14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system is gaining more market share around the world, and it has already managed to take down BlackBerry in a series of key markets in Europe, it seems.
According to the latest data coming from Kantar, Windows Phone 8 has grown to 8.2 percent of all sales in five European markets in the three months ended July 2013.
The platform has managed to leave the BlackBerry OS far behind, as it accounts for only 2.4 percent of the market in major European countries, and for only 1.2 percent sales in the United States.
To be more precise, the firm analyzed sales of smartphones in various markets in Europe, such as the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, as well as around the world, announcing that the OS is currently enjoying 11.6 percent market share in Mexico.
Apparently, most of the new Windows Phone users come from feature phones, and only a few of them are moving to it from Android and iOS.
“Android and Apple take the lion’s share of the headlines and continue to dominate smartphone sales, so it’s easy to forget that there is a third operating system emerging as a real adversary,” Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, said.
“Windows Phone, driven largely by lower priced Nokia smartphones such as the Lumia 520, now represents around one in 10 smartphone sales in Britain, France, Germany and Mexico. For the first time the platform has claimed the number two spot in a major world market, taking 11.6% of sales in Mexico.”
Android and iOS remain the leading platforms on the worldwide smartphone market, with Google’s OS strengthening its top position. According to Kantar, the operating system accounted for around 70 percent of smartphone sales in China in the past quarter.
“Windows Phone’s success has been in convincing first time smartphone buyers to choose one of its devices with 42% of sales over the past year coming from existing featurephone owners,” Dominic Sunnebo said.
“This is a much higher proportion than Android and iOS. The Lumia 520 is hitting a sweet spot, offering the price and quality that new smartphone buyers are looking for.”