Windows Phone fastest growing mobile OS of 2012?

[Muessig]

Source: Windows Phone fastest growing operating system of 2012 with 290% growth | WMPoweruser

Hard to say how accurate these numbers are but any growth is good. I'd love to see WP get to 10% by the end of the year. I think 8-10% and developers will start really taking an interest. Heck I'd love to see WP get as much growth as it can. Add your own thoughts, comments below.

 

[Dave Blake]

Pretty much exactly what I have been expecting to see.

 

[Chregu]

Yeah, I have been using, after many years with Windows Mobile, WP since my Omnia 7; owned a Lumia 800 and then a Omnia W after the Nokia's screen broke and the new Samsung was cheaper than the repair, and now I own a HTC 8X with a two year contract... and if there's after this time period no real improvement in features and marked share, even I'll think hard about switching to Android.

...so, growth would be good. But after all, even 100000 times more of nothing is still nothing, this factor of 2.9 doesn't mean too much.

 

[Beast of Haeven]

...so, growth would be good. But after all, even 100000 times more of nothing is still nothing, this factor of 2.9 doesn't mean too much.

I agree...

 

[stmav]

Did anyone really expect a higher factor with wp8 being out for only a month? 1st quarter 2013 should be a more realistic indicator, good or bad.

 

[socialcarpet]

Source: Windows Phone fastest growing operating system of 2012 with 290% growth | WMPoweruser

Hard to say how accurate these numbers are but any growth is good. I'd love to see WP get to 10% by the end of the year. I think 8-10% and developers will start really taking an interest. Heck I'd love to see WP get as much growth as it can. Add your own thoughts, comments below.

We've got to crawl before we can walk. I think 5% by the end of 2013 is a much more realistic goal. If we achieve that, it would be a small victory.

We might see 10-15% at the end of 2014. It all depends on how well Microsoft can sustain the momentum, if they advertise and promote sufficiently and whether or not OEM's build compelling devices that people want to own, regardless of what OS they run. I think more than a few Lumia 920's were sold to people based on the design and features more than the OS.

We need to see more devices that don't look like Android phones or iPhones and that have innovative features you can't get on any Android or iPhone. That is just as key to bringing people over to the platform as anything they do with the OS. People buy PHONES not OS's. The right phone can inspire people to jump platforms. Making Windows Phone 8 the best it can be is what will keep them there and ensure that they buy another Windows Phone and recommend them to people they know instead of running back to iPhone or Android.

 

[scottcraft]

To me if WP is only up to 5% market share by the end of 2013 that will be a bit of a disappointment. 10% might be unrealistic, but I would like to see WP close to that mark.

 

[ohgood]

We've got to crawl before we can walk. I think 5% by the end of 2013 is a much more realistic goal. If we achieve that, it would be a small victory.

We might see 10-15% at the end of 2014. It all depends on how well Microsoft can sustain the momentum, if they advertise and promote sufficiently and whether or not OEM's build compelling devices that people want to own, regardless of what OS they run. I think more than a few Lumia 920's were sold to people based on the design and features more than the OS.

We need to see more devices that don't look like Android phones or iPhones and that have innovative features you can't get on any Android or iPhone. That is just as key to bringing people over to the platform as anything they do with the OS. People buy PHONES not OS's. The right phone can inspire people to jump platforms. Making Windows Phone 8 the best it can be is what will keep them there and ensure that they buy another Windows Phone and recommend them to people they know instead of running back to iPhone or Android.

open the floodgates and let people customize their phones. ya, like android.

while you're talking about momentum, is there any ? waiting on sales reports myself.

 

[Dave Blake]

open the floodgates and let people customize their phones. ya, like android.

while you're talking about momentum, is there any ? waiting on sales reports myself.

My phone is customized the WP way if I wanted Android customization I would have Android device.

How's about you tell us... Start by looking at the numbers provided. Then look at the market. Check out the gains Nokia has seen this quarter. You might even look at the growth of WPCentral while you are looking. If you put all that together does it equal momentum? I guess if you want to hold out for sales numbers then you will have to wait another month for an answer. What if next month Nokia reports they have sold 5 million Lumia devices will that be enough to qualify as having momentum?

 

[ohgood]

My phone is customized the WP way if I wanted Android customization I would have Android device.

How's about you tell us... Start by looking at the numbers provided. Then look at the market. Check out the gains Nokia has seen this quarter. You might even look at the growth of WPCentral while you are looking. If you put all that together does it equal momentum? I guess if you want to hold out for sales numbers then you will have to wait another month for an answer. What if next month Nokia reports they have sold 5 million Lumia devices will that be enough to qualify as having momentum?

I'm not comparing wp to android, I'm saying it has to be opened up to customization and hacks before huge mainstream numbers will consider it.

yes, 5 million in sales would be great for a long weekend. this is a very entrenched and tough market to break into.

