It is unfortunate but both Microsoft and RIM’s mobile platforms are not where they would like them to be right now. Sure, both companies would love to be among the top dogs, iOS and Android, and we guess we will have to see how the latest iterations of either company’s efforts will pay off. However it looks like as far as the European market is concerned, Microsoft might be gaining a fair bit of ground on RIM. In a report released recently by Kantar, it was revealed that Microsoft is gaining fast on RIM’s market share thanks to low-end Windows Phone devices like the Nokia 610, raising Microsoft’s market share by 1.2%, giving them a 5% market share in total.
RIM on the other hand has seen their market share decrease by 5.8%, putting them at 6.4% which means that Microsoft certainly has the ability to play catchup with RIM at the very least. We also have to agree with Kantar’s global consumer insight director, Dominic Sunnebo who estimates that Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices will have no problem pushing past RIM and assuming the third place in Europe’s smartphone market where, as expected, both iOS and Android reign supreme. This certainly casts some doubt on RIM’s CEO Thorsten Heins’ statement about beating Windows Phone and taking the third place. We guess we will have to wait until 2013 to see how RIM performs, which is also when RIM’s Blackberry 10 platform and accompanying devices are expected to hit the market.
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