On Wednesday a blog post from Frank Shaw, head of PR at Microsoft, revealed that Windows Phone is outshipping the iPhone in seven countries.
According to the IDC, who measures shipped numbers, more Windows Phones were shipped into 7 markets than iPhones and more than Blackberry in 26 markets.
But before Apple fans explode with indignation, yes there is a catch. Windows Phone
outsold the iPhone in a smattering of emerging markets, where the high
price of Apple’s trendy phone is probably a barrier to sales success.
In total Windows Phone led the iPhone in Argentina, India, Poland,
Russia, South Africa, Ukraine, and “rest of central and eastern Europe”.
In India, the arrival of low-end Windows
Phone devices — namely Nokia Lumia 510/620/820 - has certainly boosted
Windows Phone. Nokia’s also trying to market its Lumia 920 and Lumia 820
handsets via television and print campaigns. So it won’t come as a surprise if shipments are higher than that of the iPhone given that the iPhone commands a much higher retail price.
IDC’s numbers also reflect only the official number of cellphones imported into the countries. IDC said that in some countries, like Argentina and India high government taxes mean there is a very significant gray market in cellphones, which IDC doesn’t track. So it is hard to know actual market share in those places.
While it’s certainly good news that Windows Phone is breaking into emerging markets, Windows Phone has had issues breaking
in to the tough, and arguably more significant North American market as
of late. Tackling the developed markets is no doubt a priority for Microsoft at the moment, and with Nokia continuing to release new devices, hopefully for Microsoft, progress will come.
Do these facts diminish Microsoft’s announcement that Windows Phone outshipped the iPhone in seven countries — or not?
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