Research firm Strategy Analytics reported today that global Windows Phone device shipments to 2.7 million units in Q4 2011. This represents a 36 percent sequential growth over the previous quarter. Nokia, which only entered the market in Q4, had a successful debut. It shot up to the top of the Windows Phone vendors with a 33% market share. According to Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics:
“An expanded portfolio of Windows Phone 7 models such as the Lumia 800, an increased retail presence and highly visible marketing campaigns across several European and Asian countries drove Nokia’s growth. Nokia is by no means out of the woods yet, and it is still on a long road to recovery, but capturing top spot in the Microsoft smartphone ecosystem is an encouraging baby-step forward for the company.”
While the results will be good news for Nokia and Windows Phone, both Nokia and Microsoft still have a ways to go. Nokia’s 900,000 units sold pales in comparison to Apple’s 37 million iPhones sold in the same quarter. The fact that quarterly shipments from other Windows Phone vendors dipped from 2 million in Q3 to 1.8 million units in Q4 suggests that all is not well over at Microsoft’s other partners.
Nokia’s success pushed HTC, the former top Windows Phone vendor, to second place.
Nokia is expected to unveil a number of new smartphones (Lumia 610, Lumia 719, global version of Lumia 900 among them?) at next week’s Mobile World Congress.
Read more: Strategy Analytics