Kantar's latest smartphone market report mostly shows declines for Windows Phone

No,I'm on diet

@zaur17 Accidentally reported the comment trying to 1up your comment.

+1 bwahahaha

The light side has privacy.

The "light side"?  Are you talkiing about BlackBerry?

Not on this site

I prefer rotten apple.

It's SourApples

I tried your Lollipop. It leaked memory all over my clothes.... double pun intended.

Brilliant!!! Lolol

And all our data are belong to Google! Yay!

LOL DJCBS but no thanks :)

Do you have more apps there..?
Frequent app updates too..?
Faster devices with more customizations..? More support from Devs..? Much better processors and RAM too..????
I would taste one today and forget all the darkside's drawbacks..it's slutterin..RAM consumption and everything else..!!
But mah girlfriend doesn't let me switch..Due to lack of good cameras (she wants nice clicks)..And....Privacy (you know girls)..!! So..It's a big NOOOO till WP 10 DJCBS..!!

My phone is very fast and has 2GB of RAM. With all the apps I need for now. Customization? My start screen is my own, with all I need at a glance. With custom sounds for everything from text messages to individual app notifications. I still haven't figured out what else Microsoft needs to do to get users and developers onboard... I mean... Are the dev tools that bad?

"With all the apps I need for now"
You're not the only WP owner in the world..Apps are surely less..!!
Well do we have a 'RAM Monitor'..? Or a 'End-All Processes Button'..? Background Animation Start-Screen (Yes it's yours cause you own your WP) Or something simple like 'Pop-Up Notifications' for WhatsApp..? Oh..Do we even have more than 100 apps which updates themselves before 30 Minutes..?? List is long bub..If you're satisfied that doesn't mean others are..!! WP still has a long way to go....

I'm satisfied, and don't understand your need for an "end all processes" button or a "ram monitor"... If you want to fk around with all that bs you are on the wrong platform. A background animated start screen? Are you mad? Animated tiles with animated background? I don't think you thought that one through... Toast (pop up) notifications for WhatsApp work for me.... I guarantee nobody has the same start screen as I do also...
Actually... I wonder if you actually own a Windows Phone?
If you do... I'm guessing you have recently purchased one after being on Android for a while and don't know how this OS works yet?

I'm probably using WP before you bub..And I suppose you don't know the difference between Pop-Up Notifi and Toast Notifi..!! And really I can't understand your 'I own..I have' shit and your guessing is bad too..!! I want some features and you are no one to question me what for..?? Maybe to fk or for some bs..Anyway not your place to poke in your dirty nose..

You didn't answer any of my points?

I said I need em and you are no one to question me..Need a RAM Monitor to see which apps suckin how much..A lotta things are opened at once so don't wanna keep swiping em down so a need for a single click-End All Button..!!
There is no pop-up notifi for WhatsApp FYKI in WP..!!

Windows phone OS will shut down apps not being used if more ram is needed... But you knew that right?

Many a times 1 outta 2 is closed..Why is that so..?? (no games)
And you didn't answer the rest of my points..??
EDIT: It's required by Devs too..!!

Suspends processes as needed... Not sure if I can you help any further, Which point did you need assistance with?

Not sure if trolling or serious.

Actually dev tools are better than competition.  The problem with Apps is plain simple low marketshare. Apple marketshare although not huge still have people with more money to spend than android´s so it attract developers.  But WP marketshare is like Android, +80% of the phones are low cost phones with people wanting free apps only but their marketshare is 10x bigger. I dont get how people complain about a "flagship" ? If you have a 1520 or 930 what else do you want right now?  Our cameras are still the best in the market (although iPhone 6 phase detection is amazing!), hardware is amazing (really, 99% of us would not see the dif from a Snapdragon 800 to a 805)... making a "better" phone right now would not raise marketshare at all. Microsoft is on the right path.  Lumia 535 seems the perfect low cost phone. We need a better ecosystem right now and thats what they are doing. And please, once again, FIX ONEDRIVE SPEED! He have about a year before needing a new flagship.  From the rumors, iPhone 6s camera will be a beast... the only thing i care about my WP is how the camera is better than the competition, i hope they can keep with it in the future.

