Research

Microsoft enjoys big August in US as Windows Phone impressions growth pulls neck and neck with Android

But platform's market share still slight at 1%

Microsoft enjoys big August in US as Windows Phone impressions growth pulls neck and neck with Android
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| Millennial news

Such has been the consistency of Millennial Media's reports on the US mobile market of late – the story of Android's continued growth and dominance – that even the slightest of changes can make a huge impact.

For the first time, Millennial's Mobile Mix for August combines smartphones with other connected devices (tablets and portable media players) when calculating each operating system's share.

In short, the firm is now taking iPad, iPod touch and the range of Android tablets on the market into account. It's a shift that has proven to be a big boost for iOS.

Tablet tales

When compared to figures for July, the addition of Apple's entire range of iOS devices has resulted in a 7 percent rise in the platform's share of the market, topping out at 28 percent.

Apple's OS is still firmly in second place, however, with Android making up a market leading 54 percent of all smartphones and tablets on the market.

Nonetheless, it's a comparison that shows the importance of Apple's iPad and iPod touch businesses, which clearly lead the line in their respective fields.

Making an impression

Of course, operating systems without outlets other than smartphones have been hit by Millennial's change in approach.

Taking other devices into account means Windows Phone's share has halved from 2 percent in July to 1 percent in August.

Yet, despite this artificial knock, Windows Phone had - in Millennial's words, 'big month', with impressions on the platform growing by 48 percent month on month – equal to Android's growth.

It's a rate that also compares favourably to iOS, which remained "relatively flat", and BlackBerry, which grew by 10 percent.

Handsets running Microsoft's platform are yet to break into the country's top 20 handsets, however, with Android devices taking up a total of 15 slots, BlackBerry in second on 4.

Top of the pile remains Apple's iPhone, which enjoys a 13 percent share of the market.

You can read the full Mobile Mix report for July on Millennial Media's website.

Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.