Windows Phone is going places if ABI market research is to be believed. According to senior analyst Aapo Markkane, 45 million Windows Phone devices will be on the market by the end of 2013.

This is great news for Microsoft, Nokia, and the Windows Phone platform as years of hard work is slowly paying off; however, a lot more is left to be done. While Windows Phone is definitely growing its market share and the number of devices in the hands of consumers, there are over 800 million Android devices and 300 million mobile devices with the Apple branding.

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By the end of 2013, 1.4 billion people will own a smartphone, that's a huge number, but Windows Phone will only command three percent of that number. So right now while things are looking up, much work needs to be done if Microsoft and Nokia are interested in staying in the game for the long term.

On the other hand, ABI claims RIM's BlackBerry devices would be 20 million strong by the end of the year. A small number, but still a good starting point for future growth. However, we believe BlackBerry 10 devices will get carrier support but not that of consumers and, therefore, in the long run, BlackBerry will be no more than a memory.

"The greatest fear for both Microsoft and BlackBerry is that the initial sales of their smartphones will disappoint and thereby kill off the developer interest, which then would effectively close the window of opportunity on further sales success. Our view is that the installed bases of this scale would be large enough to keep these two in the game. It will definitely also help that both firms have actively kept the developers' interest in mind while designing and rolling out their platforms," says Markkane.

Between Windows Phone and BlackBerry, the platform that has the most chance of surviving is definitely the former. With Microsoft's deep pockets and the strength of Nokia, Windows Phone can only find room to grow while BlackBerry slowly fades away.

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