Windows Phone 8 Usage Surges Into 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

Presented by: On January 8, 2013, AdDuplex published a study finding that among Windows phone users worldwide, the proportion of Windows 8 users had nearly quadrupled. Driving this boom, the study suggested, were mostly high-end products from the Nokia Lumia line: The Lumia 910 Windows phone, the Lumia 920 Windows phone and the Lumia 810 Windows phone. The HTC Windows phone 8X also factored into the growth: Three percent of Windows Phone 8 users worldwide use the HTC Windows phone 8X. Two percent use the Samsung Omnia W. By and large, the Nokia Lumia line dominated the field: eight of the top 10 smartphones by worldwide usage were Lumias. The top 10 smartphones constituted 82 percent of worldwide Windows smartphone usage. Of this 82 percent, almost 94 percent were Nokia Lumias, meaning that Nokia Lumia products alone constituted 77 percent of global Windows phone market penetration. In the United States, the picture was a little more balanced. The top 10 comprise 86 percent of the Windows 8 phone market, though the three mobile manufacturers mentioned before—Samsung, HTC and Nokia—share the market more evenly. Five devices, including the top three, are Nokia Lumia products. Three are HTC windows phone models, and two are made by Samsung. The Nokia Lumia products—the Lumia 810, Lumia 822, Lumia 710, Lumia 900 and Lumia 920—alone account for 55 percent of the Windows phone market. T-Mobile and Nokia have together marketed most Lumia phones as high-end but affordable. T-Mobile, to whom Lumia 810 Windows phone buyers subscribe exclusively, recently released updates for the Lumia 810 which, according to PhoneDog's Alex Wagner, allow users to keep Wi-Fi active after the screen goes dark, mass-delete SMS messages, and ignore a call while responding with a text message. The most popular non-Nokia device, the HTC Windows phone 8X, grabbed an 11 percent market share itself. The HTC Radar 4G took eight percent. Among other features, the HTC Radar 4G has Wi-Fi hotspot capability. Samsung had two Windows phone models place in the top 10: the Focus and FocusFlash. It's possible to purchase the phone for less than $160, making it one of the more affordable Windows phones. In fact, affordability has been a main focus of Windows carriers. In an effort to capitalize on growing worldwide markets in countries with per-capita wealth significantly below that of the U.S.—Brazil and India are the nations with the two fastest-growing populations of smartphone users, according to ComScore—smartphone manufacturers are trying to find ways to make their products more affordable. High-end smartphone makers are finding ways to make sure their products don't come with a hefty price tag. With a 27 percent population proportion, T-Mobile's customers represent the second largest base of Windows 8 phones in the U.S. AT&T is first at 51 percent and Verizon is third at 16 percent. In 2013, the Windows 8 phone market seems to be expanding, leaving the industry to wonder: Who will take advantage of the opportunities created by this growth? via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFm4JUcvixQz5PCcL8xhxxjkvcF5w&url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Windows-Phone-8-Usage-Surges-Into-2013-4326776.php

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