Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Windows Phone Making Inroads With This Demo

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is apparently gaining some foothold in the smartphone space with it Windows Phone operating system, and it appears that while it still has plenty of ground to make up against the likes of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android, it seems to be cutting into some of the market share – and Microsoft seems to be hitting a note with those who are not already smartphone owners. With some recent research suggesting that there is still a large “virgin” smartphone market – especially in the U.S. – in the global mobile economy, Microsoft could become a legitimate player if it can continue its recent trend.

Although Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is no stranger to the mobile marketplace, its Windows Phone OS was not really getting anywhere, as it owned less than 4 percent of the market in the first quarter of 2012. However, Microsoft did come out with Windows 8 and followed it with Windows 8 Phone last fall – designed for the two OSs to be very synergistic with each other. And since the fall, Windows Phone is making some overall progress, but especially with those who are first-time smartphone buyers.

According to the latest research by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Microsoft gained more than 50 percent more market share in the first quarter of 2013 than it had in 2012, up to 5.6 percent from 3.7 percent a year earlier.

Image below: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

That actually trimmed the gap from the market leaders, as Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android leads the way with 49.3 percent of the market and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is second with 43.6 percent. Google gained 1.4 percentage points from a year ago, while Apple fell 0.9 percentage points.

Perhaps the most telling statistics from this survey in favor of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone are cited by Kantar analyst Mary-Ann Parlato.

She noted that of those who had bought a Windows smartphone, 52 percent of them had previously owned features phones and had not owned smartphones before.

And with the estimate that half of all current U.S. phone owners still used feature phones and could be upgrading to smartphones in the next year or two, fit the previous number holds, then Microsoft could see its smartphone market share grow over the next year – grabbing a large percentage of the growth of the smartphone market if not the current market itself.

Wht do you think? Are you a feature phone owner currently, and are you shopping for a smartphone? What are your throught about Windows Phone by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)? Are you in the market for it? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: None