IDC: Windows Phone is the second most popular mobile platform in Latin America

Depending on who you ask, Windows Phone claims anywhere from 3 to 6% of the global smartphone market. Of course it can vary from region to region. We also know that devices like the Nokia Lumia 520 are helping fuel growth in emerging markets. Which is why it’s not too surprising to find out that Windows Phone is now the number two most popular operating system in Latin America.

In the Q2 2012 Windows Phone was the fourth most used OS in Latin America. Fast forward one year and it’s climbed to the number two position, with strong performance in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. In Colombia it holds a 25.6% share of the market. This data comes from the Mobile Phone Tracker report from the IDC for the second quarter of 2013.

Here’s what Liliana González, director of the Windows Phone Division for Latin America had to say about the IDC findings:

“During this year’s Mobile World Congress, we set ourselves the goal of being the second most widely used mobile platform in Latin America by the end of 2013, and we are overjoyed to be able to announce that these reports show that we have achieved this five months before the end of the year. We will continue working alongside Nokia to offer more and more people in Latin America the holistic experience which Windows Phone has for them, in order to offer a more personalized smartphone which is the best for the Windows environment and the best hardware for people and companies.”

This is all very welcomed news for anybody in the Windows Phone community. We recently learned that shipments of the OS were up 77% for the year, which helped to solidify our rank of third place.

Source: Microsoft

Thanks for the tip everyone! 

Sam Sabri