14 DAY TRIAL // US carriers might not like the Windows Phone platform all that much, but over here on the old continent, things are quite different.
As we told you a few days ago, research firm Canalys has recently confirmed that the Windows Phone market share in the UK is on the rise, as the OS managed to capture no less than 7.6% of sales during the first quarter of 2015. And it appears that UK carriers are also backing up the Windows Phone platform.
Mobile News did a little experiment and asked a mystery caller to get in touch with 5 of UK’s major mobile carriers including EE, O2, Virgin 3 and Vodafone, and request info on iPhone/Samsung alternatives.
Interestingly, 3 out of 5 carrier representatives recommended a Windows Phone device (Nokia/Microsoft Lumia). The fourth employee initially started talking about Windows Phone, but abruptly changed their mind during the conversation and recommended a Vodafone-branded handset instead.
Brits are getting cozier with Windows Phone devices
While this experiment is not entirely representative because of the small number of players involved, it does show that Windows Phone is seeing a lot of support in the UK. For example, popular retailer Carphone Warehouse has a small stall dedicated to Lumia devices, which makes it easier for customers to get acquainted with the vividly colored Nokia bunch.
Going back to the figures provided to us by the research firm Canalys, Windows Phone sales went up 32% YoY in the UK during Q1 2015. If we’re to translate this percent into numbers, we’ll discover that around 570,000 Windows Phone handsets were sold in the UK during the first quarter of the year.
The Canalys report also highlights the fact that the Windows Phone platform was the fastest growing mobile operating system in the UK in Q1 2015. Paradoxically enough, Microsoft’s OS went up by 32%, while Apple’s was improved by 7.8%.
With Windows 10 Mobile coming and Microsoft prepping to release the Lumia 940 and Lumia 940 XL and other models, things are bound to get better for the platform.
Not to mention Microsoft has announced a slew of partners that will work alongside the tech giant to produce Windows 10 Mobile devices.