14 DAY TRIAL // Last year, Redmond-based software giant Microsoft came to the market with a new version of its mobile operating system, dubbed Windows Phone 7, which did not enjoy an impressive take off until now, but which is expected to become the second leading OS in the world within four years.
According to a recent report from IDC, the mobile platform has all chance to leave other popular platform behind, courtesy of the recently signed deal between Microsoft and Nokia, which would have Windows Phone loaded on the latter's devices.
The move would hurt Symbian sales a lot, sending the operating system from the leading position on the market at the moment to the last place by 2015.
According to IDC estimates, the Windows Phone platform would account for around 21 percent of the smartphone market in 2015, up from the 5.5 percent it should enjoy at the end of 2011.
As for Symbian, it should go down to 20.9 percent of the market in 2011, while dropping to 0.2-percent in 2015.
“Up until the launch of Windows Phone 7 last year, Microsoft has steadily lost market share while other operating systems have brought forth new and appealing experiences,” Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team, commented.
“The new alliance brings together Nokia’s hardware capabilities and Windows Phone’s differentiated platform. We expect the first devices to launch in 2012. By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be number 2 operating system worldwide behind Android.”
Google's Android operating system should account for 39.5 percent of the market while expected to increase its share to up to 45.4 percent of the market in 2015.
The BlackBerry and iOS platforms are expected to lose market share, reaching 14.9 percent in 2011 and 13.7 percent in 2015, and 15.7-percent in 2011 and 15.3-percent in 2015, respectively.
During the ongoing year, the smartphone market is expected to grow 49.2 percent, the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows.
A number of 450 million smartphones are expected to be shipped during the ongoing year, up from 303.4 million units shipped last year. The smartphone segment should increase more than four times faster than the mobile market, the research firm shows.
“Overall market growth in 2010 was exceptional,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
“Last year’s high market growth was due in part to pent-up demand from a challenging 2009, when many buyers held off on mobile phone purchases. The expected market growth for 2011, while still notable, will taper off somewhat from what we saw in 2010.”
