Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Lumia 920 Propels Windows to 3rd Place in Smartphone Wars

Apple’s iOS accounted for 43.5% of sales in February, down 2.4 points for the month. Apple’s market share has declined 3.5 points over the previous year.

Apple appears to be getting squeezed from Android at two price points. At the high-end, customers are flocking to the Samsung Galaxy. At the low-end, Android’s budget offerings, such as those offered by Huawei, are making gains.

Apple and Google gaining overseas

But both companies are making gains internationally. Over the past year Android posted a 10 point improvement in Britain and now accounts for 58.3% of sales. In Germany, Android posted a 12 point gain boasting 71% market share.

Apple has posted strong growth in China. Sales of the iPhone 5 pushed Apple’s market share up 6.6 points over the past four months to 25.8% of sales. This has come mostly at the expense of Symbian and Windows.

Of course, this data doesn’t include the fallout from Apple’s recent problems in the country. China Central Television has alleged that Apple’s warranty policies differed in China in relation to other countries. Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) analyst Glen Yeung estimates this public relations issue could cost Apple $13 billion in sales. No doubt investors will be watching next month’s sales data closely.

Who’s best positioned going forward?

Over half U.S. mobile subscribers own a smartphone. New customers will be less tech savvy and more price sensitive compared to early adopters.

This means smartphone growth is going to occur at the mid-tier price point and emerging markets where platforms like Android and Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) have a big advantage. Google can sell hardware at or below cost because the company expects to profit from mobile searches and advertising. Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is also well positioned in emerging markets where they have well established distribution channels.

In contrast both Apple and Blackberry are chasing the high-end of the market at a time when this segment is showing signs of saturation. Apple could rectify this by introducing a low-cost iPhone. Such a move would result in higher unit sales but hurt margins and likely result in flat revenues.

The article Nokia’s Lumia 920 Propels Windows to 3rd Place in Smartphone Wars originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Robert Baillieul.

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