sony z3 + cyanogen is what you need

Sony has that Bootloader unlock shit..So I prefer a M8 + Cyanogenmod KitKat 4.4.2

And laaaaaggy fragmented UI's all over the place. :D

I can't select other OS even if I want. Because IOS is very closed and has many strange things (example: Every version of IOS makes old phones to be less fast), but its better than unstable Android(I have seen Lollipop ,and know what I say)

I was answering Aman, though I don't blame you, this new comments layout becomes confusing after 3 replies.   Lollipop is a mess, you're absolutely right. But KitKat is working smoothly as did Jelly Bean 4.3 before it. Android has a problem currently though: Google f*cked up the SD card functionality.

Android full stop, wouldn't be bad if people knew how to manage it... The problem with that statement is, people shouldn't have to!

IOS is about as open as Windows Phone

Apple is a closed shop and android is a little pedantic. Windows phone is the only drag and drop phone out there. And since I have upgraded to the 1520... I have the best phone I have ever had. That's from owning apple, through Samsung to windows.

IOS can at least jailbreak and semi customizable after the jb... Nothing for lumias right now... :( Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

And they said that iPhone 6 would be difficult to break..!! Ha..The whole process took less than 15 minutes as compared to iPhone 5s which took about an hour..!! iPhone 6 is really fast..!!

Haha well said bro.

Early market research is suggesting an increase in December for Windows Phone, though. Lumia activations were stronger than unusual over the holidays, according to some market research. It'll be interesting to see if Kantar finds the same.

I'm not switching. I don't feel like I'm missing anything really. I'm campaigning for apps but that's because others want apps they've had on other platforms.

True wp fan Posted via the Windows Central App

Spot on!!!

Better things did come with 8.1 - I love most of it. Overall, its a much better system. What did you expect 10% market share overnight? Didnt the same things happen last year between phone releases, then it bounced back with the next report after new devices hit the market?

*sigh* True. Even basic things like Third-Party App notifications still have no consistency/reliability. Windows Phone 8/8.1 was a step in the right direction in bringing modern functionality, and I was certainly excited that maybe they were finally going to get ahead of the curve, but they weren't able to even get something like that nailed correctly. Presumably the lack of any real movement since is due to the work being done on Windows 10, but it's pretty depressing being a WP user in the meantime.  I don't know how many times they can keep starting over. :( My next phone, when I'm eligible for an upgrade in April, is almost certainly going to be an Android-based one. I'll miss my 1020, but I don't think I can keep a straight face and say I'll miss the WP OS. 

Not surprised by the decline. MS to blame

Yeah, last chance and probably the last choice.

The condition of WP is similar or little better than webOS... People love it in someone else's hand but don't want to buy it as they are stuck with their iOS or droid. The only reason WP is still available and didn't go under like webOS is because MS has cash to burn on a failed product for decades until it's profitable unlike Palm which couldn't survive the rejection. Or like Nokia Maemo 5. SE P990i, Palm Pre, Nokia N900 were and still are my all-time favorite devices. Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android

that's what people said with 8.1

They said that already with WP8.0 :)

It was being said since Mango (7.5)

Third time's the charm ? like surface pro 3 ?       probably not

Well with the Surface Pro 3, the third time WAS the charm. Starting to gather my own personal doubts about Windows Phone, coupled with the wonderful MS services on both other OS's is giving me thoughts about switching. I'm waiting to see what CES and MWC bring to Android.

Don't you mean WP7? ;)

it was being said since Nodo (first update to WP)

What did people say? That 8.1 would be better. Yes, yes it was. So was 8.0 and Mango. Are we going to see a miraculous spike in users with 10? Of course not. We wont see user base go up until the apps get there. It will be a slow build if it succeeds - at least until 10-15%. It could accelerate rapidly if it gets that far, but it wont be this year.

I'm predicting the updating of mobile web pages to become more predominant across the industry... Companies will get fed up with spending thousands on apps for each different platform and seek the cheaper route which covers all platforms and reaches more users ;)
Apps are designed to be light and cover basic functions and simplify tasks.. But in doing that they limit usability most of the time and people end up having to use their PC to complete tasks...
Just my two bob ;)

I hope so.