 

[MaulerX]

But after all, even 100000 times more of nothing is still nothing, this factor of 2.9 doesn't mean too much.

Scientifically speaking it's impossible to have more of nothing.

 

[Dave Blake]

I'm not comparing wp to android, I'm saying it has to be opened up to customization and hacks before huge mainstream numbers will consider it.

yes, 5 million in sales would be great for a long weekend. this is a very entrenched and tough market to break into.

I have always thought that we are the minority. Most people don't want to hack a device. I believe most people just want a device that works. I guess I am just getting old but I don't want to have to hack my device anymore. I like that my WP just works.

 

[MSFTisMIA]

I have always thought that we are the minority. Most people don't want to hack a device. I believe most people just want a device that works. I guess I am just getting old but I don't want to have to hack my device anymore. I like that my WP just works.

+ This. Its why I own a Lumia 810 as my primary and now just fiddle with my Galaxy Nexus from time to time. It's all about having something that works really well, and WP8 does just that.

 

[ohgood]

I have always thought that we are the minority. Most people don't want to hack a device. I believe most people just want a device that works. I guess I am just getting old but I don't want to have to hack my device anymore. I like that my WP just works.

a brick does a great job at one thing, but you don't see people lining up around the block for them on release day.

symbian, qnx, meego, andoid, ios, wm/p, -all- just work. the key is getting a large mindshare, and that means opening up and letting geeks be geeks.

the few people that actually hack are the quarter percent points of smart phone owners. dumping in a new rom is , well, not geeky enough to matter. those devs that make **** happen in million dollar apps and hacks... that's who wp is lacking to entice.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm not comparing wp to android, I'm saying it has to be opened up to customization and hacks before huge mainstream numbers will consider it.

yes, 5 million in sales would be great for a long weekend. this is a very entrenched and tough market to break into.

I have always thought that we are the minority. Most people don't want to hack a device. I believe most people just want a device that works. I guess I am just getting old but I don't want to have to hack my device anymore. I like that my WP just works.

I would have to agree. Most of the people I know with Android devices have not rooted their devices.

 

[omniusovermind]

Congrats MS. Now make apps purchased on WP8 automatically available on your ARM tablets like others do and you're set.

 

[Dave Blake]

a brick does a great job at one thing, but you don't see people lining up around the block for them on release day.

symbian, qnx, meego, andoid, ios, wm/p, -all- just work. the key is getting a large mindshare, and that means opening up and letting geeks be geeks.

the few people that actually hack are the quarter percent points of smart phone owners. dumping in a new rom is , well, not geeky enough to matter. those devs that make **** happen in million dollar apps and hacks... that's who wp is lacking to entice.

I know its not like Android hacking but just look around over at XDA they have WP all busted open. We were having fun with all kinds of stuff in WP7 even had custom alert tones on Gen1 devices tons of programs etc.... The hack attackers are well on their way with WP8 as well. Only issue with hacking WP now is the $100 getting started fee to Microsoft. I think that just keeps the novice from frying their devices. Take a look at what has been done with the Surface already. We have custom ROM's on most WP7.5 devices and even WP7.8 hacked on a bunch of GEN2's. The hacking community is working on it and will get there in time.

Congrats MS. Now make apps purchased on WP8 automatically available on your ARM tablets like others do and you're set.

I would bet that there is never less that could be done.

 

[Abu Bakr Hussain]

At 1% according to that stat, it's still a pretty pathetic figure. I would say long term, for WP to be a viable platform it will need in excess of 12-15% of all smartphones to be running it. Now, remember, this is a volume game also. Microsoft is more like Ford than like Tesla, it can't afford to be making a superniche product. I think android as the open source software is likely to stay in the lead, but if WP gets 300% growth per annum for 3 years, then it will hit 27%. now that is a good figure to aim for by end of 2015.
(however, the stats from that source are weird) - perhaps iOS users have phones which are particularly data intensive..
Nokia for instance (and bb for that matter) tend to design phones which are highly efficient in their data usage.. therefore such figures will tend to under-report efficient data phones, and over-report data-inefficient phones.)

 

[Chregu]

Scientifically speaking it's impossible to have more of nothing.

...take your calculator and type "10 * 0 =". Yeah, exactly what I said.

 

[Keith Wallace]

I like that my WP just works.

I always HATE this phrase. I agree that those who hack and root devices are the minority. I could learn the skill if I wanted, but I don't like the thought that I have to know rooting just to remove the crapware on an Android device (and there was a LOT on my Droid Incredible).

However, to say you like that something "just works?" That is a terrible mindset to have. Would you like if your car ran without fail at 10 MPG, or would you take the occasional hiccup in durability to get 30-40 MPG? I mean iPhones "just work" pretty well, but if I am going to commit myself to a 2-year contract, I don't want something that JUST works. I want something that will be a pleasure to use.