By Vamien McKalin email: v.mckalin@mobilenapps.com | Feb 13, 2013 06:31 PM EST
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Windows Phone might not be doing well compared to Android and iOS, but the platform is rising quickly and could be in a commanding position come 2014 if it continues down its current path.
According to Gartner's mobile share market report, Windows Phone device sales increased 124 percent in Q4 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. This is positive news for Microsoft, as mobile phone sales were down for 2012, yet Windows Phone managed to grow substantially, which could be the sign of things to come in 2013 and beyond.
The majority of this success came from the efforts of Nokia, which commands a 78-percent control of the Windows Phone market.
Here is Gartner on Nokia's situation:
"In the fourth quarter of 2012, Nokia's handset sales improved from a good response to its Asha mobile phones and the launch of the latest Lumia Windows Phone 8 models. It was not sufficient to stop Nokia to lose further market share, totaling 18 percent, the lowest it has ever been. In 2012, Nokia reached 39.3 million smartphone sales worldwide, down 53.6 percent from 2011. Analysts said that aside from the continued focus on Lumia, Nokia needs to build on momentum around Asha in 2013 by adding devices and apps to further enhance its overall value proposition and, in doing so, moving up the price point slightly to achieve better margins breaching the gap left by Symbian."
At the moment, Windows Phone is the fastest growing mobile operating system with 3 percent share of the market, up from 1 percent in 2012. As the platform continues to grow, it is likely to rally above BlackBerry worldwide, as phones running on that platform are in no position to enter the low-end section of the market.
With the recent launch of the Nokia Lumia 620, the cheapest Windows Phone 8-based device to date, things should improve greatly in 2013. If Nokia find the means to go lower in price than the 620, all hell could break loose.
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