Lets hope the carriers stay on board with MS mobile WPs until that time comes! With Verizon apparently dropping all MS phones, I am a little concerned.

Was it better with 8.0? 8.1? The smartphone moves too fast to keep saying things will get better. I miss WP. Ut have since moved on back to better app support. Posted via the Windows Phone Central App for Android

Unfortunately for iPhone there's nothing new for them to introduce. They went bigger and slimmer and that was their last idea. These next few years I can't see any interesting new ones coming out. RIP

Even if every new iphone is the same as the previous, while it keeps being a trend and people keep being hungry for iPhones, it will continue with good sales.

Lol

It worked though... 10m sales in one day... I was in nyc last week and didn't see a single windows phone....except mine!! Microsoft need flagship devices.... People pay for good stuff... Iphone 6 is over £600 and people buy... All MS seem to be doing is focussing on low end.... I'm loyal to the bones but its hard to support a sinking ship!!

There are bound to be dips as well as rises. The long term trends are more important.

We Keep saying better things to come but the fact is for 2015 WP really did not bring any "wow" factor to the platform.  There need to be a cordinated effort for the platform and apps combined otherwise its all down hill.  i love the WP but sometimes it feels like a losing battle.

I hope you mean 2014, unless you have a crystal ball. :)

I don't know if it will be better (I hope, as I hoped with 8.1), but I'm sure of 1 thing: W10 will be the last try.

I'll be getting the note 4... Will definitely come back if they come out with a 1020 successor... Have 1020 right now and will continue to use it for pix and vids though... Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

The Note 4 is impressive but actually prefer the design of the Note 3. Windows Phone needs the equivalent of the Surface Pro 3 really. Just a phone that is leading edge. imho anyway.

Good choice. Any platforms other than Windows Phone are much better. And smarter.

And we still don't have denim

This^^

Same when everybody was supposedly waiting for 8.1

I'm a "bring Android Apps to W10" supporter. That should drive up sales and market share. Yeah, MS will lose fan boys, but probably gain more converts.

MSFT needs to do something major to get the numbers up.

Where are the flagships?

You forgot the '/s'.

I'll be there for Windows on phones as long as Microsoft keeps supporting it. If not then hopefully I'll be rich enough by then to justify wasting money on overpriced iPhones.

That ship already sailed...Microsoft is too late...and too ecstoic .... There is no chance that this OS will reach double digit marketshare. EVER!

Windows phone 10 to be unveiled on 21st Jan - is this rumour or real?

WP7 user: "Just wait for 7.5 - THAT'S going to be the one!!" WP7.5 user: "Just wait for 8.0 - THAT'S going to bring it all together!!" Lumia 900 user: "What about me??!?" WP8 user: "The 8.1 update will FINALLY be the one!!" WP8.1 user: "I can hardly wait for Windows 10..." Anybody else noticing a pattern here?

Pattern: MS says: "It's all going to be better/faster/shinier! Promise!" End users: "When?" MS: "Soon." It's like waiting for the new Half Life game.

This is the same old saying since WP7. We are always hoping for the better WP7 -> WP7.5 -> WP8 -> WP8.1 -> WP10. I'm getting tired of how boring the platform is. 1520 is my last phone with Windows Phone, especially Nokia is no longer around and MS is not even giving a damn about the platform beside their cloud services. Denim is not even here yet for high end phones while all the low ends are already updating. Apps are always subpar as compared to Android / iOS. Not interested in how good 3rd party apps are because I prefer official ones. Windows 10 for desktops are wonderful. But for phones? I only hope that the Resuming / Reloading nonsenses will be totally eradicated by Windows Phone 10.

Don't care. WP 4 life. Never going back to crapdroid or iShit

[CLAP][CLAP][CLAP] well said. I am on the same boat! :D

So we are two

Three

Four

Five ;-) But please MS board kick out nutella before it's too late, his management is pure cr%p

Agree. Nutella is a twit!

