhone 4S launched in China earlier this year but despite reports of continuing negotiations, China Mobile - the world's largest telecom carrier - still does not offer Apple's iPhone to its massive subscriber base and Apple still making continues efforts for a headway in the Mainland China.

Even though Windows current share is not a very thrilling percentage, one will have to note that Microsoft has managed to claim the market share in only 60 days after its official entrance into China. Depending on only a handful of smartphones, including HTC Triumph, the ZTE Orbit and most popular of all, the Nokia Lumia 800, and not to forget that the manufacturers have smartly followed the 'low price' strategy, just as the reports said, to outcast their sales figures in the China's smartphone market sales. Hence, this hints to the point that Microsoft has big plans to launch many more Windows 7.5 Mango handsets in the market.

Let's take a look at top 5 WP7 brands which are anticipated to be launched in China in 2012.

Nokia Lumia 900

Lumia 900 is expected to hit Chinese markets in the first week of June. The Finnish phone maker has already triggered the global marketing campaign of the phone and considering the hype surrounding the smartphone - that has outsold the HTC One X in the States - it will surely be a success in China too.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is the first ever 4G-LTE Windows Phone which comes pre-installed with the new Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS, sporting a 4.3-inch Clear Black AMOLED display with 480 X 800 pixels of resolution, powered by 1.4GHz single-core processor, 512MB of RAM. Further the handset is equipped with an 8 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera with auto-focus and dual LED flash, 16GB internal memory storage, 1800mAh battery, NFC functionality, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, SkyDrive integration, Internet Explorer 9 access, micro-USB 2.0 and a whole host of Windows Phone services.

Moreover, the WP7 Mango OS has to offer more than 500 new features including Facebook chat, native Windows Live Messenger, Office 365, Bing Audio, Bing Vision, SMS Dictation, Turn-by-turn navigation, Web Marketplace, Zune services, Xbox Live games and more.

Samsung SCH-S759

Samsung officially announced the upcoming availability of the Omnia M mid-range Windows Phone devices in Europe, and now it looks like the company plans to launch another smartphone based on Microsoft's mobile platform, the SCH-S759 and it is almost certain that the smartphone is aimed at China and will be launched through China Telecom. According to a few reports, the handset has been confirmed to support CDMA networks.

Unfortunately, there aren't many of its specs revealed in the documents filed by Samsung, but reports have emerged stating that the handset will be shipped with Windows Phone 7.5 onboard. In addition, the smartphone supports Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz band. Further, rumor has it that the device is just a Chinese version of the Samsung Omnia M.

If that's the case, expect the SCH-S759 to come with 4.0-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display with 480 x 800 pixels resolutions, 1 GHz single-core processor with only 384MB of RAM, 4 GB or 8 GB of internal memory, an additional 7GB of free online cloud storage via Windows Live SkyDrive,  5-megapixel rear photo snapper with autofocus and LED flash, secondary VGA front-facing camera for video chats. Further, it might also offer various Samsung apps and services, including ChatON, Music Hub, Photo Studio, All Share and more.

ZTE Mimosa

Prior to the Mobile World Congress 2012 event, the Chinese manufacturer announced the Android OS powered ZTE Mimosa X. Ever since, report were spread that ZTE is planning to launch a Windows Phone variant of the Mimosa X handset.

Earlier reports by WP Dang website cited that the Windows Phone version of the Mimosa handset will run Windows Phone 7.5 "Refresh," Tango version, and should start hitting the emerging markets, including China from this May or June. The device is expected to be powered by an 800MHz single-core processor, 256MB RAM but the remaining specifications of the handset are still unknown.

ZTE has released its first Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS running ZTE Tania handset last year, which comes with a affordable price tag. The source has also mentioned that Windows Phone OS version of the ZTE Mimosa handset should be quite affordable, just like the ZTE Tania or the Nokia Lumia 710 or newly launched Lumia 610 handsets and it may be priced between $200 - $250.

Samsung Minuet And Nokia Lumia 719C

Recently, WPDang has again come out with a new report which says that China Telecom is planning to offer a new Lumia 719C that, if previous leaks are to believed, is similar in design to Nokia's Lumia 710 handset.

According to Verge reports, WPDang cited internal leaked roadmaps for China Telecom, and also identified a Samsung Minuet handset that is due soon. Although references to the Minuet have been discovered before, no images have leaked before to give an idea of Samsung's latest Windows Phone handset.

There is speculation that the Minuet Chinese variant could be similar in appearance and specifications to the Omnia M. Both the Lumia 719C and Samsung Minuet are rumored to arrive this summer in China.