Latest Windows Phone data shows slow GDR2 release, possible 'phablet' and more

The GDR2 update from Microsoft is slowly (but surely) rolling out to consumers across the world. That said, how many of us have actually received the update? AdDuplex decided to run a quick test with the data accumulated in their monthly report. The results show that it's a slow process, but other miscellaneous details are also included so let's jump straight in.

AdDuplex GDR2

It's clear to see with the above chart how the update process is progressing. Just 3 percent of 1,009 Windows Phone apps running AdDuplex SDK are installed on Windows Phone 8 hardware running the latest version of the OS - including handsets that ship with the update pre-installed (Lumia 925, Lumia 625, Lumia 1020 and possibly the Samsung ATIV S Neo). Microsoft has some way to go but it's early days in the month of August.

Have you had the GDR2 update on your Windows Phone? Let us know in the comments along with which device you own.

Don't support 512MB RAM? Your loss.

AdDuplex RAM

This is certainly an interesting piece of information for developers to take note of. The above chart shows there being more 512MB hardware than devices sporting 1GB of RAM. If you're not supporting the former amount, or don't intend to do so when launching an app, you could well be losing out on more than 50 market of the above market (obviously this does not represent the entire ecosystem).

Nokia Lumia 520 continuing to steamroll

AdDuplex France

The Lumia 520 is a special Windows Phone. It has been able to grow fairly rapidly in multiple markets, as was covered in previous AdDuplex reports. We can see in the above chart the handset overtaking the HTC 8S as the most popular device in France, but also effectively doubling its lead at the same time within a two-month period.

India warming to Nokia's Lumia 720

AdDuplex India

India has been covered numerous times due to the incredible growth of the Lumia 520. The most affordable Lumia Windows Phone isn't the only handset highlighted as the Lumia 720 has taken second place with 14 percent, surpassing the Lumia 620. The device was on just 12 percent last month and the surge has been pinned on the larger display (4.3-inches).

There's speculation the Lumia 625 with its 4.7-inch display should do well in this market when available. To finish off this report, here are some interesting codenames that were spotted:

  • Nokia RM-955 – Covered in the June report, this device is appearing more times, possibly hinting at an impending release. To reiterate this is something of higher end variety (with WXGA screen) and most of the hits are coming from China, so it could end up being a regional variant of the 92x or 1020.
  • Nokia RM-937 – Sports a ScaleFactor of 150. High-end Nokia handsets so far have WXGA screens (ScaleFactor of 160) and Samsung and HTC use 720p screens (SF 150). AdDuplex notes this ScaleFactor of 150 probably make sense on a 1080p device with a larger screen. Possibly the highly anticipated phablet? It’s running WP version 8.0.10492.
  • Nokia RM-927 – Same as the RM-937 but running on the Verizon network.
  • Nokia RM-940 – And again, ScaleFactor of 150, but running on AT&T.
  • Samsung SGH-I187 – Brace yourselves. It's something new from Samsung. ScaleFactor of 150. Running on AT&T. Could be just a version of ATIV S for AT&T, but could well be something more than that.

Be sure to check out the full report over on AdDuplex when published tomorrow.

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.