Windows Phone has recently reached or exceeded 10% share in many markets, while its position as the ‘third mobile ecosystem’ has been firmly established as BlackBerry continues to crumble. But there’s still a long way to go, not only to match iPhone’s share of the market (which now stands at over 14% worldwide compared with Windows Phone’s 3.3%), but also to narrow the gap with the current leader, Google’s Android, which dominates 79% of the market.
After arriving late to the smartphone party, Nokia has struggled for growth in that segment. While it has come to represent 90% of Windows Phone device shipments, it’s still the biggest fish in a very small pond, but it carries much of the responsibility for the platform’s future success. Nokia’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, Chris Weber, told Engadget that the company understands that there is still much to be done.
When asked what he thought would be the key to the platform’s growth, he replied: “I don’t think there’s a silver bullet. It’s the portfolio, it’s great marketing to make sure people are aware of the capabilities, and it’s making sure that the apps are there.”
Apps have remained a constant thorn in Windows Phone’s side, with the lack of top-tier titles and long waits for availability remaining factors in consumer decisions to choose other platforms. But at its Nokia World event this week, the company revealed that the long wait for Instagram to join the platform would soon be over. Nokia also announced at the launch of the 41-megapixel Lumia 1020 that Flipboard, Path and Vine are coming to Windows Phone too.
Weber says that this changing state of play on the apps front, along with strengthening the existing portfolio of software, will be important for Windows Phone’s future: “The apps that we have, we have to make sure that they’re as good as – and in many cases better than – what you get on the competitive platform.”
Source and image: Engadget