Microsoft’s share in the smartphone market stopped decreasing six months after the new Windows Phone 7 (WP7) OS appeared. However, sales of devices with this operating system do not inspire hopes.
According to the NPD Group report, in the second quarter of 2011, the market share of Android devices from Google continues to grow, reaching 52%. The market share of Apple’s iOS devices also increased slightly to 29%. It would be logical to explain this growth by the failure of the Windows Mobile operating system and its new version – WP7. However, the figures provided by NPD show that Microsoft’s share has remained the same.
After the launch of WP7 at the end of 2010, Microsoft spent $400 million on advertising devices. However, smartphone sales reports showed that the money was wasted: Microsoft continued to lose its market share due to an increase in the share of Google’s Android. Only now the process has been slowed down.
Despite this, experts believe that WP7 – at least in the form in which the system exists now – is unlikely to be successful. According to the NPD report, sales of smartphones with Windows OS (including Windows Mobile and WP7) accounted for only 5% of all sales of all devices in the second quarter of 2011.
But in the end, things may not be so bad for Microsoft. Android and its 52% of the market can become a real “gold mine” for it: the company continues to sue Android device manufacturers, accusing them of illegally using Microsoft patents.