From recent figures released, it appears that Microsoft has come through with its claims two months ago that it would soon overtake Apple’s iPhone sales in China as Microsoft’s Windows Phone sales have already reached a market share of 7% in the country, surpassing the 6% market share held by Apple’s iPhone.
Though Apple’s original market share wasn’t that high to begin with, what needs to be noted is the speed with which the company managed to reach this target indicating that China could prove to be pivotal in the growth and future of Windows Phone as well as its key partner, Nokia.
China will be the largest market for smartphones in the world by the end of the year, a report by IDC claimed. However the country has huge growth potential with the country having as little as 14% 3G penetration. Most of the carriers in the country have caught wind of the growth potential and have been actively trying to shift their existing 2G base to 3G. China Telecom has been the first major company to take up Nokia’s offering but China Unicom and China Mobile are expected to follow soon.
Though the immense popularity of the iPhone should make it the preferred handset amongst carriers, most of them are wary of the margin pressures imposed by Apple. Nokia has come as a respite to these carriers as they offer a wider range of handsets at comparatively lower prices or manage to bundle more features. The Lumia 800C is priced at $570 whereas the iPhone retails at $775, over $200 higher. The Lumia 610 which is comparatively cheaper is also set to hit the markets in China soon.
Although there have been rave reviews about the Lumia series of phones, it is crippled by the lack of app support for the platform. There are as little as 80,000 apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace when compared to the 400,000 apps that Google Play boasts of and the 600,000 apps in the iTunes store.
It must be pointed out however that when Android first hit the market, it had a sluggish start too and it was only once it hit an inflection point that its growth in terms of both market share and apps became substantial when compared to its rivals.
