Windows phones creeping into consumer consciousness
Forty-four percent of mobile users who use or want to use a smartphone are considering Windows Phone 7 devices among other platforms, according to an NPD survey. Android is still the top platform being considered by the same users, but Windows Phone 7 has a chance to capture some customers beyond the tiny percentage it currently holds.
Like Android, iOS continues to hold interest: 20 percent of current smartphone owners say they’re considering an iPhone as their next purchase. And while Windows Phone has garnered some attention, 45 percent of respondents didn’t even know it existed. Interest in BlackBerry continues to wane, with a third of current BlackBerry users stating that they are thinking about switching to Android when their upgrades come due.
Even though Microsoft has spent $500 million marketing the Windows Phone platform during last fall, the devices haven’t penetrated consumer consciousness nearly to the degree that the other two major platforms have. According to Gartner, Windows phones constituted only 1.6 percent of sales in the second quarter of this year.
Still, the company is building interest with new support from HTC. Between the 44 percent already interested in the platform and half of respondents overall stating they want a smartphone of some kind, Windows Phone is poised to win over a significant number of customers. Already, platform lock-in from time and money spent is the second-largest objection to switching (behind lack of knowledge), so Microsoft had better work fast before potential customers are to beholden to its competitors.