Yeah... let's not do that. Nadella is doing what's best for Microsoft. Yes, the current plan isn't saving Windows Phone right NOW, (Windows 10 is where Nadella's direction for Windows Phone might come in?) but it IS much, much better for Microsoft's services.  The wonderful thing about it is it no longer really matters what OS you're on, you can still support the company you love. That opens you up to a host of hardware choices to find the phone whose design you like the most, coupled with the services of the company you support the most.

Why shd I as a WP user care abt whats good for MS services, I'm not a shareholder,

well..better hope the boat is not going to sink if you want to stay on it

+830

Why exactly is it 'iShit'? Good hardware, well designed (albeit staid) software and top notch apps. Don't understand the blind hatred

I agree it's not bad; just boring maybe..

^^^this...plus restrictive in the media area too.

This too^^ lol

Good hardware, that is a hard argument to make when the phones are basically featureless, no removable battery, no sdcard, small screens until recently, etc

Good hardware haha, well iphone 6 match the specs of an old Nexus 4 and the battery are still crappy 6-7 hours if you're lucky !!! I put my Lumia 1520.3 on charge every 2 days (unless i play games too longer) and i use it a lot !!! Still waiting for Denim update...

Same here.. It's a shame we have been waiting for a while now for this update..

There are certainly valid arguments against iPhones, but their specs are generally very good. http://www.anandtech.com/show/8559/iphone-6-and-iphone-6-plus-preliminar...

Who cares about the amount of RAM and cores as long as the phone is lightning fast? I went from an iPhone 5S to a Lumia 930 and I have to say that the 5S ran a lot smoother (with IOS 7). And several speed tests on YouTube shows that the iPhone 6 is performing just as good as a top notch Android device with twice the amount of cores and three times the amount of RAM. I love WP and my Nokia, but don't talk bullshit.

Well this is where you are wrong, more core use in a Phone or computer less energy he take because he dont need to push the processor all the way up when you open an app or when you do multitasking this is one of the reason why the battery of any Iphone do not stay alive longer, yeah with a good dual core processor you can run whatever app or web browser as fast and smooth as a quad core but for how much time ?? It is the same for multitasking if you got a dual core on your computer did you think you can do a video rendering, use Utorrent, burn a cd and whatch a movie in the same time without any lag ?? No, they do not create better processor for nothing, more core you have more thing you can do with less energy with a computer or phone... and of course if you got a dual core you dont need a lot of Random-access memory because is useless !!!

Lumia 930 have removable battery, SD card? At least iphone have a 128gb version. LOL

I don't like their devices or their ecosystem. Tried out an apple device back with the 3gs and hated it and the ecosystem. Clunky to get around their software. Not blind hatred, we all have our reasons.

iShit means, overpriced bend-phone, super locked os, easy breaking phone, no colors choice, no Bluetooth, no the same charging adapter like every other os. I don't care about a billion apps. Im good with what we have right now on WP.

My iPhone 6 Plus costs no more unlocked than the direct competition, the screen is equally hard (or easy) to break as the competition, has Bluetooth that allows all functionality other than file sharing, has a reversable charging adapter unlike any of the competition, and I carry it in my back pocket all of the time and it is not bent. I like WP and I like Android, but I don't like misinformation like your post is full of. I look forward to WP 10, but it had better be compatible with all existing apps and it needs to attract new apps.

So we are four

+1520

@rm6224, ridiculously overpriced and advertised, thats what makes me unlike them

No need to be insulting about it.

Oh I'm sorry did he insult your favorite product?

I've owned iOS, Android, and WP devices. I'm a tech omnivore. If there's something I don't like, I say so, and I say why. Namecalling is just a disguise for ignorance.

I can insult everybody and everything. It's easy. Fun. And I can :)

It would carry a lot more weight if you added your reasoning though. For example, the last time I tried Windows Phone I thought it was boring and terrible. My reasoning was that there was barely any app support, the apps that did exist were janky at best, there was no API support for simple things like background audio (I know that exists now), and no notification center (also fixed now). Of course, in spite of the things that were fixed the market share is still shrinking, so my suspicions are that it is still boring and terrible.

So why are you even here?

Because I still like to keep up. I was this close to buying another (unlocked) Windows Phone the other day, but decided against it (for now).

