Kantar WorldPanel - Windows Phone Market Share Continues Around The World

Windows Phone is continuing is steady growth  despite the  tough competition by Android and iOS. According to the newest Kantar reports, Windows Phone is taking more and more market share and positioning is self in third place, pushing BlackBerry down the ladder.

Windows Phone market share up to 11.6 percent by 2016 according to IDC

The research company IDC today released its forecast for the smartphone market, or rather, the distribution of individual operating systems between now and 2016. Global smartphone volume in the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12) is expected to reach 224.5 million units, representing 39.5% year-over-year growth due primarily to strong consumer demand.

IDC - Windows Phone now has 3.5% of the smartphones worldwide market share in Q2 2012

Windows Phone according to IDC now has 3.5% worldwide marketshare.IDC also reports that the success of Android and iPhone OS comes at the expense of competitors in decline,who were market leaders in the past such as Symbian and BlackBerry, both fell below the 5% market share, although the senior analyst Kevin Restivo said that the struggle for supremacy is far from over. 

The success of the Android mobile platform would be mostly from Samsung, which produced 44% of all smartphones based on Google's mobile platform sold in the period under review. Also according to IDC  5.4 million Windows Phone smartphones were sold in Q2 2012 which is 3.5% of the total  market and comparing this to Q2 2011, Windows Phone had a 115.3% growth.

Report: Android malware up 3,325% in 2011

We are used to seeing massive growth rates with Android, but I am sure this is one statistic Google will not be touting in their quarterly reports.


In 2011, we saw unprecedented growth of mobile malware attacks with a 155 percent increase across all platforms. Most noteworthy was the dramatic growth in Android Malware from roughly 400 samples in June to over 13,000 samples by the end of 2011. This amounts to a cumulative increase of 3,325 percent. Notable in these findings is a significant number of malware samples obtained from third-party applications stores, which do not enjoy the benefit or protection from Google’s newly announced Android Market scanning techniques.

The report also notes that malware is becoming more sophisticated, with malware like Droid KungFu using encrypted payloads to avoid detection and Droid Dream disguising itself as a legitimate app.

Read the full report here

Source Juniper ; Via zdnet

ZTE To Unveil New Windows Phones At MWC 2012

ZTE revealed their plans to unveil new Windows Phones. They claim that they are going to be releasing a flagship, quad-core handset, on top of devices with LTE, 4G radio, and “the latest Android and Windows Mobile platforms.” Now, the question here is, what OS will that flagship device be running. If Android, will they be creating a Windows Phone counterpart?

ZTE already has a Windows Phone device in the market called Tania. ZTE Tania sports 4.3” TFT LCD screen, HSPA+ data speeds, and a 1.0 GHz single-core processor,  5-megapixel rear camera and 4 GB of storage.

The full press release after the break:

Kantar WorldPanel:WP7 grows 450% YoY in UK, mostly due to Nokia Lumia

The research firm Kantar Worldpanel regularly calculates smartphone sales carried out worldwide over the past 12 weeks to trends. This time the firm has paid special attention to the release of Nokia Lumia 800 in the UK market and gives some information about this very interesting.


Kantar reports that for the first time smartphone users outnumbered feature phone users, with more than 50% of cellphone users owning some kind of smartphone, and 71% of sales in the holiday season from November 2011 to 22nd January 2012 being for smartphones.

Kantar notes Windows Phone which managed to capture 2.2% of sales in this period, with the Lumia 800 taking the majority of this market share.

“Windows Phone 7 is also creeping up, taking over 2% of the market for the first time with the Nokia Lumia 800 taking the lion’s share. This looks set to continue with the expected launch of at least two new models at the Mobile World Congress conference," said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

"A really positive thing for the mobile OS from Microsoft is how users seem to use their smartphone. Of 81% owners of a Windows Phone have used social networks on their devices during the previous month, as more users Android and IOS. Moreover, three quarters of the owners of a 800 Lumia used the GPS, indicating that the choice to include free Nokia Nokia Drive was a relevant investment. "

He noted Nokia has been at least somewhat successful in converting its Symbian users to Windows Phone, with a quarter of users of Windows Phone 7 having used Symbian phones in the past.

He predicted Windows Phone could grow its market share to 8% by the end of 2012.

 Source professeurthibault;  Via WMPU 

Fujitsu will bring their Windows and Android smartphones in Europe

The first smartphone with Windows Phone Mango version pre-installed out on the market was the Fujitsu IS12T, available only for the Asian market.

Despite being the first smartphone with the new version of Microsoft's mobile, did not have much space in newspapers online, because its definitely not available in Europe andAmerica.

Robert Pryke, business director for Fujitsu in Europe, said that the company has spoken with several mobile operators for the adoption of its Windows Phone and Android smartphones on the market.

"The Japanese market has been an important area for technology and design, but Fujitsu will bring its products into the global market"

Fujitsu holds roughly 20% of the Japanese market, we will see if it can also in the European market to reach a significant market share.

