Smartphone vendors, including Nokia, HTC and Huawei, have slashed the prices of their Window Phone 8 (WP8) models to below CNY1,000 (US$163) in the China market in order to compete effectively with comparable Android models, according to industry sources.

　　Nokia debuted its entry-level Lumia 520 in China in the second quarter of 2013 with an initial price of below US$200, but has recently lowered the price to CNY850 aiming to expand its penetration rate in the sub-CNY1,000 segment, noted the sources.

　　Huawei released its second WP8 model, the W2, recently at CNY999, compared to the price of CNY1,499 for its first WP8 phone the W1, which launched at the end of 2012.

　　HTC, which has yet to roll out its new WP8 phones, has lowered the price of its HTC 8S to below CNY800, making the model the lowest-priced WP8 phone available in the market so far.

　　WP8 phones currently account for less than 5% of China's smartphone market, and the ratio is unlikely to hike significantly in the near term despite the recent price reductions, commented the sources.