Microsoft's (MSFT 0.46%) expensive investment and Nokia's (NOK 6.11%) risky gamble appear to be paying off.
Kantar is out with its smartphone domestic market share report for the second quarter, and after conducting more than 240,000 interviews in this country, it appears as if Windows Phone is gaining ground as a mobile operating system.
Hold your applause.
We're only talking about Windows going from 2.9% a year ago to 4% today. This remains a country where Google's (GOOGL 1.42%) Android and Apple's (AAPL 0.51%) iPhone command a whopping 94% of the market.
In fact, Microsoft's growth hasn't really come at the expense of Google or Apple. They combined for just 91.8% in market share a year ago, so clearly the two market leaders are even more popular today. Microsoft's growing at the expense of BlackBerry (BB 1.82%), which has seen its stateside market share shrink from 4% to 1.1% over the past year.
Yes, Microsoft's share of smartphone sales during the last three months is the same as BlackBerry's land grab during the same three months of 2012. That's not very encouraging, but then you have to keep in mind that Windows Phone is on the rise. BlackBerry has given us little reason to make it seem as if it's not a platform on the way out.
When Microsoft and Nokia teamed up to champion Windows Phone through Nokia's Lumia line, it was a brazen move. Microsoft would offer up billions in guarantees to Nokia, and the Finnish handset maker would throw its weight behind a fledgling mobile platform instead of joining Samsung in putting out a ton of Android devices.
Nokia's stock has taken a beating as sales haven't been up to snuff, and even Microsoft slumped after posting uninspiring financial results earlier this month. Clearly both companies have a long way to go if they want to be taken seriously in the smartphone market, but at least they're taking baby steps in the right direction.
