According to a new report by IDC, a market research company, Microsoft"s Windows Phone and Windows Mobile platforms lost a small percentage of the smartphone market in the first quarter of this year.
The report reveals that Microsoft"s mobile platforms, including both Windows Phone and Windows Mobile, dropped from a 2.6 percent global market share in the first quarter of 2011 to a 2.2 percent global market share for the first quarter of 2012. The decrease in market share comes despite an increase in over half a million additional Windows Phone shipments; 3.3 million Windows Phones were shipped in the first quarter of this year, compared to just 2.6 million in the first quarter last year (an increase of 26.9 percent).
In the report, IDC states that 2012 will be a year in which Microsoft and Nokia boost their global shipment volumes, although the firm expects a slow growth for the Windows Phone platform:
Windows Mobile/Windows Phone has yet to make significant inroads in the worldwide smartphone market, but 2012 should be considered a ramp-up year for Nokia and Microsoft to boost volumes. Until Nokia speeds the cadence of its smartphone releases or more vendors launch their own Windows Phone-powered smartphones, IDC anticipates slow growth for the operating system.
Android and iOS saw the largest increase in global market share at the expense of Nokia"s Symbian platform. Android went from a 36.1 percent market share to a 59 percent market share; iOS went from a market share of 18.3% to a market share of 23 percent.
The full IDC report can be seen here.
Via: BGR
Source: IDC Press Release