New data reveals a drop for WP in Microsoft’s home market

Jan 13, 2015 09:06 GMT  ·  By

Windows Phone is really successful in markets such as India and others in Asia, but Microsoft still has a very hard time trying to compete with Android and iOS in the United States, and recent stats show that its smartphone operating system is rather losing users than winning new ones.

comScore data for the 3-month quarter ending November 2014 reveals that Windows Phone is actually going down in the United States, while Android again managed to improve its market share and remain the number one mobile platform in the country.

At this point, Android leads the charts with a share of 52.6 percent, followed by Apple with 41.8 percent (also down from 42 percent in August 2014), while Microsoft’s operating system is third with 3.5 percent, a 0.1 percent decline from 3.5 percent in August.

Below Microsoft, there’s only BlackBerry with 2.0 percent of the market and Symbian with 0.1 percent.

All hopes are on Windows 10 Mobile

It’s pretty clear that Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform isn’t quite meeting expectations, and despite all Redmond’s efforts to bring more people on this operating system, its market share either stagnates or drops slightly each month.

Needless to say, the next version of Windows Phone is considered to be a breath of fresh air for Microsoft and its mobile efforts, and there’s no doubt that the software company needs to get this one right to make sure that everything works better.

For the Windows Phone revamp, Microsoft might be preparing not only a new feature lineup but also a fresh name, so the platform is believed to hit the market as Windows 10 Mobile.

This way, Microsoft can capitalize on the popularity of Windows and attract more users to its mobile platform, while at the same time make a clear difference between software aimed at desktops and smartphones.

More details on Microsoft’s mobile efforts will be unveiled next week, during a Windows 10 event focused on the consumer experience in the new OS. At the same time, Microsoft is also expected to provide us with a preview version of Windows Phone 10 as part of a new insider program.