Smartphone sales data shows Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system is gaining popularity across the pond but is still nowhere near as popular as Android or Apple's iOS.
According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the Android mobile operating system took more than half the market share in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The Android garnered 56.2 percent in purchases.
With 25.6 percent less than the Android, Apple's iOS accounted for 30.6 percent of the U.K.'s market share.
Meanwhile Windows Phone consumer base grew almost 700,000 in the past year, an increase of 240 percent.
"Nokia is spearheading this growth, with the Lumia 800 the leader among the Windows handsets," said Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Global Consumer Insight Director Dominic Sunnebo. "However, it is not the only manufacturer benefiting from the increasing popularity of Windows. HTC's 8X is now the third bestselling Windows device in Great Britain, demonstrating the clear cross-manufacturer opportunity of the platform."
The market share for the Windows Phone is over six percent, an increase compared of 2.4 percent from last year. On a side note, the Windows Phone market share in Italy is 14 percent.
"Understanding the source of growth for the Windows platform is crucial to devise and implement the right marketing and sales strategy," Sunnebo added. "The fact that nearly one in five new customers switched from an Android device should give Microsoft, and its partners, confidence that its [operating system (OS)] has what it takes to bring the fight to more established platforms. As almost 30 percent of its customers switch from rival OS's, the worry that Microsoft will have to rely on attracting the dwindling pool of first time smartphone buyers to drive future growth is reduced."
Samsung continues to be the number one smartphone manufacturer in the U.K with 36.8 percent of the smartphone sales ahare in the last three months ending in January. Apple and HTC round the top three, respectively.
The news comes as the Android also topped the iOS in the U.S. smartphone market share with 49.4 percent compared to Apple's 45.9 percent.
Part of Android's increase in the latest period [in the U.S.] can be attributed to its large gain in share within Sprint's smartphone sales," said Kantar Worldpanel ComTech analyst Mary-Ann Parlato.
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