Windows Phone Will Be More Popular Than iOS By 2015

It seems that there are a lot of people who aren't taking Microsoft very seriously when it comes to competing in the smartphone marketplace. However, various well-known analyst firms, including IDC, Gartner, and iSuppli, believe Windows Phone could actually overtake iOS and become the second most popular smartphone platform by 2015. The head of marketing for Windows Phone, Achim Berg, believes this prediction is conservative.

In September, research from Gartner and IDC suggested that Windows Phone (Mango) could grab as much as 20 percent of the market share by 2015. iSuppli's most recent predictions suggest that Windows Phone will hold about 16.7 percent of the market share by 2015. This same year, iSuppli expects Apple's market share to drop from 18 percent to 16.6 percent. As you can see from these predictions, however, Windows Phone is only besting iOS by a small margin. Even so, gaining a strong foothold in the market and stealing some share from Apple is certainly something to comment about, especially when you consider Windows Phone's market share in 2011 was less than 2 percent.

Given the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, the companies have the necessary resources to use in promoting and developing the Windows Phone platform. Unveiled at CES this year, Nokia's Lumia 900 smartphone is expected to be one of the best Windows Phone devices yet. This phone will feature a 1.4 GHz processor, 4G LTE connectivity, 4.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen, 8MP camera, and a battery life of up to 7 hours of talk time.

While iSuppli believes Microsoft and Apple will be duking it out for market share, the firm doesn't believe Android's market share will be greatly impacted. In fact, iSuppli believes Android will grow from 47.4 percent of market share to 58.1 percent in 2015.