14 DAY TRIAL // Could it be true? Could Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system become so popular that it would overtake Google's Android platform in terms of sales in the not-too-distant future? Market research firm Pyramid Research thinks so.
According to them, Microsoft's recently revived platform would be capable of gaining so much traction on the market in the next four years that it would outpace all major rivals that currently occupy the first three positions on the market, namely Android, BlackBerry and iOS.
The company's latest Smartphone Forecast shows that, while the number of smartphones sold on the market this year would top 1.46 billion units, the figure might double in 2015.
Senior Analyst and Practice Leader for Mobile Devices, Stela Bokun, notes that smartphones would account for 27 percent of sold mobile phones in 2011, and that they would rise to up to 53 percent in 2015, courtesy of growing demand and lower price tags for Android devices.
“Much of the projected total market growth in 2011 will come from the Africa and Middle East (AME) region, which will see a strong demand for low-end smartphone models, ultra low-cost handsets and dual-SIM and full touch-screen feature phones,” Bokun said, a recent article on BGR reads.
”The main drivers of the demand in the developed markets will be the launches of a number of flagship high-end devices and new features and technologies.
“However, inexpensive smartphone models, particularly those from Huawei and ZTE, also will be in high demand in some of the richest Western European, Asian and North American markets.”
Stela Bokun also stated that, although Android would drive the growth in the smartphone area, Windows Phone is expected to become the top-selling smartphone platform in 2015.
Microsoft's OS would overtake both Google's mobile platform, as well as other OSes, Bokun believes.
One thing that is certain is that this Pyramid Research is not the only research firm which believes that Windows Phone is yet to show its true potential.
Other companies also forecast that the platform would become one of the top OSes on the market in four or five years, helped by the newly signed agreement with Nokia, but this is the first time we learn that it might actually become the top-selling operating system.