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Microsoft Businesses Cellphones Windows

Windows Phone Actually Gaining Market Share In Some Countries 114

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the some-countries-still-have-idiots dept.
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."
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Windows Phone Actually Gaining Market Share In Some Countries More

Windows Phone Actually Gaining Market Share In Some Countries

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  • rot-13 version (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01, 2013 @08:14PM (#43334205)

    We don't normally read the OP or the articles, so rot-13 doesn't seem to slow down our comments.

  • Windows Phone Gaining Momentum (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01, 2013 @08:23PM (#43334243)

    This is easily the best April Fools joke of the day.

    • I prefered the one where Microsoft said they were dropping Metro and going back to the Start Menu on Windows 9.

  • Am I the only one that's just waiting for MS to get nailed in some sort of accounting scandal and that we find out that millions of Windows Mobile Phones are sitting in a warehouse somewhere?

    • Re:Has anyone actually seen a Windows Mobile phone (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Miamicanes ( 730264 ) on Monday April 01, 2013 @08:58PM (#43334357)

      > 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.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Imagine if Apple accidentally released a product featuring one additional buttons.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by Anonymous Coward

          It will require a major OS update, since neither OSX nor iOS are currently capable of handling the plural of "button" without segfaulting.

    • Actually, yes.

      About a week ago, I was riding an elevator with someone who was using a Windows Phone. I was tempted to ask him about it...

  • Slow Burn (Score:3, Insightful)

    by im_thatoneguy ( 819432 ) on Monday April 01, 2013 @08:32PM (#43334275)

    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.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by fredgiblet ( 1063752 )
      Indeed. I've said before and I'll say again, I think MS is finally ahead of the curve. It's possible they're too far ahead, changing things too fast, but I expect that in 5-10 years Google and Apple will both have converged their Operating Systems as well and the idea of a computer without a tablet-oriented default interface will be considered silly.

      MS needs to release a docking station for the Surface that lets it act like a desktop, of course they'd prefer to keep people buying both as long as possible

      • MS needs to release a docking station for the Surface that lets it act like a desktop, of course they'd prefer to keep people buying both as long as possible.

        I'm not sure why a docking station would be necessary. All there is to plugin is a keyboard, a mouse, and a display. Even Thunderbolt would only reduce this by 2 cables. Or you can add a touch/type cover and it becomes a de-facto laptop.

        • If the keyboard port at the bottom has the bandwidth (and Microsoft stated they planned to release more accessories for it) then it could be just a snap-in setup with no cords needed at all. That's what I would do with that port at least.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by ndogg ( 158021 )

        Like Ubuntu? If anyone is ahead of the curve on this, it's Canonical.

      • Indeed. I've said before and I'll say again, I think MS is finally ahead of the curve.

        I have been wrong before but I am going to go out on a limb here (I would bet my life savings on it) and say that Microsoft is not even *in* the game. Sure, they are trying to be in it but they are not even really a competitor. They have absolutely no focus on the user/purchaser of their products. All of the their products are designed around Microsoft's needs, not the purchaser's needs; therefore, they will ALWAYS be a failure in all markets that they do not have a monopoly in (and will eventually lose the

      • Here we go again...
        The network is the machine is now the Cloud.
        Touchscreen is now touchscreen, some how improved.
        Smartphones replacing full systems is now tablets replacing full systems.
        Having a dock is replace by not having a dock, which will be replaced by having a dock.
        and on and on...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      WP7/8 isn't gaining because of OS. It's gaining in countries where Nokia is extremely popular and people don't ask for a "windows phone". They ask for a "nokia phone". That is why nokia sells most of the windows phones.

      And as nokia makes nothing but windows phones for anything other then low end, people end up with windows phones. And from experiences I've had talking to such people, it's likely going to be their last nokia for many.

  • 2013 (Score:3, Funny)

    by abednegoyulo ( 1797602 ) on Monday April 01, 2013 @08:35PM (#43334283)

    Year of the Windows Phone!

