Microsoft’s share of the worldwide smartphone operating system market climbed to 3.5 percent in the second quarter, up from 2.3 percent a year ago, as the company’s partnership with Nokia boosted usage of the Windows Phone.
The numbers from the IDC research firm, released this morning, put Microsoft in closer proximity to BlackBerry, which saw its share of shipments fall from 11.5 percent to 4.8 percent over the same time period.
If the trends continue, Microsoft appears poised to overtake struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion as the No. 3 smartphone operating system vendor in the coming quarters.
Meanwhile, at the top of the market, Google’s Android operating system continued to surge, growing its market share to 68.1 percent, from 46.9 percent in the same quarter a year ago. New phones from Samsung are driving the continued rise of Android.
Apple’s iPhone shipments grew to 26 million from 20.4 million a year ago, but that wasn’t enough to keep pace with the market, and the company’s share dipped to 16.9 percent from its previous 18.8 percent as a result.
Combined, Android and iOS powered 85 percent of all smartphones shipped in the second quarter, a combined new high, according to IDC.
A separate comScore study, measuring mobile subscribers in the U.S., recently put Microsoft’s market share at 3.8 percent in June.
Here is the IDC chart showing the second quarter worldwide shipment trends.
