After two years, two versions and a few updates, Windows Phone seems to have finally arrived. Thanks to the popular Nokia Lumia series, Windows Phone, at least the latest Windows Phone 8, has definitely earned a name for itself despite having had a low 2.5% market share in the smartphone segment at the end of 2012. The OS’ Metro UI has been praised for its style, originality and clean look but studies claim that the UI was unable to pull users away from Android and iOS because of the general opinion that Windows Phone based devices lacked consumer interest.
The Nokia Lumia 920 is available for a reduced sale price now starting at $49.99.
According to the recently released AdDuplex report on Windows Phone for the month of February, of all Windows Phone sales globally, Nokia holds a whopping 78% share, followed by HTC and Samsung which hold shares of 15% and 6% respectively. Within Nokia products, Lumia 800 dominates with 17% share. On the other hand, the Lumia 920 contributed 11% in spite of its small initial shipment volumes and late November 2012 release. The new low budget Lumia 620 running on Windows Phone 8 made an entry at 2%, by pushing older Windows Phone 7 devices like HTC Radar and Samsung Focus into the ‘others’ category.
Interestingly, the report presents a similar picture when it comes to the US market. Windows Phone is still led by Nokia with 64%, but there is a small change in the popularity of various Lumia devices. The Lumia 800 is out of the picture and instead Verizon’s Lumia 822 dominates the market with 21% share, closely followed by AT&T’s Lumia 920 with 18% share. This may be the direct result of Verizon’s free on contract offer for the device. The Lumia 822 is being seen as a sleeper hit because the Lumia 920 was much more extensively promoted by AT&T. Verizon has also been advertising the Lumia 822 in recent times, and seems to have capitalized on the Lumia 920 hype dying down. HTC also seems to be faring well with a combined share of 26%, dominated by the high end HTC 8X and mid-range HTC 8S.
On the whole, February has been a steady month for Windows Phone devices, but the coming months may not be as favourable with Blackberry soon launching its new BB10 range in US and Samsung’s and Apple’s flagship models arriving over the summer.
You can purchase the Nokia Lumia 920 at a discounted price tag now starting at $49.99.