  • I know that it's April 1st (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ModernGeek ( 601932 ) on Monday April 01, 2013 @08:37PM (#43334287)
    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.

    • Crafting an article that is believable yet false is easy.

      Creating one that is hilarious is far harder, and in my opinion, more welcome. I get enough lies in the regular news on the other 364 days of the year.

  • Nokiastan...and where else?

  • well (Score:2, Insightful)

    by smash ( 1351 )
    ... it's not going to LOSE market share is it? You can't really lose much from 1%

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jd2112 ( 1535857 )

      ... it's not going to LOSE market share is it? You can't really lose much from 1%

      Check with Blackberry on that one.

    • 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.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Is that maybe just because they still buy Nokia phones in Europe?

        • I live in Europe, and I've yet to see a single Windows Phone here. In Stockholm, the big 3 seem to be iPhone, Samsung, HTC.

          And some Nokias, but nearly as many as you'd think, given that the company's home base is next door in Finland.

          • I live in Europe, and I've yet to see a single Windows Phone here. In Stockholm, the big 3 seem to be iPhone, Samsung, HTC.

            And some Nokias, but nearly as many as you'd think, given that the company's home base is next door in Finland.

            Samsung and HTC both make windows phones. They are simply not as popular as there android equivalents.

            • I never said there weren't any. I merely said I'd not seen any of them in evidence during my near-daily excursions on Stockholm's public transport system and then on foot through portions of the city's "trendy" Södermalm district.

              Anecdotal data gathered using your city's transportation network and trendy office areas can and will likely differ.

              • ...the fuck?

                Gee, I guess I hurt some poor widdle fanbois feelingses because I dared suggest that Windows isn't actually Everywhere?

          • 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

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by cbope ( 130292 )

              Care to explain what "lack of configurability" means?

              I find quite the opposite, coming from iOS devices. WP8 is far more configurable, the start screen in particular. You can move and resize the tiles any way you want. Don't want a tile but don't want to uninstall? Fine, you can do that, just un-pin the tile, you can still launch the app from the app screen. In iOS, you must have all your icons on the home screen(s) at all times, and you have to "page" between multiple home screens to see all your stuff. Ev

              • 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 th

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by cbope ( 130292 )

            I live in Helsinki, and there are a fair amount of Nokias along with Samsung and Apple here. Recent numbers show Nokia gaining market share in Europe as others have commented. I can attest to that in my experience.

            I've had my Lumia 820 for about 6 weeks now, and it's a really good handset so far. Apart from a few apps that are not available yet, it's a very solid platform. The only app I am really missing at the moment is Dropbox... but then Skydrive works great on WP8 and is at least as good as Dropbox in

          • Unless you were actually looking over someone's shoulder, and it wasn't obviously an iPhone, how would you know that their phone wasn't a Windows phone?
  • ... by a myopic tree-dwelling rodent with a bushy tail.

  • Or is it just 04/01?

  • Maybe you are ignoring the real reason ? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by aphelion_rock ( 575206 ) on Monday April 01, 2013 @09:38PM (#43334435)

    Nokia made big inroads into the cell-phone market because their products were easy to use. Microsoft teamed up with Nokia [microsoft.com] 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.

    • Personally, I really like my WP8 device... A month ago I dumped my Galaxy S for Nokia WP8 and have been very happy so far.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by sd4f ( 1891894 )
        I've done the same thing, had a SGS1, which was software wise, an abortion of a phone, as it didn't work well (probably due to carrier related fw) so i moved up to a nokia L920. WP8 still has a lot of catching up to do, software wise, however the the lumia hardware is excellent.

        • I've done the same thing, had a SGS1, which was software wise, an abortion of a phone, as it didn't work well (probably due to carrier related fw) so i moved up to a nokia L920. WP8 still has a lot of catching up to do, software wise, however the the lumia hardware is excellent.