+920

Same here

I love the Windows platform and having just one ecosystem. And with Windows 10 we'll finally have the only true operating system that is available on every type of device.

Or so they say. The fact that there still isn't even any mention of a beta or preview of WP running Windows 10 makes me think that it's not as easy as they make it sound. Microsoft has had this vision for a long time now and Apple is beating them to it with the whole continuity thing (or whatever they call it).

Psst, the ship already hit the iceberg.

it sunk long ago. the plan is to build a new one.

they already did once, WP7.5 to WP8

Today...tomorrow...any day i am with my windows..

I like iOS and Androd and think they are fine systems, but WP is my favorite. I've never been a heavy app user on even iOS or Android, and I like the OS better on WP.

I am sticking hard with it through all the roughness and dissapointment... The only thing im griping about is the stuff they messed up in the upgrades, mainly.... XBOX frickin MUSIC! damn I miss the WP8 version...

Right, a lot of my music doesn't even come over to my phone, and somehow got erased..

Me too! I have 2 920s, a 925, 1020, & 525. I'm gonna use them til they die

Sour grapes on your part.

I'm stickin with it to the end. Still a far better UI than the other two, 8.1 brought all the missing features people complained about for 3 years, got all the apps I need.
W10 is not going to bring anything that is going magically make market share go to 20%.
Amazing reading some comments here that this or that feature is still "missing", MS brings it then there are 15 more things the OS needs.
Yep there's plenty of issues with marketing, no single flagship for all carriers, piss poor and missing apps etc. Still no way I'd go with the other two-I'd go BlackBerry if WP tanks..

Good thing kantar is not a trustworthy source.

I love how they become untrustworthy when its bad news

Lol

Its not really bad news though...its just market share...WP is consistently selling more devices than previous quarters or YOY....the only thing they are not selling more devices than their counterparts ( IOS or ANDROID). IOS and Android are selling at a faster rate than WP so of course they will pick up Market Share and WP will loose it... eventually WP will again be on the plus side of Market Share....Android lost market share overall because of the onslaught of the IPHONE6.  MS needs more product penetration and then numbers will increase....

Lol

LOL

What is kantar? Lol, for real even if it's good or not you cant judge. I think it's fake or something like that. I see a lot of people near me using Windows phones. And I live in Greece. We can't have that much of a decline! *fake* *cough* *cough*

I am also a little weary of the Kantar reports...I mean for example...We know that IPHONE6 was released so Apple sold a lot more phones....BUT if WP sold as many phones or more in the November time period than say they did the previous quarter or the same time last year....would you say it is a decrease in market share?? I mean the only way WP would increase is if they are selling more WP Phones during the same time Than apple  would be selling IPHONES ..but we all know that would not have happened. I dont believe it signal's doom and gloom for WP ...just shows what happens when a hot new product is released. Does Kantar put out a report every week??? it seems I just heard from them  the day before Yesterday  about WP Market share in october...

Gotta believe the big iPhones must have put a dent in the WP and android market share. My guess is a of people went Android for the bigger screens and now they're flocking back for the big iPhones...

Lololol!

XD

I've never considered them a trustworthy source.

Well said!

They really aren't. And especially not NetApplications.

I have never considered life as a trustworthy source, its full of lies and mean people. 

He is just a sore loser.

Oh dear. This is not the news we wanted to hear. Its odd though, I feel like im seeing more and more wp on the tube!

It is, I see more in the wild than ever before.

It's the new trend, I think kantars report is fake and trying to mislead people

@ Theo. Are you 12? Seriously.

@jbestman, maybe YOU are a 10yo? Seriously mate, your post was really.....constructive! Lol

if was just Kantar... But all reports say the same.

the problem is that WP is growing, but Android and iOS is growing more!

This is on MS and their superb sales strategy. I'm sure their corporate Starbucks account gets a lot more money than the WPs' marketing team....and of course not having a McLaren type flagship to flaunt doesn't help either. And lets not forget our new and more powerful music app that I guess somehow convinced MS at being better than Zune......and then the carrier problem....support/exclusive partnerships and lack of availability outside the US which is where these phones have the most supporters.

