14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone, Microsoft’s mobile operating system, has managed to grab a lot of market share around the world lately and has even managed to become the third largest smartphone OS out there, leaving BlackBerry behind, but not in all regions of the world, it seems.
In fact, a recent graph coming from Kantar (shared by Charles Arthur) shows that Windows Phone is actually behind BlackBerry when it comes to market share, despite the fact that is has been growing steadily for the past several quarters.
The aforementioned graph shows consumer interest in mobile operating systems over the past ten years, from March 2004 through March 2014.
The chart shows that, while Windows and BlackBerry were leaders in the smartphone space several years ago, they are now far behind Android and iOS.
However, it’s also interesting to note that Windows Phone is currently the fourth smartphone platform in the UK, while BlackBerry is still on the third position.
At the same time, as PhoneArena points out, the graph is based on consumer data only, which does not sound like great news for Microsoft’s mobile OS.
Of course, things could change in the coming months, especially with Windows Phone now being adopted more and more in the enterprise segment, where BlackBerry has always been a leader.
At the moment, BlackBerry looks like it has almost run out of options, as it hasn’t released a killer smartphone for some time now, though it is expected to announce a new flagship before the end of this year.
Windows Phone, on the other hand, appears to be scaling up only now, with more and more mobile phone makers out there announcing plans to release devices running under it.
Moreover, the launch of handsets running under Windows Phone 8.1, which is currently underway, starting with the Lumia 630, should help it a lot, especially since the platform will bring along some appealing new features, including Cortana, a digital personal assistant.
The new OS iteration will start arriving on existing Windows Phone 8 devices too in the coming weeks, so as to provide more users with an updated experience while on the go.
All these and the fact that BlackBerry has only a few smartphones available for purchase in the UK and elsewhere, could help Microsoft’s platform grow further in the UK, that’s for sure.
In the meantime, however, we should also keep an eye on Android and iOS, as both platforms appear to be continuously growing in the UK ever since first landing on shelves.