Windows Phone steals third place from BlackBerry in IDC smartphone ranking

[V-Tech]

First and second place in the smartphone OS wars is a foregone conclusion with Android and iOS (respectively) strongly entrenched, but the battle for third place is now full of intrigue. BlackBerry and Microsoft have each stepped up their games with their respective BB10 and WP8 OS's of late, but so far it's Redmond prevailing, having jumped two spots from last quarter to take third place, with a 3.2 percent share over BlackBerry's 2.9 percent. While those two are fighting for third place scraps, Android kicked up its smartphone OS dominance with 75 percent of the global market, which is a huge jump from last year, while iOS fell back slightly to a 17.3 percent share. Between them, those titans owned 92.3 percent of the pie, but it's arguably Windows Phone that has raised its game the most, with a senior IDC analyst claiming that this latest ranking "validates the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia."

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/16/idc-windows-phone-steals-third-place-blackberry/

[Growled Member]

...but it's arguably Windows Phone that has raised its game the most, with a senior IDC analyst claiming that this latest ranking "validates the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia."

I wouldn't go that far. They aren't setting the world on fire with their offerings.

[V-Tech]

I wouldn't go that far. They aren't setting the world on fire with their offerings.

As an old time BB user (not anymore) i believe that BB will get stronger this and next year. BB10 has a big potential and i still believe in the company.

[Dot Matrix]

Personally, I think BB is done for. They're not bringing anything new to the table, and honestly, BB10 looks like an Android also ran.

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

As an old time BB user (not anymore) i believe that BB will get stronger this and next year. BB10 has a big potential and i still believe in the company.

It has a lot of potential but will that be enough? Nokia has an edge with hardware and on top of that, they have navigation experience. The HERE apps for WP are amazing. And they're going out of their way to work with WP developers to deliver great apps. On the other hand, BlackBerry has a lot of loyal fans and BBM. Oddly enough, BBM will be available for iOS and Android this summer.

Anyway, I made the switch to WP from a BlackBerry device back in February and I didn't expect this to happen so soon. Especially not after the release of the BlackBerry Q10.

Right now, my next phone purchase will be from Nokia. I love the design and features of the Lumia 925 and I can't wait to see what they'll unveil at the end of this year.

[V-Tech]

I donno, i still think it's a good product and people like it.

2013-2014 will determine what will happen with the company. If in the next year BB10 wont get larger than sadly it will be the end of them.

They made a huge mistake by not allowing BBM on other platforms year ago. They are starting with it now but it's a bit too late with Whatsapp out there and other chat apps it's just too late.

It has a lot of potential but will that be enough? Nokia has an edge with hardware and on top of that, they have navigation experience. The HERE apps for WP are amazing. And they're going out of their way to work with WP developers to deliver great apps. On the other hand, BlackBerry has a lot of loyal fans and BBM. Oddly enough, BBM will be available for iOS and Android this summer.

Anyway, I made the switch to WP from a BlackBerry device back in February and I didn't expect this to happen so soon. Especially not after the release of the BlackBerry Q10.

Right now, my next phone purchase will be from Nokia. I love the design and features of the Lumia 925 and I can't wait to see what they'll unveil at the end of this year.

Dont like the Nokia/WP thing. I find the windows OS to be annoying really :)

I switched from BB to Android - Nexus 4 last year and the difference is HUGE. For now i dont see myself switching to anything else other than Android phone, a pure Android phone.

[BajiRav]

7% vs 6.x%? that's not called stealing - it's more like seasonal trends. :/

[vcfan]

7% vs 6.x%? that's not called stealing - it's more like seasonal trends. :/

that's not a percentage.thats millions of units. Blackberry dropped from 9+ million and windows phone grew from 3 million. This is far from insignificant .

[BajiRav]

that's not a percentage.thats millions of units. Blackberry dropped from 9+ million and windows phone grew from 3 million. This is far from insignificant .

Oh crap you are right (I still think the variation is too small we need few more quarters like this for a definite trend).