Windows Mobile Possible 28% Loss of Market Share

As ZDNet reports, based on a Gartner study, Windows Mobile lost nearly a third of the share of the mobile phone market from 2008 Q3 to 2009 Q3 and is dead last among the major players at just 8%. One reason for the breakdown is Microsoft's delayed release of Windows Mobile 6.5, while still not delivering what most mobile phone users are demanding, such as touchscreens. According to Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza, version 6.5 is "not a major improvement" over its predecessors. A recent Gartner press release has further prognostications.

Symbian, having since become an open source operating system, also lost market share by 10% over the two third quarters, going from 50% to 45%. The more closed environments iPhone and RIM's Blackberry, on the other hand, have gained share.

From the open source perspective, however, 2009 has been a watershed year in the mobile phone market. Android mobile phones gained 4%, even though at the time of the study only two devices had Android. Even the free Palm WebOS has passed the 1% mark.

Gartner analysts had predicted the end of Windows Mobile earlier this year: they guessed by 2015 that there would be four remaining players in the field, Android, Symbian, Mac OS and Blackberry.