Shipments of smartphones running Microsoft's mobile OS jumped more than 77 percent, says research firm IDC. August 7, 2013 8:02 AM PDT (Credit: IDC) Windows Phone saw the biggest leap in shipments among all mobile platforms last quarter. For the second quarter, Windows Phone handset shipments shot up by 77.6 percent from the prior year's quarter, according to a report out today from IDC. The number of shipments hit 8.7 million from 4.9 million. The increase helped win Microsoft a 3.7 percent chunk of the market, solidifying its spot as the third largest mobile platform ahead of BlackBerry and behind Android and iOS. Nokia provided most of the boost by releasing two new smartphones and grabbing more carriers during the quarter. The Finnish phone maker accounted for 81.9 percent of all second-quarter Windows Phone shipments, IDC said. "Last quarter we witnessed Windows Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry and the trend has continued into the second quarter," Ryan Reith, program manager with IDC's Mobility Tracker programs, said in a statement. "Nokia has clearly been the driving force behind the Windows Phone platform and we expect that to continue. However, as more and more vendors enter the smartphone market using the Android platform, we expect Windows Phone to become a more attractive differentiator in this very competitive market segment."
Shipments of smartphones running Microsoft's mobile OS jumped more than 77 percent, says research firm IDC.
Windows Phone saw the biggest leap in shipments among all mobile platforms last quarter.
For the second quarter, Windows Phone handset shipments shot up by 77.6 percent from the prior year's quarter, according to a report out today from IDC. The number of shipments hit 8.7 million from 4.9 million.
The increase helped win Microsoft a 3.7 percent chunk of the market, solidifying its spot as the third largest mobile platform ahead of BlackBerry and behind Android and iOS.
Nokia provided most of the boost by releasing two new smartphones and grabbing more carriers during the quarter. The Finnish phone maker accounted for 81.9 percent of all second-quarter Windows Phone shipments, IDC said.
"Last quarter we witnessed Windows Phone shipments surpassing BlackBerry and the trend has continued into the second quarter," Ryan Reith, program manager with IDC's Mobility Tracker programs, said in a statement. "Nokia has clearly been the driving force behind the Windows Phone platform and we expect that to continue. However, as more and more vendors enter the smartphone market using the Android platform, we expect Windows Phone to become a more attractive differentiator in this very competitive market segment."
