Windows Phone triples share of UK market to 6%

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 23 Jan 2013 at 11:05

Windows Phone now has 5.9% of the UK market, almost three times its share last year, but it still trails iOS and Android - and even BlackBerry.

Statistics from analyst firm Kantar Worldpanel showed Windows Phone has had the most success in Europe, with a 5.4% market share across five countries, compared to 2.6% in the US.

The European success is led by a 13.9% market share in Italy, up from 2.8% a year ago.

"[Growth] has been far slower than Microsoft would have liked, but Windows Phone is now starting to gain respectable shares in a number of key European countries," said analyst Dominic Sunnebo. "However, its performance in the Chinese and US markets remains underwhelming. As the two largest smartphone markets in the world, these remain key challenges for Microsoft to overcome during 2013."

Windows Phone gained 3.7 percentage points year on year, while RIM fell by 9.6 points to 6.4%, Kantar said. Android extended its lead with a 10.5-point gain to 54.4%.

Nokia has particularly benefited from Microsoft's growth, with sales up 50% over last year to grab 6.2% of the smartphone market. While that's impressive growth, it's far behind Samsung's 35% and Apple's 31% shares, Kantar noted.