Microsoft has been pushing their new smartphone OS, Windows Phone 7, pretty heavily. Between TV commercials and over the top in-show product placement, it seems like the OS is everywhere even though it is currently trailing behind the big players like Android and Apple’s iOS. That may soon change, as technology predictor IDC believes that Microsoft’s mobile operating system will catapult to second place by 2015.
In their forecast, IDC is predicting that the worldwide market for smartphones will increase by roughly 50% this year with Apple taking 3rd place behind both Android and Symbian. The most interesting prediction, however, is that while Android is expected to retain its lead in 2015 with nearly 50% of the smartphone market, Windows Phone 7 and Windows Mobile are expected to combine for over 20% of the market putting it firmly in second place ahead of Apple’s iPhone. The thought is that the strong worldwide branding that Nokia enjoys will help Microsoft sell the phone well throughout the world, even though the first product from this venture is not expected to ship until 2012.
While it currently sounds foolish, there is a certain amount of logic behind the predictions if looked at from the global perspective. A report last year by Cellular-News showed that Nokia was the most searched for brand of phones in India by a 3:1 margin over the next highest rival, Samsung. China is also a very pro-Nokia country so if Nokia and Microsoft create a good product it could very well bring the two companies great rewards.
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