Windows Phone is now outselling the iPhone and Blackberry devices in some countries. Microsoft’s Vice President of Corporate Communications Frank X Shaw recently shared the news on a blog. Shaw stated that according to IDC’s latest report, Windows Phone has reached 10 percent market share in a number of countries, has shipped more than Blackberry in 26 markets and more than iPhone in seven markets.
Though the exact IDC data that he had referred to was not mentioned, the data is supposedly from the company’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. The latest edition of IDC report had given Windows Phone and Windows Mobile 2.6 per cent of the market for the last quarter of 2012 and 2.5 per cent for the whole year and predicts that the OS will be the fastest growing platform till 2016 with a compounded annual growth rate of 71%. The report also showed that in 2012, either Windows Phone or Windows Mobile was present on 17.9 million phones, Symbian on 23.9 million phones, BlackBerry on 32.5 million phones and iPhones on 135.9 million devices shipped. Android stood out with 497.1 million units being shipped in a year.
By 2016, Windows Phone is expected to account for 11.4 percent of smartphone shipments by eating into Android’s slumping market share. Apple’s share of shipments is expected to grow from 18.8 percent in 2012 to 19.1 percent by 2016, while Android 69.3 percent in 2012 may decline to 63.8 percent. Blackberry may not rise or fall from its present 4 percent share.
Another report by New York Times elaborated further by mentioning the countries where Windows Phone beat iOS – Argentina, India, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine and a few European countries. The ‘Nokia effect’ in the countries where the Finnish company has been strong is a reason for the popularity of Windows Phone. However, these countries have low GDP per capita, and hence the sales of Apple devices couldn’t have been high earlier. Though Windows Phone may be selling just higher than its iOS counterparts, the numbers may not be very impressive.
More information regarding the growth of Windows Phone and the new features that will be seen in the platform will be provided at the annual Build developer conference which is to take place from June 26-28th. Microsoft definitely seems encouraged with Windows Phone gaining a grip with those who are tired of the iOS and Android formats.