Doesn't surprise me in the US. There are no modern flagship devices. Closest thing was Icon. It was specific to Verizon and is no longer available. Still waiting for a successor to my aging 920 or the 1020.

Its a predictable dip, it will be back up next report just like last time, but there wont be stories about it.

This^^^

Of Course ios market has gone up with all the spot on tv from apple in october and november
Less from MS and only one about 830 MS is not doing a good marketing campaign.. Anyway let's see what happens for december

This too :)

It's just that there was no true flagship WP this year where as iPhone 6 was a huge success. That's why the decline in the market share. But overall it's been a great year for WP ecosystem as a whole. We got numerous apps that were not there before. Just wait until windows 10 gets released... This year will be even better.

​Huge succes? I just saw one in the wild. Android all over the place and more and more Lumia's. Must be a US thing where a lot of people have credit debts anyway. Want to look rich but the country almost went bankrupt a couple of times. The irony.

Screw you. "a lot" of people don't go into debt for a phone...

I've seen more too. That is, I've actually seen some, except mine. They were all 521's though. Also a coworker switched from a 920 to an iPhone 6+ when it came out. So anecdotal evidence isn't very useful, I guess. :)

"I feel like im seeing more and more wp on the tube!"   Microsoft has bee buying a lot of (awkward) product placement on US programs in recent months.

Who is Kantar?

Idk

The next version of Windows phone will always save the declining market share. Windows phone market share has declined again, now it's finally dead. How long has this been going on? Also, I think developers are waiting for whatever comes after Windows 10 to make apps so their investment isn't wasted.

The decrease of sales in Europe doesn't surprise me AT ALL. But then again, I predicted it long ago.

Who say the sales have decreased. market share does equal  sales.

Windows 10, make it quick!

Umm..how about a nice big fat NO. If Windows 8.1 is anything to go by - and that's just for the DESKTOP PCs, then I would sincerely hope to goodness that they certainly don't "make it quick". Making it "quick" is what has made Windows 8 a bloody shambles.  Windows Phone 7.5 was dull and a bit bland, but it was by and large, fairly stable - I know, I still have a phone with it on, though I don't use it because like a complete tool, I went and bought a replacement with WP 8.0 on it.  To begin with, I was happily impressed with the extra bit of tile space, the various other little tweaks, but then along came 8.1 and I have to say I've never seen such a colossal all round disappointment from Microsoft since Vista. And my how they've gone about it. Not bad enough that they spent masses of money changing a logo that didn't need changing - as if anyone really cared how the logo came about - consumers surely want more stability in an OS that actually works and works well, rather than a new logo - which is all Windows 8 and .1 has only ever really been any good for. So no. I don't want them to make it quick, it would be a bloody catastrophe if they make it quick, and believe you me, these burks are absolutely on their last legs - this 10 better be the rabbit out of the hat, and it better be fluffy and chomping on a carrot and not some half rotten maggot-infested corpse..  Since I got Windows 8.1 on both my laptop AND my phone, I've had to system restore the laptop more than seven times in just one year, and the phone no less than four times in just as much time.  Unreliability at it's finest - or it's worst depending on how you look at it!

Well said! This is exactly how I feel about WP 8.1, a massive let down in my opinion, at least when compared to WP 8.0.........resuming.........

Maybe resuming thing, that in 8.1 mostly happened, is because now almost all apps can be moved to sd card. And not all sd card is fast as internal storage.
CMIIW

I also beileve this has something to do with it. Though, a couple apps on the SD card still open instantly. News for example.

Wish I could say that may be the case for the "resuming" all of the time, but I have no option to install an SD card on my 920 but I understand what you mean, read/ write speed of SD card is crucial if u plan on moving apps to said card. The reason I believe this happens all the time is because WP 8.1 decoupled key parts of the OS to introduce this "app based model" and for the sake of supposedly being able to update these key parts of the OS more frequently.......resuming........ Is such B.S..........ahahahhh RESUMING!!

ignorance at best, resuming delay and lag is present even for apps on phone.

