Windows Phone's Market Share Makes Me Sad

[Joshua Jackson]

I just did some Google analytics on a website that I work with (~200000 hits a month).
Windows Phone represents <1% of the hits.
I, personally, know only four other people with Windows Phone (each of them are Lumia 900s).
I, personally, know only two other people with a Windows 8 tablet (Surface and Surface Pro, respectively).
While on the subject of Windows 8, less than 5% of our website hits are from Windows 8.
Vista even has a noticeable lead on 8.
Hehehe...
I laugh, but it's with a teary left eye.
JJ

 

[Chregu]

What kind of homepage in what country?

 

[Christian Kallevig]

Expanding the market share of Windows Phone is going to be difficult, no matter how great it is. And we can't control what Microsoft does to advertise it either, although they have been doing a fine job. But we all have a role to play in this too- if you have a Windows Phone and love it then show it to your friends as family, show them what it does differently and why you like it that way. And then if they choose to switch over tell them to do the same.

Also, if you know anyone on a feature phone looking to get a newer model, recommend the Lumia 520/521.

The market share may be anemic right now, but we have power to make a change.

 

[Joshua Jackson]

What kind of homepage in what country?

Church in America.
JJ

 

[FinancialP]

I've seen more Surfaces than windows phones.

 

[Chregu]

The market share may be anemic right now, but we have power to make a change.

I don't really think this is my responsibility. I have bought many of these phones, that must be enough from my side. All I can tell people is my honest opinion: A great OS with limited features and Nokia unfortunately being more or less the only manufacturer selling it. Making the OS gain market-share is Microsoft's job.

Church in America.
JJ

Interesting, thanks.

 

[AngryNil]

At times I wonder whether WP users get turned off from web browsing due to IE. The three issues there being:

• "I can't use this, or else I'd have to give up a decade of stating that IE is only good for installing other browsers"
• A lot of the mobile web being built for WebKit
• The interface, oversimplified to the point of poor usability

Last one in particular is just a point I thought I'd float around. Safari on iOS, Chrome on Android… they kinda look like how you'd expect a web browser to look like. Mobile IE looks like a joke, open it for the first time and you'll only see an address bar and refresh button. (I think it also works like a joke, but I'll debate that another day.)

 

[N_LaRUE]

What I find frustrating about using IE on WP is that I don't always go to the mobile site. I'm not sure who's fault it is though.

If I end up on a site I can't use on my mobile I leave it. The xBox music website, funnily enough, did this to me the other day. I couldn't navigate it at all so I left it.

Before anyone asks the dumb question, yes I have my phone set correctly to mobile site.

 

[Christian Kallevig]

I don't really think this is my responsibility. I have bought many of these phones, that must be enough from my side. All I can tell people is my honest opinion: A great OS with limited features and Nokia unfortunately being more or less the only manufacturer selling it. Making the OS gain market-share is Microsoft's job.

True enough, all I mean is that if you love these products and want others to like them as well then there's no harm in giving a recommendation or telling anyone who asks what it is and why you like it.

Microsoft absolutely should be doing most of the work here, but so far their efforts have been haphazard at best. It makes me wonder if they even have a strategy in all this.

 

[etphoto]

USA isn't the only market WP8 is in. WP grew to 9 almost 10% market share in the 5 largest markets in Europe (my source is Windows Weekly). Its just the US and China it is growing very slowly

 

[Christian Kallevig]

Yeah, that is true and I am of course happy that WP has traction somewhere. But the US and China are by far the biggest markets out there and we need to start seeing success in at least one of them for it to ever become profitable for Microsoft.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Yeah, that is true and I am of course happy that WP has traction somewhere. But the US and China are by far the biggest markets out there and we need to start seeing success in at least one of them for it to ever become profitable for Microsoft.

Nokia had a large following in India. However, since WP is pretty locked down and a touch inflexible they have lost some market share to Android. Though I hear it's still doing well.

US is the main market for MS to tackle. China is important but if they can at least gain traction there it would be a start.

 

[chezm]

If they can get Surface to sell, the ecosystem will help sell WP devices. There are plans for the seamless environment and they need the general consumer to grasp it.

 

[Funky Cricket]

Honestly, a church in the US is going to not have a lot of leading edge tech hits. You probably see a lot of xp and older apple devices. You are dealing with a very small market, and mostly not 18-34 year olds that will be working with leading edge tech. This is assumptions from my of course, but I'd guess that would most likely be the case.

 

[Christian Kallevig]

I think that us an entirely fair assumption to make. Although part of that is also that it's a website in the US (where Windows Phone is not nearly as popular as it could be) and you're measuring all web traffic instead of just mobile.

Still, we can definitely all agree that WP has a pretty sad foothold here in the US

 

[Oliver Newell]

Don't be too sad. WP8 is the fastest growing mobile OS on the market today, though this is mainly because it has so much room to catch up. What is important is that in developing countries, windows phone is doing very well and in some countries has a majority market share (there was a thread on here a few months ago with a chart explaining this). It has beaten blackberry OS and is gaining ground fast. Android and iOS are battling it out as they have done for the last 5 years. People one day will get sick and tired of both OS's. Android gets boring very quickly and iOS is essentially a face lifted make-over of what we have seen for the past 7 years. Things can only get better from here on out.

 

[Jeffrey Fox]

USA isn't the only market WP8 is in. WP grew to 9 almost 10% market share in the 5 largest markets in Europe (my source is Windows Weekly). Its just the US and China it is growing very slowly

Here's where I hate percentages and statistics in general. 9-10% of what number? 10% of the Swiss market may actually not be as impressive as 5% of the USA market. I tried to find data and numbers but being at work I don't quite have the freedom or time to pull that up. I'm not knocking the growth, just expressing my frustration with math and statistics.

Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

 

[tgp]

Here's where I hate percentages and statistics in general. 9-10% of what number? 10% of the Swiss market may actually not be as impressive as 5% of the USA market. I tried to find data and numbers but being at work I don't quite have the freedom or time to pull that up. I'm not knocking the growth, just expressing my frustration with math and statistics.

Were you looking for something like this?


You bring up a good point with "9-10% of what number?". Percentage wise, WP did great! In real numbers, it's not so impressive. If you have a penny and I give you another one, I doubled your net worth. However, it's still pretty much worthless.

 

[Christian Kallevig]

Yep, that's exactly the problem in the US right now.

 

[Jcmg62]

There's no doubt, Microsoft / Nokia have a stiff fight, and it's a fight they cannot afford to lose (crows circling over Blackberry). Honestly, Microsoft need to do way more to play nicely with the other big kids. This crap with You Tube is a classic example of MS thinking they have a position to negotiate from, when in fact they should be embracing Google in order to take advantage of the applications that Google could provide to make Windows Phone a truly competitive platform.

But no.......that's not the Balmer way. The man is deluded if he thinks pissing Google off is gonna help his case.