Nokia is enjoying a monopoly 90% marketshare in matters Windows Phone and has sold a total of about 8 million Lumia smartphones so far.
According to new data from AdDuplex, Nokia’s standing as the leading Windows Phone OEM (which is not surprising by the way) is unparalled at a steady 89.2% of the total Windows Phone marketshare. HTC, Samsung and Huawei, the only other Windows Phone OEMs trail at a distant 7.7%, 1.8% and 1.2%. HTC coming second though with a negligible percentage now makes us see some sense in recent reports that Microsoft was courting it to dualboot Windows Phone on its current (via refreshed models) and future devices with Android. Microsoft has also moved to curtail fears of Nokia’s apparent domination of the Windows Phone platform by also approaching Huawei and Samsung on the same matter as HTC.
Nokia’s tight grip of the Windows Phone platform is informed by several factors. Nokia is the only OEM of the four that have Windows Phone devices in the market that has at least more than 10 devices on the platform. The rest have less than 5 devices each that are running Microsoft’s latest version of Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8. Nokia has a near-monopoly of the platform and is really committed since it let go of everything to concentrate on Windows Phone alone. Also, unlike the other OEMs that Microsoft licences Windows Phone for use on their devices at a fee, Nokia actually has been receiving some cash from Mircosoft with the company reportedly receiving at least $250 million per quarter from Redmond as platform and royalty support payments. These are enough incentives to motivate Nokia to push on. After all Nokia was in bad shape (as far as the balance sheet went) and needed this cash and support anyway. Nokia is now on the verge of being part of Microsoft so that is how that story ends. The other thing that has propelled Nokia to the top of the Windows Phone class is well, design prowess. Love whatever platform and device maker that you love but you really cannot hate on the Lumias. So much that some of us are usually tempted to overlook the many deficiencies of Windows Phone as a platform and just admire the beauty of the hardware itself. Not only does Nokia know its way around the hardware, it never at any given time stopped pushing the boundaries. Its PureView cameras speak for themselves. These are factors that will make anyone easily ignore the beautifully designed HTC 8X or the Samsung ATIV S for a Lumia. Being top of Windows Phone, Nokia managed to sell about 7.4 million in the second quarter of this financial year and is expecting to repeat the same feat when the results of the just ended third quarter are announced on the 29th of this month.
Here are the numbers from charts released by AdDuplex
Windows Phone 8 accounts for over two thirds of all Windows Phone devices.
Nokia leads the pack
The Lumia 520 continues holding onto its coveted title as the most popular Windows Phone 8 device
It returns again as the most popular Windows Phone device EVER!
Interestingly though, the Lumia 1020 does not feature anywhere. This could be due in part to Nokia’s slow roll-out of the device globally. It is not yet available in most markets. Understandable though since I’m of the opinion that the 1020 is not a device for just everyone so I am not shocked that the Lumia 925 is going ahead of the camera king in most markets and should make an appearance next time we have detailed data. Some other Lumia models like the Lumia 625 are also on course to challenge the top guys for honours since it has received a resounding welcome in several markets and has even overshadowed the elder brother, Lumia 925.