I've had the opposite experience.  Windows 8 has been great to me, from the beginning.  Now with 8.1, it's even more customizable to my liking.  I'm not sure how others had so many difficulties.  From the beginning, it was just Windows 7 with a start screen, but more efficient.  Now with 8.1, it's even more light-weight.  I'm running it on two desktops and a dell venue 8 pro.  I haven't had to restore on any of them.  Maybe it's your hardware.

W 8.1 is a fantastic OS, the best Microsoft has ever created for consumers. You must have faulty hardware, seriously.

@MadJaples
Since we are just throwing around personal experiences, I've had Win 8 on 4 pcs since it released and moved them all to 8.1 when it released. Have had 0 issues, 0 crashes or driver issues, 0 need to system restore and it has just worked flawlessly. But then I had the same experience with Vista but only on 2 pcs and never had a problem. I've also never had to factory reset any of my windows phones.

Not quick... "Make it so."

Yes they don't listen WP is very ugly when not customized. People want a home screen with their picture on the front, live tiles should be a swipe to the left and the app list a swipe to the right. Just a suggestion look at the phones in this article ugly as hell when not customized give us a home screen with our picture there until then WP will continue to fail!!

Joe belifore or whatever, he's really weird with zero sense of fashion no wonder WP is failing.
Microsoft needs someone with style to lead the WP team, no offense to Joe he's just out of touch with current swag

Anyone who buys a phone because of a representative's fashion sense is a moron.

Sir most people don't care they like whatever is pretty or flashy so yes they are morons

funny you say that as Joe B was a huge force in the zune UI :) ...which flopped.

The lock screen is the picture you ask for. I strongly doubt most people want to add another step to get to their home live tile screen, that can also be setup with a background image, with breaks between tiles.

That was my opinion as well. Why would I want another step in the process? My phone is a tool, I don't use it to just look at a picture on my lock screen. If they want to make it an option, so be it, I'm never against options. But to say it's a root problem with WP is silly.

^^^this. I'm always confused why people would get a WP and complain that it's not like all the other systems. WP is the only phone OS that doesn't have icons on a picture. There are so many phone OS that do that - Firefox, Symbian, Android, Ubuntu, IOS, Blackberry, and even the new Tizen. Then there is the WP OS with live tiles all by itself...a little oasis for those who have grown tired of Windows 3.1 icons on a picture. SMH...

And that's why WP is what it is, because people don't think the way you think. People obviously want something that looks like an iPhone or Android.. Think about it, just saying so no need to get upset or anything. :)

Do you think a average person going to buy a phone is going to pick the one with pale pink tiles on a black background or the one with a cool background! Answer that question truthfully and you will get what im saying.

I agree to some degree, it's not ugly; it just could have been done better. I think that they should have gave us the option to make it run off into the background behind the tiles and on the tiles also. They definitely suck at design with the software, the app list sucks eggs, the setting etc suck eggs. I think that we should have had more options to do those things like put a background on the app list etc.. I to believe along with the apps that this I the reason for the market share. The Live Tiles are amazing and by far the best out of all OS's.

The WP applist is about the most efficient implementation on any mobile OS

Yeah it is, but it needs something else to it, not just a black or white screen.

and the settings list is just awesome ;)

Im typing on a Lumia 1520 and I love WP been here for 3 1/2 years now. People like to see a nice image on the phone their about to buy not damn pink tiles or whatever perception is key. An average buyers is gonna pic up a shitty android instead of a WP because they see a nice pic on the Droid and saturated pink tiles with black background on the WP do you get what im saying, im not hating at all just fact that's a big reason someone pics a Droid over a WP!

Just put your picture on the home screen, make all the live tiles small and space them out. It will not look much different from iOS or android if that is what you want. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

I think many people are actually waiting for windows 10 to see what Microsoft brings to the table. I'm sure that when windows 10 arrives, sales will pick up. #wpforlife

The same has been said about WP8 and WP8.1

This^

Many people have never even heard of Windows 10

Windows 10, on its own, isn't going to do it. I do think that Windows 10 will be accompanied by new hardware that will help. Also, and more importantly, I believe that the common OS between desktop, tablet, and PC will drive developer adoption. Increased developer support will do more than anything to increase market share.

No, they wait first for windows 9 to arrive ...

