In Q3, Windows Phone overtook Apple's iOS in some countries

Microsoft’s Windows Phone has overtaken Apple’s iOS in some countries in terms of smartphone sales, according to data gathered by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Referring to figures gathered over a three month period till September this year, the data shows that Windows Phone now accounts for one in every 10 smartphones being sold across major European markets like the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Microsoft’s mobile software has overtaken iOS in Italy in terms of sales, and is also gaining momentum in emerging markets. Google’s Android continues to dominate the European market, however, accounting for 71.9 percent of the market, an increase of 4.2 percent from the same period last year. Windows Phone (WP) is also showing signs of growth in emerging markets like Latin America. The latest data supplements earlier reports which showed that WP has had an impressive growth year-over-year this quarter.

Enter the next level in Windows mobility

According to Dominic Sunnebo, Strategic Insight Director at Kantar, “With the smartphone market in developed countries so congested, it is emerging economies that now present manufacturers with the best opportunity for growth.”

While talking about Nokia and the significant part it has to play with Windows Phone, the executive said, “Nokia dominated in Latin America for many years, and while its popularity declined with the fortunes of Symbian it now has an opportunity to regain the top-spot. The majority of consumers in Latin America still own a Nokia featurephone and upgrading to an entry level Lumia is a logical next step. Price is the main barrier in developing markets and the budget Lumia 520 opens the door to smartphone ownership for many.”

WP users have often felt that they are getting the short end of the stick when it came to their smartphones and apps on it. Some good news came in the form of a bunch of new apps being launched for the Windows Phone 8. These included Waze, Google’s newly acquired crowdsourced navigation app, the much awaited Instagram, Vine, Path, Flipboard as well as local ones like MapmyIndia and IRCTC. The official entry of the Facebook-owned photo-sharing social network on Windows Phone marks the fact that the OS’ Marketplace now has most major apps available, and the number currently stands at over 145,000 apps.

Microsoft rebooted its mobile offerings with Windows Phone 7 three years ago. At the time, Microsoft’s Chief Executive Steve Ballmer was reported saying that he was incredibly excited by the company’s new offering. According to the BBC, the head honcho said that WP7 was “people-centric”, coming with a fresh approach to combine the user’s social connections and their smartphone activities. One of the biggest drawbacks of the OS, until now, was the lack of apps.

Caught between Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, Microsoft was faced with limited demand and not enough pull to tempt app developers onboard. The latest Windows Phone 8 has managed to fix some of those issues. With the demand now increasing, there seems to be a strong chance that Microsoft may finally be able to turn things around for its mobile OS.