Stefan Mileschin

Market share of Microsoft's Windows Phone OS is steadily increasing across Europe, nearing the double digit mark at 9.2 percent for the three months to August 2013, according to a report.

In Germany, Windows Phone is just one percentage point away from iOS, while in France and Great Britain it has 10.8 percent and 12 percent of the share, respectively - the first time it's reached double digits in two major markets, a Kantar worldpanel survey claims.

This growth for Windows Phone has largely been driven by Nokia's entry into the low- and mid-range markets, with the Lumia 520 and 620, which are proving particularly popular in the 16-24 and 35-49 age brackets.

The story's different in the US, with Apple still gaining traction and claiming 39.3 percent of all sales. Kantar believes this figure will spike as the iPhone 5S & 5C pick up in popularity. In Japan, Apple and Android adoption rates are almost equal.

Android is by far the most widely adopted operating system, but this is hardly surprising given Google's tactic of showering the market with a quality OS to multiple manufacturers.
Blackberry holds 2.4 percent of sales in the Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

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