Sony looking to beat Chinese rivals to be No.3 in smartphones TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said it aims to win third place in smartphone markets around the world behind Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, pitting it against Chinese companies Huawei Technology and and ZTE that are looking to become the third big player in mobile devices. Sony will alter smartphone development for each market, Kunimasa Suzuki, the head of Sony's mobile business, said at a roundtable briefing in Tokyo, indicating that the Japanese company may produce cheaper models for developing nations. In the quarter ended December 31, Sony was ranked fourth in the global smartphone market by research company IDC with a 4.5 percent market share, behind Huawei with 4.9 percent and ahead of ZTE with 4.3 percent. Samsung and Apple combined command more than half the market. Reporting by Reiji Murai; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Matt Driskill