Nokia has become the world's largest Windows Phone vendor, according to a new estimate from Strategy Analytics.
Nokia has
become the worlds largest Windows Phone vendor, according to new data from
Strategy Analytics.
According to
the research firm, Nokia shipped some 0.9 million Windows Phone units in the
fourth quarter of 2011, good for 33 percent of that market, and surpassing the
individual efforts of HTC and other manufacturers.
Global
smartphone shipments using the Microsoft operating system grew 36 percent
sequentially to reach 2.7 million units in Q4 2011, Alex Spektor, an associate
director at Strategy Analytics, wrote in a Feb. 24 statement tied to the
numbers. Microsoft smartphone shipments remain tiny, but they are showing
tentative signs of growth.
According to
another analyst at the firm, Nokias progress doesnt bode well for HTC.
Nokias Microsoft smartphone growth during the quarter was achieved partly by
capturing market share from HTC, Tom Kang, director of Strategy Analytics,
wrote as part of the same research note. This is a challenging development for
HTC because it is also losing ground to Samsung in the Android segment. HTC is
now at risk of being caught in a pincher movement.
Nokias
Windows Phone devices include the midrange Lumia 710 and the higher-end Lumia
800 and Lumia 900. In addition, the company is apparently gearing up to present
some lower-price smartphones at this years Mobile World Congress (MWC) in
Barcelona, according to a new Bloomberg report; unnamed sources speaking to
Reuters also suggested that a set of cheaper smartphones loaded with Windows
Phone would appear at MWC.
Nokia CEO
Stephen Elop made the decision in 2011 to abandon his companys homegrown
operating systems, most notably Symbian, in favor of Windows Phone. Although he
argued that Microsofts software could better combat Apples iPhone and the
growing family of Google Android devices, analysts and pundits greeted the move
with some skepticism.
However, there
are some early signs that Nokias Windows Phone strategy is paying off. The
company announced it had sold 1 million Windows Phone units in the fourth
quarter of 2011, surpassing some analyst expectations.
We still have
a tremendous amount to accomplish in 2012, Elop wrote in a Jan. 26 statement
linked to Nokias most recent earnings, and thus, it is my assessment that we
are in the heart of our transition.
Follow Nicholas Kolakowski on Twitter
Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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