14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone, Microsoft’s mobile operating system, is expected to become the second largest smartphones platform out there in a matter of years, a recent report from Forbes suggests.
Although Android and iOS are currently dominating the market, Windows Phone, once the fifth mobile platform out there, is expected to enjoy further growth and might take down Apple’s OS within three years.
The phone platform will get some help soon courtesy of the planned integration between Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1, which will basically result in the same OS being loaded on a wider range of devices, smartphones and tablets included.
Windows Phone devices are already winning more and more users all around the world, despite the fact that there aren’t many of them, compared to those powered by Android, for example.
As Forbes notes, the software grew 48 percent in EMEA year-on-year, and it is currently the second most used mobile platform in Latin America and India.
Furthermore, the sales of Nokia Lumia devices grew 366 percent YOY in the United States, demonstrating the potential of the platform.
The momentum will continue over the next few years, and the increase in sales is expected to accelerate in all areas of the market.
Entry-level, affordable Windows Phone smartphones will help the platform gain more ground in emerging markets, while the integration with Office 365 and Xbox should drive sales in the Enterprise segment.
With Windows Phone on their mobiles, business users will be enjoying seamless integration of specific Microsoft services both at work and at home.
At the same time, the availability of an increasing number of popular applications on Windows Phone (including the recently added Vine, Instagram, and Waze) should make the OS more appealing to more users.
Nokia is currently the largest provider of Windows Phone devices, with around 90 percent market share, but other handset vendors out there are expected to launch new smartphones powered by the OS as well, including Samsung and ZTE.
The availability of a wider range of handsets will certainly help the OS, though it remains to be seen how many new partners will join the Windows Phone party after Microsoft completes the Nokia acquisition.