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Windows Phone Actually Gaining Market Share In Some Countries
Nerval's Lobster writes "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.' Now new survey data from Kantar Worldpanel uggests that Windows Phone is indeed gaining some sort of momentum in some parts of the world: 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. That doesn't mean that Windows Phone will prove any sort of champion in the near term, but maybe the platform isn't totally on life support."
We don't normally read the OP or the articles, so rot-13 doesn't seem to slow down our comments.
This is easily the best April Fools joke of the day.
At least OMG PONIES!!! was colorful...
It's unlikely either iOS or Windows Phone will ever attain android levels of adoption--however, I remember working on Android marketing for the first couple years and sales were pretty sad then too. Maybe it's because Windows Phone finally has Chase, United and official pandora apps but it feels like it might have finally hit the app threshold to be taken seriously in the last few weeks.
Seeing as BB10 has all of Android's apps it might be able to leapfrog Windows Phone's "lost year" but now they're back where WP was at the beginning of last year. So even if they are a year ahead of where Windows Phone *was* they'll still be behind (just like Windows Phone is behind Android).
Regardless of whether or not Windows Phone is a success--it was a necessary effort on MS' fault. It laid the groundwork for all of their Windows strategy. If nothing else it is functioning well as a large R&D effort to make Windows 9 a run-anywhere OS. Windows 8 is already slowly displacing Windows phone. W8 is the kernel, W8 is driving the app framework now... undoubtedly by W9 both the phone and PC will be the same OS through and through.
In the long run the question will be whether or not a Tablet/Phone OS (android) can scale up to handle PC duties better than a PC OS (Windows) can scale down to handle phone duties. Windows Phone 8 as a proof of concept has already proven it's possible. But we don't have a desktop android to compare it to. But like I said, one way or another a single OS is the direction everything is headed. And if Microsoft didn't invest in Windows Phone, windows would ultimately die. Market share in the mobile phone device is IMO secondary to this goal. Meanwhile Apple still has to go through this painful transition at some point in the future.
Year of the Windows Phone!
I know that it's April 1st, but can we make these articles at least a LITTLE believable? That's the whole point in getting the "... gotcha!" at the end.
Sig: I stole this sig.
> millions of Windows Mobile Phones are sitting in a warehouse somewhere?
or reflashed to Android. Don't laugh. The Htc Touch HD ended up being one of the best Android phones, ever... and firmly convinced most of Microsoft's remaining mobile developer ecosystem to say "Fuck Microsoft" after their flagship phone with 16 months left on-contract was cruelly & prematurely EOL'ed for the crime of having 4 hardkeys instead of 3. Yes, read that again. It had 4, and some tool @ Microsoft decided to officially shun it because Windows Phone devices were required to have exactly 3 buttons.
Nokia made big inroads into the cell-phone market because their products were easy to use. Microsoft teamed up with Nokia with the view of entering the marked with a Microsoft powered device. This is the result.
Speaking to the people who own a Windows phone, they are very happy with it. People are familiar with Windows and Nokia's reputation for useability has probably paid dividends.
Not all of the users of cell-phones are the younger generation who easily adapt to a complicated device.
Was it done by Steve Balmer or done to Steve Balmer? That is the question.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Rtfa. Windows phone has as much as 13% in Italy, 6.7% in the U.K., and 6.8% in Germany. It's doing much better in Europe than the US.
Is that maybe just because they still buy Nokia phones in Europe?
I had done a submission a week back - http://slashdot.org/submission/2570591/idc-predicts-windows-phone-to-be-the-fastest-growing-platform
It's funny how people are quick to make fun of Windows Phone. It's like they don't realize that Windows Phone has market share that is 3-4 times larger than desktop Linux's market share.
Its not funny, its depressing. Linux occupys about 75% of the phone market compared to Microsoft 2.6% [Less if we count incompatible OS] at the cost of Nokia/Microsoft represent market shares of 25%/10% highs before their merger [self mutilation].
It shows how well Linux shines compared to Microsoft when Microsoft it unable to use its Oppressive Microsoft Monopoly [or simply by being one] can successfully restrict competition. When you see Microsoft complaining [and throwing Billions at the problem] it can't get market share by not being able to access first party Google apps; not getting carriers to sell its product. Its kind or ironic. The fact that its not a good product just an aside
Linux on the Desktop continues to grow, nobody is noticing, because the Desktop is not sexy right now, both to the shame of Apple and Microsoft, but funny never...I feel for those Nokia employees, that have been sacrificed for this White Elephant.
In Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal I've only seen another windows phone in the wild (outside of MS seminars). The owner was happy with it, as the Nokia hardware is still good. However, he used it only for phone calls and quick emails.
In these three countries the phone distribution is very different - Luxembourg I can see a lot of Galaxy S3 and Note, Belgium is mostly 50/50 between older Apple and Samsung/HTC, Portugal is more ZTE and some Samsung.
My Lumia is only being used as a second phone - it works to receive phone calls for a second SIM, but that is it. The crappy interface (impossible to see notifications unless the tile is in view, among other idiotic limitations), incomplete bluetooth, lack of configurability completely killed it for me. Well, the person who gave it to me won't give me another one, that is for sure.
Btw, was I the only one to notice that Kantar has changed its "data" since landing a nice contract with Microsoft? As for the IDC statement that WP is outselling iOS in 7 countries, more damning are all the other countries where it is outsould by Bada, BB, etc. If even selling phones below cost (lower price lumias are being sold at a loss, only compensated by the money Microsoft injects in Nokia) doesn't allow "winning" more than 7 markets, things are really bad. And when you take into account that both IDC and Kantar are only showing number for officially shipped phones, and don't include "grey" imports, and that in some of these markets (Poland, Argentina, etc.) the iPhones aren't even on sale, then this looks as another failed attempt to fake interest in WP, by the same marketing companies that have been telling us that WP8 phones are selling out, the same that told us that WP7 phones had sold out...
Care to explain what "lack of configurability" means?
Well, if you look at what WP is copying (android's widgets) you'll see what I mean by lack of configurability. Only three sizes, long "toilet paper" list with no way to add side screens, etc. I can see how it is more configurable for you if you're coming from iOS, but even iOS now can create folders, allowing you to organize your apps as you want. WP doesn't know what that is, you only have two views, either the tiles, or the alphabetical list. It might work if you have only a few apps, but when you pass the 100 is completely unmanageable. And I have over 200 on my Android, which I use regularly.
As for notifications, you're right, Apple only recently copied them from Android. But Apple has fanatical followers and it has allowed them to sell a less "feature rich" phone at a premium price- Microsoft I'd bet has more haters than followers, and apparently has trouble selling WP even at barrel scraping prices.