Gassée on Windows Phones

<p><a href="#153926"><em>In reply to JimP:</em></a></p><p>Kantar was new phone sales rather than usage. Important, and could be a harbinger of the future, but not current total usage. Also, note that the chart appears to show EU5, US and Australia. Nice, but no China, no India, no Japan, no South Korea, so limited relevance. These days, Asia has roughly 60% of the world's population, Africa 1/6, Europe 10%, USA 4%, Australia &lt; 1%. Your chart represents new phone sales in countries making up less than 15% of the world's population. Even adjusting for relative wealth, the chart represents new smartphone purchases by less than half the world's smartphone buyers. For the other more than half together, I believe Windows phones never cracked 2%.</p><p>If MSFT could handle the psychological implications of having less than 5% of the smartphone market, it's possible if could adjust production to achieve much better, though still disappointing, financial results. Part of such adjustment would almost certainly be reducing Lumia models to no more than 4, and almost certainly the highest end of those 4 models would still disappoint the fans.</p><p>Bluntly put, Windows phones never became hot in USA or China, and given the way MSFT thinks, Windows phone could have had 30% usage share in Europe and still have been killed if USA and China remained under 3% and worldwide under 4%. Let me be clearer: to MSFT, Europe doesn't matter.</p>