          I've done the same thing, I had a SG-1, which was hardware wise, like leaping through a giant wet ass, as it didn't work well (probably due to ancient outdated hardware design), and was plagued by outtages... I mean, the damn thing had ROTARY DIALING, and the numbers weren't even in Arabic! So I moved up to SG Atlantis. I have lots of catching up to do, Wraith-wise, however the software effects are excellent.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) *

          Must have been carrier firmware because I had an SGS1 too and it was a fantastic phone. Fast, reliable, nice hardware and minimal changes from stock Android. My friend has it now and is still loving it.

    • Windows phones are no simpler than iPhones or Android phones.

    • Not all of the users of cell-phones are the younger generation who easily adapt to a complicated device.

      WTF are you saying? That Microsoft's phone operating system product is easier to use than Android or IOS? Perhaps if you dig deep enough into Android's internals, it could be considered "complicated"... but IOS? Complicated?

      Your view is demented or distorted if you believe what it appears that you are saying.

    • Speaking to the people who own a Windows phone, they are very happy with it.

      Our "Desktop OS" guy absolutely, positively wants to see Windows succeed. It's his bread and butter.

      He wants to see Windows 8 succeed so bad that he traded in his iPhone 5 for a high-end Windows Mobile. He sugar coats almost everything he says about Windows... but the phone? He says, "The phone just doesn't get it."

      • But the phone has essentially an identical user interface to Windows 8... Or was that vice versa?

  • Best April 1 prank (Score:3)

    by 140Mandak262Jamuna ( 970587 ) on Monday April 01, 2013 @10:08PM (#43334507) Journal
    Was it done by Steve Balmer or done to Steve Balmer? That is the question.

  • If it was gaining in Botswana, Outer Mongolia or Paraguay it might have been believable. Nah.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by 21mhz ( 443080 )

      Yeah, "let's ignore India and Russia as insignificant markets" would sound so clever in any business meeting.

  • This was real (Score:3)

    by Frankie70 ( 803801 ) on Tuesday April 02, 2013 @12:02AM (#43334805)

    I had done a submission a week back - http://slashdot.org/submission/2570591/idc-predicts-windows-phone-to-be-the-fastest-growing-platform [slashdot.org]

    Overall, IDC says Windows Phone and Windows Mobile devices accounted for six percent of the 227 million smartphones shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the year, Windows Phone made up 2.6 percent, however, the analyst firm is predicting Windows Phone to be the fastest growing platform between now to 2016 with a compound annual growth rate of 71.3 percent. IDC expects Windows Phone to account for 11.4 percent of smartphone shipments by 2016, largely off the back of declining Android market share.

    Windows Phone handsets have outsold the iPhone in seven markets including India, analyst firm IDC has revealed, and beat out BlackBerry in 26. Some of the countries where Windows Phone pipped the iOS handset in Q4 2012 were Argentina, India, Poland, Russia, South Africa and the Ukraine.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by gmack ( 197796 )

      IDC is also the company that predicted that the Itanium would be a huge success [cnet.com] so I would take any prediction of theirs with a grain of salt.

    • No body has the money to buy the iPhone in India .. and then to buy the cable , stickers , cover , logo , smile , yawn , apps , updates etc from apple ..

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by dooode ( 1134443 )

        Unlike US where you pay $200 for an Iphone and then $80+ per month for next for 24 months to indirectly pay for the phone costs, cellphone service providers are not allowed to club their plans with the cellphone costs --- which is really good.

        The cost of data plan could be as cheap as $2 per month in India, and cellphone service as low as 2 cents per minute (now even cheaper).

        It makes no sense for Indians to buy a $800 iPhone then.

  • I'm sure its gaining market share in the US .. around the Redmond area .. I recently had the fortune of evaluating a friends windows phone .. and as soon as I started using it I knew it was Micro$oft . I doubt any other product / service has such a strong identity ..

  • ROT-13 SUX. BIG TIME!!! Where is my SlashDOT?

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