Kantar World Panel has released a report today for the month of December, which tells an expected story for Android and iOS, with the former taking the number one spot in multiple markets. The report also covers Windows Phone, which has experienced strong growth in Britain and Italy. It shows that share levels have hit 5.9 and 13.9 percent respectively, up from just 2.2 and 2.8 percent 12 months prior. But the remaining markets could have been better.
Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, had the following to say:
"It has been far slower than Microsoft would have liked, but Windows Phone is now starting to gain respectable shares in a number of key European countries. However, its performance in the Chinese and US markets remains underwhelming. As the two largest smartphone markets in the world, these remain key challenges for Microsoft to overcome during 2013."
This we can agree with. Windows Phone is still struggling to really pick up speed and hit hard against iOS and Android. There are a number of contributing factors that are weighing against the platform, many our readers will gladly provide themselves, but when it comes to brand awareness we do feel as though progress is surely being made.
Sunnebo continues and touches on Nokia's performance in Britain:
"Nokia is experiencing something of a turnaround in Britain with its smartphone sales share at 6.2% and actual sales growing by over 50% compared with last year."
We'll take the 50 percent increase in sales. The manufacturer has struggled to rejuvenate its brand, which has been top priority since Nokia joined forces with Microsoft and launched the Lumia line of Windows Phones. It's still a tough period for Microsoft and its mobile platform, especially with BlackBerry 10 just around the corner, but progress appears to be present - just take a look at the previous Kantar report.
It'll be interesting to see where Microsoft goes after the rollout of Portico (Windows Phone 8 update) and Windows Phone 7.8. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
Source: Kantar World Panel; thanks everyone who tipped us!