Via thenextweb

(Video) Charlie Kindel Microsoft's former GM talks about Android, Windows Phone

Microsoft's former GM, Windows Phone Developer Experience speculates about how Android will fare over the next year and whether the choice of OS even adds any value to the customer experience.

Source gplus channel ; Via WMPU 

Share Your Android Adware Story And Win A Windows Phone !

Symantec last week identified 13 new malicious applications on the Android Market, saying the combined download figures—reportedly up to 5 million—make it "the highest distribution of any malware identified so far this year.


That's why Microsoft's Ben Rudolph is looking to ease the pain of 20 affected users by giving them free Windows phones. How to win free Windows Phone?That's very easy, just share your storie via Twitter today, and hope that your  "Droidrage" will be cured with a new free Windows Phone.


Nice work Ben!!!


Source BenThePCGuy

Windows Phone 7 may get Instagram before Android

Rumor has it that the hit app will be making its way to Windows Phones before it debuts on Android.

Instagram has catapulted to major success, winning iPhone’s app of the year and spawning an entire ecosystem of smartphone photo products. Despite its enormous popularity, the app has remained rather simple, with only one major upgrade being issued and the team staying relatively small.

Now, it appears that Windows Phone 7 users will get their hands on the much-anticipated app first. Insiders tell FastCompany that just may be the case. “A source recently left the impression that the Windows Phone team has possibly been working with the folks from Instagram,” says the site. Systrom would not confirm or deny the rumor. “Other than having pre-announced Android, we don’t comment on roadmap stuff.”

Source

Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) predicts 80 million Windows Phones will be sold in 2012

According to Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry Windows Phone will grab 13% of the market share, that means around 80 milion handsets of total 416 million.

Android`s share is expected to rise to 50% in 2012, MIC said, compared to iOS` 19% In the pursuit of higher subscriber numbers, MIC said, the market is expected to be dominated by Apple, Google and Microsoft camps, with fierce competitions also between non-telecom companies such as Amazon and Facebook. 

Currently, the penetration of smartphone subscribers globally is about only 14%, but the rate is expected to grow clearly when budget-priced, or under-US$300 smartphones hit the emerging markets. In 2012, the penetration is estimated to reach 17% and jump to 40% in 2016, MIC said.



Also according to MIC market shares of Nokia and RIM will continue to drop to 15.6% and 8.6%, respectively, with that of Apple and HTC to rise to 18.7% and 10.9%, respectively. Samsung is expected to win a market share of 21.7% in 2012.


source news.cens.com Via WMPoweruser

NTT Docomo, Panasonic, Samsung and more team up to take the battle to Qualcomm over cellphone chips

NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has reached a basic agreement with five companies - Fujitsu Ltd., Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd., NEC Corporation, Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - to establish a fabless joint venture company by the end of March 2012 to develop and sell semiconductor products for mobile devices.  

The joint venture company, leveraging the six investing companies' strong backgrounds in cellular communication technology and vast experience in application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) design and foundry manufacturing, will develop feature-rich, small-size, low-power-consumption semiconductor products equipped with modem functionality. The joint venture company will focus on developing products for LTE and LTE-Advanced mobile communication standards. 

The products will be sold in markets globally.  The envisioned joint venture company will be formed once all parties agree on the details, which are now being worked out through consultation. 

Following the basic agreement announced today, and as part of preparing to form the joint venture company, DOCOMO plans to invest 450 million Japanese yen, or about 5.8 million USD*, to establish a wholly owned subsidiary, called Communication Platform Planning Co., Ltd. and headed by CEO Mitsunobu Komori, concurrently an executive vice president and Chief Technical Officer of DOCOMO, by the middle of January.

Via: Engadget

Microsoft's Droidrage WP7 Giveaway Heats Up

Malware-infected Android owners offered chance to win a free Windows Phone 7; more than 3,200 entered.

Microsoft's senior director of Windows Phone communications, Bill Cox, Thursday said that Microsoft received more than 3,200 responses to the offer it made earlier this week to Android smartphone users who have run afoul of malware. Monday, Microsoft Windows Phone evangelist Ben Rudolph made an interesting offer through Twitter. Rudolph tweeted, "More malware on Android! Been hit? Share yr #droidrage story to win a #windowsphone upgrade. 5 best (worst?) win!" and later "Been nailed with Android malware and have #Droidrage? Share [your] story with me ... you might win an upgrade to a #windowsphone!"

Rudolph's original offer was for five WP7 smartphones. Given the enormity of the response, let's hope Microsoft is a little bit more generous than that.


Via:informationweek

Microsoft Contest Gives Windows Phones Away To Android Users Infected With Malware

Way to hit them while they’re down. Android has a bit of an malware issue with 22 more apps in their official marketplace being malicious. 


These apps sent pricy SMS messages without your knowledge (but were in the TOS that you ‘accept’ when you start the app). 


There were over 14,000 downloads of these ‘apps’ and Microsoft is looking to profit off of it. Share your story and they’re giving away 5 Windows Phones to those impacted.


Great, simple marketing scheme. I love it.


Via: mobilitydigest