Windows Phone, Android And iOS Enjoyed A Holiday Bump In The U.S., BlackBerry Cratered

During the November to February period, Windows Phone, Android and iOS picked up market share in the U.S. smartphone game.

Windows Phone grew the most in real percentage terms — 0.3 percent — and in terms of relative percentage growth — 9.7 percent more share compared to its previous tally of 3.1 percent. That pace of growth, while better than holding fast for the holiday season, does indicate that Microsoft’s ability to increase its market share in its growing home market remains limited.

That Microsoft needs to reach 10 percent market share has become a mantra. At its last pace, it would take the company 22 quarters to hit that mark, or five-and-a-half years. That’s a bit too long. Microsoft ended the period with 3.4 percent market share.

Android grew by 0.2 percent to 52.1 percent market share in the U.S., while Apple picked up another 0.1 percent to end up with a 41.3 percent share.

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If the top three grew, what fell? BlackBerry. During the period, the company lost 0.6 percent market share, or 17 percent of its former tally to end at 2.9 percent. So BlackBerry started the holiday season ahead of Windows Phone in the United States and ended far behind it.

A small victory for Microsoft, and a real one.

Call it stasis in motion: things are not changing much. Apple and Google run the show, Microsoft wants more of the action but remains a minor player, and BlackBerry continues to fall from the sky, on fire and visibly disintegrating.

IMAGE BY FLICKR USER Kenneth Lu UNDER CC BY 2.0 LICENSE (IMAGE HAS BEEN CROPPED)