Gartner posts worldwide mobile OS numbers for 2008
By Thomas Ricker 
posted March 13th 2009 6:28AM
posted March 13th 2009 6:28AM
posted March 13th 2009 6:28AM
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Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5
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@Kelmon
Not 9 million a year, 9 million a quarter. Even RIM only managed 5.8 million in Q4 2008.
"Seriously, who cares about Windows Mobile?"
Seemlingly more than who cares about the iPhone.
"If the statistics are anything to go by, surely RIM is much more important but I note that you're not having a go at them. With Windows Mobile not due to be refreshed until the end of the year it is much more likely that Windows Mobile growth will stagnate while people wait for the next version or switch to something more modern."
Reasons why WM will do well in 2009:
1) Aggressive action by new large licensees like LG, who pledged 50 new WM phones over the next 3 years.
Windows Mobile’s strength has always been its licensees, and with 4 out of the big 5 using the OS in some capacity, and like Samsung having pretty good returns on the investment we can be assured the OS will get good support. None of the big mobile phone companies want to have the market eaten by RIM and Apple.
2) Attack on the low end by netbook king Acer (remember £50 phones, free on contract?)
Another one of Windows Mobile’s strengths is its adaptability, from very high end to especially low end, low cost devices. Even Google Android devices appear to demand a minimum of HVGA capacitive screens, courtesy of Google. With the global recession devices that address the low end will be increasingly important, and off all the mobile OS’s (except possibly Symbian) none will go as low as Windows Mobile.
3) Increasing skill by WM licensees like HTC, even on 6.1
Windows Mobile keeps getting better, even without the OS being upgraded by Microsoft. TouchFlo3D 2 brings us many of the improvements of Windows Mobile 6.5 well before Windows Mobile will be available. This does not happen in isolation, and involves a lot of help by Microsoft, who share this with other Windows Mobile licensees.
4) A range of new, very attractive devices like the new Touch Diamond 2 and Touch Pro 2.
One of the main reasons Windows Mobile will do well in 2009 is the great devices set to be released this year, by the likes of HTC, Gigabyte and Toshiba.
5) Slacking competition
RIM’s devices are getting boring, with only one main (pretty boring) form factor, Apple’s iPhone form factor is getting very stale, and due to the size of their 3rd party catalogue they are trapped in it, and Android who has NOTHING of note coming out very soon.
WM 6.5 will in addition bring a much more attractive base UI, which will make it very easy for any company to enter the smartphone market, and will feature an app store, my phone web integration and Zune software.
"Seemlingly more than who cares about the iPhone."
Again, who cares? It's quite clear from the statistics that RIM is the platform with the momentum at the moment yet for some bizarre reason you seem to target the iPhone instead. So while I am very excited about all that information you provided about Windows Mobile it seems that this is lost on the market at large as they purchased 50% more Blackberries instead last year. If you think this trend is going to change in the next 12-months then you've lost the plot.
Why you seem to feel the need to defend Windows Mobile is quite beyond me. Further, what you provide again is merely predictions based on incomplete information and therefore may be wildly inaccurate.
" "Seemingly more than who cares about the iPhone."
Again, who cares? It's quite clear from the statistics that RIM is the platform with the momentum at the moment yet for some bizarre reason you seem to target the iPhone instead. "
I have no problem with RIM's success. They have an honest product with good features without the hype. Good on them.
"So while I am very excited about all that information you provided about Windows Mobile it seems that this is lost on the market at large as they purchased 50% more Blackberries instead last year. If you think this trend is going to change in the next 12-months then you've lost the plot."
Actually with the recession and business cutbacks, RIM is in fact vulnerable.
"Why you seem to feel the need to defend Windows Mobile is quite beyond me. Further, what you provide again is merely predictions based on incomplete information and therefore may be wildly inaccurate."
WM needs all the defending it can get. It does not have the iPhone's propaganda machine. Regarding predictions - are they not all based on incomplete information. Your prediction about RIM's 2009 certainly is.
Sorry, but of course your assumptions are made on incomplete information because you have absolutely no idea what the competition is planning to do. Without knowledge of that how can you possibly make predictions with any degree of confidence? Do you think that Windows Mobile exists in its own little bubble?
My prediction for RIM is based on black and white data. We're in a recession (and have been so for the last 9-months) yet they continue to grow their market by almost 100%. Clearly they are not as exposed to business cutbacks as you think. Or do you think that businesses have only just realised that there is economic trouble in the last few weeks?
This conversation is getting silly. You're trying to counter statistics with unicorns.
Kelmon, I guess you miss that little disclaimer that goes "Past success does not guarantee future performance"?
You are obviously a RIM fan - why don't you go argue with some-one who actually cares about them.
