Windows Phone gains in Europe, iOS up in US: Survey

Windows-based smartphones are making significant inroads in Europe, while Apple’s iPhone is strengthening its position in the United States, a survey showed Monday.

Data from Kantar World panel ComTech for three month ending in August Showed Windows Phone, the mobile platform from Microsoft, has posted its highest ever sales share of 9.2 percent in the five major Europe markets.

Windows had a 12 percent share in Britain, 10.8 percent in France, 9.5 percent in Italy, 8.8 percent in Germany and 2.2 percent in Spain, the survey found.

“Windows Phone’s latest wave of growth is being driven by Nokia’s expansion into the low and mid range market with the Lumia 520 and Lumia 620 handsets,” said Kantar analyst Dominic Sunnebo.

“These models are hitting the sweet spot with 16 to 24 years-olds and 35 to 49 years-olds, two key groups that look for a balance of price and functionality in their smartphone,” he said.

Android, the Google platform used by Samsung and several other manufacturers, remains the top operating system across Europe with a 70 percent market share but it is being threatened by higher growth from Windows and Apple’s iOS, the survey found.

“After years of increasing market share, Android has now reached a point where significant growth in developed markets is becoming harder to find, “Sunnebo said.

“Android’s growth has been spearheaded by Samsung, but the manufacturer is now seeing its share of sales across the major European economic dip year as a sustained comeback from Sony, Nokia and LG begins to broaden the competitive landscape.

In the United States, Android has also seen its market share drop to 55.8 percent from 60.7 percent a year earlier, while Apple’s share was up more than five percentage points at 39.3 percent. Windows rose to 3.0 percent from 2.6 percent.

Kantar said it expects Apple’s share “to spike in the coming months with the release of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5C,” unveiled on September 20.

Apple and Android are roughly even in Japan with 48.6 percent for iOS and 47.4 percent for Android. But the agreement with Japan’s largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo, for the first time makes it likely that Apple will pull ahead of Android in this market, according to Kantar.

Apple also made strong gains in Britain, France and Spain, the survey found.

Blackberry’s woes have deepened, with the Canadian firm accounting for just 2.4 percent of sales across the five European markets and 1.8 percent in the United States, Kantar said. 

Latest version of mobile operating system 7 sports new flat-design; may be released later this year

Apple has unveiled iOS 7 after months of speculation.

"iOS 7 is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone," said CEO Tim Cook, introducing iOS 7. "It's packed with amazing new features, and a stunning new user interface."

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating system represented the biggest change to the look and feel of iOS since the first iPhone launched in 2007.

As anticipated, iOS7 sports a flat-design, with the skudeomorpism of the previous design done away with.

"We wanted to take an experience that people know very well and add to it," Ive explains in a video shown during the keynote event. "We see iOS 7 as defining an important new direction ... and in many ways, a beginning."

The redesign of iOS has reportedly been underway for the last six months since Craig Federighi took over software development for the mobile platform.

Very little of the new operating system resembles the old version of the software. Almost every part of the software has been redesigned.

Among the new features are multiple pages within folders and the introduction of a today view for notification centre.

Apple also showed off its new Control Centre, which offers a quicker and simpler way to control many of the most used settings.

Another major change includes the introduction of a revamped multitasking interface, which is part of the Control Centre. Instead of icons, iOS 7 displays a preview of the screen. It is also smart enough to recognise when you use an app a lot during the day – such as Facebook – and devote more power and processing time to it to keep you updated.

iOS also introduces a raft of small, but all the same useful features, such as a Flashlight built into the device, and AirDrop, allowing you to share files and photos without needing to send them via email or text.

Other small features introduced in the latest version include FaceTime audio, per app VPN and perhaps long overdue, the ability to block people from calling you on the phone and via FaceTime, and sending texts via Message.

Siri sounds more human like in iOS 7. It's also smarter and faster – very much needed with the superior processing available via Google Now. Siri also now has Twitter, Wikipedia, and most interestingly, Bing support.

Apple has also beefed up security on the device, enabling enterprise single sign on support for those of you who used your iPhone in the workplace, and a revamp of find my iPhone that locks the device until you sign in with your Apple ID and password.

Apple has said that the software is still under development at the moment and will be released later on in the year.

Take a look at our full iOS 7 rundown features in our video below: