Microsoft may not wish to reveal just how many Windows Phone products have been shipped but the research firm IDC claims that the number of phones with the mobile OS went up from just 17.5 million units in 2012 worldwide to 33.4 million in 2013, an increase of 90.9 percent.
That's the good news; the bad news is that IDC says that the actual worldwide market share for Windows Phone, compared to the other smartphone platforms, was still pretty low at 3.3 percent in 2013, up from 2.4 percent from 2012. Google's Android remains the number one mobile OS platform with a market share of 78.6 percent, up from 69 percent compared to a year ago; 793.6 million Android devices shipped in 2013, an increase of 58.7 percent.
Apple's iOS platform is in second on IDC's list. The firm claims that 153.4 million iOS devices shipped in 2013, up by 12.9 percent. Its market share worldwide was set at 15.2 percent, down from 18.7 percent in 2013.
BlackBerry got hit badly in 2013; it shipped just 19.2 million smartphone units, down a massive 40.9 percent compared to a year ago. Its market share is recorded by IDC at just 1.9 percent, down from 4.5 percent from a year ago.
IDC says in its report, "What remains to be seen in 2014 is how Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's smart devices will propel volumes higher." Microsoft is still scheduled to close the deal to buy Nokia's Devices and Services division by the end of the first quarter of 2014.
Source: IDC
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