Microsoft hopes that Nokia and other manufacturers will produce phones that seize customers' imaginations.[/caption] Last week, research firm IDC issued a report suggesting that Windows Phone shipments exceeded those of the iPhone in seven countries around the world, including Argentina, India, Poland, and Russia. The data startled some people—Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, for example, blogged his skepticism. As the story gained a bit more momentum, The New York Times’ Nick Wingfield reached out to IDC analyst Kevin Restivo for a bit more clarification: “IDC’s numbers also reflect only the official number of cellphones imported into the countries,” he wrote. “Mr. Restivo said that in some countries, like Argentina, high government taxes mean there is a very significant gray market in cellphones, which IDC doesn’t track.” Debates about shipments-versus-sales aside, the IDC data—in conjunction with new survey data from Kantar Worldpanel—suggests that Windows Phone is indeed gaining some sort of momentum in some parts of the world. And yes, that does sound like quite the qualifier; but every smartphone platform needs to start somewhere, no? According to Kantar Worldpanel, Android was responsible for 51.2 percent of smartphone sales in the U.S. for the quarter ended February 2013, followed in second by Apple’s iOS with 43.5 percent, with Windows Phone edging up into third place with 4.1 percent. BlackBerry trailed in fourth with 0.7 percent, down significantly from its 3.6 percent market-share last year. Windows Phone had similarly managed to outsell BlackBerry in the U.K. (6.7 percent to 5.1 percent), Germany (6.8 percent to 0.6 percent), Italy (13.1 percent to 2.0 percent), and China (1.4 percent to 0.2 percent). Of course, it’s still early innings for BlackBerry, which recently launched its comeback attempt with its new line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. And both operating systems face a formidable obstacle in the form of the Android/iOS duopoly. But that data could give someone pause before declaring Windows Phone dead and cold.
Windows Phone Gaining Share in Some Countries: Report
[caption id="attachment_8879" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Microsoft hopes that Nokia and other manufacturers will produce phones that seize customers' imaginations.[/caption] Last week, research firm IDC issued a report suggesting that Windows Phone shipments exceeded those of the iPhone in seven countries around the world, including Argentina, India, Poland, and Russia. The data startled some people—Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, for example, blogged his skepticism. As the story gained a bit more momentum, The New York Times’ Nick Wingfield reached out to IDC analyst Kevin Restivo for a bit more clarification: “IDC’s numbers also reflect only the official number of cellphones imported into the countries,” he wrote. “Mr. Restivo said that in some countries, like Argentina, high government taxes mean there is a very significant gray market in cellphones, which IDC doesn’t track.” Debates about shipments-versus-sales aside, the IDC data—in conjunction with new survey data from Kantar Worldpanel—suggests that Windows Phone is indeed gaining some sort of momentum in some parts of the world. And yes, that does sound like quite the qualifier; but every smartphone platform needs to start somewhere, no? According to Kantar Worldpanel, Android was responsible for 51.2 percent of smartphone sales in the U.S. for the quarter ended February 2013, followed in second by Apple’s iOS with 43.5 percent, with Windows Phone edging up into third place with 4.1 percent. BlackBerry trailed in fourth with 0.7 percent, down significantly from its 3.6 percent market-share last year. Windows Phone had similarly managed to outsell BlackBerry in the U.K. (6.7 percent to 5.1 percent), Germany (6.8 percent to 0.6 percent), Italy (13.1 percent to 2.0 percent), and China (1.4 percent to 0.2 percent). Of course, it’s still early innings for BlackBerry, which recently launched its comeback attempt with its new line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. And both operating systems face a formidable obstacle in the form of the Android/iOS duopoly. But that data could give someone pause before declaring Windows Phone dead and cold.
Microsoft hopes that Nokia and other manufacturers will produce phones that seize customers' imaginations.[/caption] Last week, research firm IDC issued a report suggesting that Windows Phone shipments exceeded those of the iPhone in seven countries around the world, including Argentina, India, Poland, and Russia. The data startled some people—Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, for example, blogged his skepticism. As the story gained a bit more momentum, The New York Times’ Nick Wingfield reached out to IDC analyst Kevin Restivo for a bit more clarification: “IDC’s numbers also reflect only the official number of cellphones imported into the countries,” he wrote. “Mr. Restivo said that in some countries, like Argentina, high government taxes mean there is a very significant gray market in cellphones, which IDC doesn’t track.” Debates about shipments-versus-sales aside, the IDC data—in conjunction with new survey data from Kantar Worldpanel—suggests that Windows Phone is indeed gaining some sort of momentum in some parts of the world. And yes, that does sound like quite the qualifier; but every smartphone platform needs to start somewhere, no? According to Kantar Worldpanel, Android was responsible for 51.2 percent of smartphone sales in the U.S. for the quarter ended February 2013, followed in second by Apple’s iOS with 43.5 percent, with Windows Phone edging up into third place with 4.1 percent. BlackBerry trailed in fourth with 0.7 percent, down significantly from its 3.6 percent market-share last year. Windows Phone had similarly managed to outsell BlackBerry in the U.K. (6.7 percent to 5.1 percent), Germany (6.8 percent to 0.6 percent), Italy (13.1 percent to 2.0 percent), and China (1.4 percent to 0.2 percent). Of course, it’s still early innings for BlackBerry, which recently launched its comeback attempt with its new line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones. And both operating systems face a formidable obstacle in the form of the Android/iOS duopoly. But that data could give someone pause before declaring Windows Phone dead and cold.
