Windows Phone gaining UK marketshare

Windows Phone is gaining UK marketshare adding 800,000 users over the past year and shunting

BlackBerry down to fourth spot.

Windows Phone, predominantly Microsoft-owned Nokia devices, saw its market share increase from 5.8 per cent to 7.5 per cent over the past year, according to research firm eMarketer. The forecasts also claim that the platform will inch closer to the 10 per cent mark in 2014 with nine per cent of UK smartphone users.

Meanwhile BlackBerry’s user base continues to be eroded falling from 11 per cent in 2013, to 6.5 per cent this year, and a forecasted drop to just 3.5 per cent next year.

The top end of the scale remains unchanged with Android dominating the market on 53 per cent currently and iOS on 30.5 per cent. Both have recorded incremental rises of 3.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent over the past year respectively.

Despite the jump in Windows Phone’s marketshare eMarketer analyst Bill Fisher says that the platform is “treading water”.

“The demise of BlackBerry has long been documented but these numbers highlight just how far it has fallen from grace,” he said. “Android and iOS are clearly dominant, but while Microsoft is making significant effort to grow its presence-buying Nokia’s mobile phone unit and recently partnering with HTC to offer a Windows-based version of the flagship HTC One M8-BlackBerry appears to have been treading water.”

The report also revealed that smartphone penetration in the UK was now at 56.1 per cent of the population (33.2 million people) and 69.5 per cent of mobile phone users. By 2018, eMarketer says that this number will grow to 69.1 per cent of the population (46.4 million people) and 84.8 per cent of mobile phone users.

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