Why is everyone a "fan"? If you make a statement you have to be a "something fan"? I've seen a Blackberry but for the record my own phone is about 8-years old. No, I'm not a RIM-fan, iPhone-fan, Nokia-fan, whatever fan. I can, however, read.
I entirely agree that "[p]ast success does not guarantee future performance" but like anything else there are factors that dictate what the future will bring. What you are suggesting is that Windows Mobile is going to magically become compelling to customers that they'll suddenly stop buying Blackberries instead. Since nothing that you outlined is actually reality yet you'll forgive me if I don't place my faith in it. Sure, maybe the Windows Mobile phones released this year might be great, but they might also be complete turkeys. My point is that you don't know and therefore are not in a position to predict anything.
If at the end of the year you are proven right then I am quite prepared to eat my words.
"What you are suggesting is that Windows Mobile is going to magically become compelling to customers that they'll suddenly stop buying Blackberries instead."
Where did I suggest that? I just said WM will continue to sell well, rather than fade away, as most suggest.
It's interesting how different these shares are around the world, here you can see Symbain phones everywhere and practically no iPhones or BlackBerries, but in the US it's supposedly the other way round.
i'd like to see these stats for every continent.
It's intresting to see how these numbers evolve when all these phone manufacturers got their "next generation" OSs ready and out for the market. Nokia, Samsung and SE with Symbian Foundation aka Symbian 2, Apple with it's new OSX, WM and Android.
Most probally the future of all these depend much about how Symbian Foundation will come up when the first phones start shipping some where in 2nd half in 2009 at least from Nokia and SE.
There is no way iPhone holds 8.2% of the world market share.
But then, Gartner are a bunch of anal ysts.
Please provide proof to the contrary, thx.
Very interesting.. this table will look very different a year from now I should imagine.
Yup. Symbian's market share will have gone up substantially.
http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT9423084269.html
few linux phones there
I love graphs that depict zero to 20 million. Clear underdog is paving way 247% growth!! Back then they didn't want me , now I'm hot they all on me. We saw it come up from a nothing . Went from father to soldier to gladiator to slave finally to king. Mainly voted by the people . A true underdog ,1 phone 1 model vs dozens of phones per brand. iPhone is the true underdog that came up from a struggle, defied analysts critics. Showed balls , blew up quick , now their jumping it's d$&k.
depicts winmo,symbian n other(android) days are numbered. U gotta accept the truth people !!!!!!stop living in denial.,I mean that device u wholeheartedly supported is tanking. Time to jump ship...Its ok u cant win'em all.,.,
Wow spoke like a true Funboy.
Actually there has been over 3 verient on the iPhone....
Globall Mobile phones sales are over 1.2 Billion a Year, apple wanted 1% by the end of 2008.
thay sold a little over 14 in 2years thats like 0.8%..
The reason why it seem like the iphone is doing very well is because the iPhone is highly used by almost EVERY U.S MOBILE PHONE REVIEWER, TECH BLOGGER, TECH PODCASTER and TECH ANALYST USE IT. Having listened to and read a lot of tech blogs and podcasts based in America, it seem to me that they are stuck in a little bubble with a mistek perception that whatever is successfull in America is successful every where else.
The iPhone has a lot of work todo OUTSIDE the States, Just like Nokia has a lot of work to do in the states.
here in the UK the iPhone advert is on in what seem like every 10 minutes.
Apples has a lot of work todo... 2009 will be very interesting
Amen biggwill.
Listen to the 'big' tech podcasts and they're all stroking Apple's trunk.
The truth is, even though every tech blogger/podcaster from Josh Topolsky to Leo Laporte is gently pinching their iPhone at night, what Apple HAS done is made the smart phone a more household name. There are a lot of households that have no interest in dealing with phone that has to run on iTunes though.
;)
I remember (last year) Engadget posted a report on how the iPhone had outsold RIM in such and such quarter of 08 and I commented that RIM had yet to drop the Bold and the Storm and that one quarter is not enough to gauge where the market is going.
Guess I was right...
Hah, I remember that too. Everyone was so quick on saying this is the end of RIM, look at Apple numbers with this and that. Fast forward and RIM still staying strong and I think that's saying something about RIM's hold on a certain market.
You should work in politics Thomas. I think that's the only place where you can get away with looking at 12.2% growth (which is only slightly below the industry average) and calling it 'stagnation'
The iPhone has brought many people to the smartphone market that otherwise wouldn't have entered. Factoring it out, growth would have been about 7.4%, or nearly half. That's a testament to the iPhone's popularity to be sure, but all things considered WinMo is still doing ok for itself.
Of course I know how difficult it can be to keep even a neutral attitude when interpreting data..../vomit