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Windows Phone to Beat iPhone, BlackBerry Market Share by 2015

By: , IntoMobile
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 at 5:46 AM
iheartwindows


IDC recently published their forecast for the worldwide smartphone market, and they foresee 450 million units shipping in 2011 compared to 303 million last year; that translates to 49% growth, which is four times more than the overall mobile market. IDC claims Android will snatch up 45% of the worldwide smartphone market share by 2015, though to be honest, that sounds a little conservative, considering Android already claims 39% according to the IDC’s own research, though others have pegged it closer to 29%. For the same time period, BlackBerry and the iPhone’s iOS are likely to hold their ground at 13% and 15% respectively, Symbian is to all but disappear, and Windows Phone 7′s market share will grow significantly from 5.5% to 20.9% thanks in no small part to the Nokia deal.

That would put Windows Phone ahead of BlackBerry and iPhone in terms of market share by the time 2015 rolls around, which is a little hard to swallow, but like Android, WP7 appeals to multiple manufacturers. Motorola is the only one who hasn’t been particularly interested in making a Windows Phone, leaving HTC, Samsung, and LG to explore alternatives to Google’s mobile OS. I worry that supporting a second smartphone OS will split manufacturer attention and lead to slower updates across the board, but I guess that’s the price you pay for a diverse phone selection.

 

About The Author

Simon Sage

Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.

  • Ntomyng

    There’s no way WP7 can achieve market share like that without necessary features like the ability to sync with Outlook. Wishful thinking on someone’s part. 

  • Sagar

    What makes the researchers feel that WP7 will outperform? Just because their OS will be floated on Nokia Smartphones?

    Sagar D