Yeah, im waiting on it, and im sure, if theres no big leap or change from 8.1, its a free world afterall, although im going to miss the app resuming and loading xD

Don't let commenters on forums fool you----the general smartphone buying public has no idea Windows 10 is even a thing.  *They're* the ones who aren't buying Windows Phones and getting iPhones and Galaxy Notes instead.
 

I wonder if they're playing with number calculations the way other firms are doing, causing things to be out of sorts for all players. That said, I find monthly number calculations to be pointless.

This data is quarterly data, not monthly data. The report was for the 3 months ending in November (Kantar always seems to take about one month after the end of the period to produce this data). Bear in mind that this means APple's number's don't (yet) include a full 3 months of iPhone 6 sales - nex month's report is likely to look even better for them.

Do they still sell Windows Phone in the US?

Not many buy the sound of things, apple have won....somehow (expensive mid range devices)

Of course they do, you can buy then at any ATT store, WalMart, etc. If people are actual buying them, well that's a different question.

Microsoft on the back of a phone looks crap, Nokia looks like nature when it's emblazoned there, and that gold and black 930 might just be the last Windows device worth an investment unless the McLaren revives.

The Bling Gold 830 and 930 models are international versions again.  No U.S. version offer as of yet!  But they are unlocked versions!  LTE radios are not built-in for U.S. carriers like Apple's "Unlocked" iPhone 6 models!

If we had a new phone to buy maybe we would buy a new phone +icon

Gotta agree. I've been waiting for a new flagship for quite awhile. The 830 isn't it. The One M8 is old (maybe new to WP, but still old), and the other is only Verizon (and apparently not being sold anymore). I already have a WP, so the fact there is nothing out there for me makes little difference. It does however guarantee fewer switch to WP.

Same boat here, been waiting on a new phone as I'm still using a 920. My wife is on an older LG wp7 phone. I was going to give her my 920 when McLaren was supposed to come out but now we are in a holding pattern to see what's next.

I have a fully owned 920. Got my wife a 635 for $60. I was very impressed with the value of that phone.  While, I too am eager for an upgrade, I just changed my plan, which dropped my bill to $75 a month for both phones, because we own our phones.  It's almost $100 less than my previous bill.  It definitely makes it easier for me to wait for something I really like.

Hahahahahaha !!! Who can't control the market deserves what happen !!! WP if not bring alot wz win. 10 it won't bring anything at all !!

Best of luck with your making sense goals in 2015.

It's always the next version that's going to save the OS... And in the mean time we hear these types of news every year or every other quarter...

that was expected with no high end device around

This^

you want to say, there are actually people out there, not buying a wp because it's not expensive? That is what i assuming with high end hardware, because the hardware from e.g. 830 is mid end but it is way better than most expensive phones. So i would buy a phone for an affordable price, not just because it's $600...

No, what these people, including myself, are trying to say is that majority of people, especially in North America buy phones subsidized every two years from the carrier of their choice (more of a necessity than a choice). These said customers usually buy the mid-high to flagship devices available to them in that particular carrier. There are virtually no Windows Phone available in the high end to flagship level. Also, loyal and vocal fans of the want the most capable flagship decide to show what the platform is capable of. Media, bloggers and reviewers also need flagship devices if they would want to post positive reviews for devices and by extension, the OS. It's been two years since Lumia 920/925/1020 launched and no true successor has been made available across all carriers. People who purchased these devices are getting out of contract soon and wouldn't like to wait too long to purchase another device as it's virtually losing money when out of contact if you don't subsidize your next device quickly, you'd lose out also if your device isn't a significant update because you'd get locked into a contract for another two years.

I think it would be interesting to see the numbers for December.  Other reports showed some promising sales coming from the holiday deals on some nice budget WP models.

Ya think?!

Better sales start with windows phone adds on the frontpage of the telecomshop folders. These are almost always android phones in the Netherlands.

Looked at an Droid Maxx. Put it down in about 8 seconds and walked out of Verizon. I can't give up live tiles, nor the solid feel of my Lumia device. Hoping Windows Phones finds it's stride in 2015..

In comments somewhere else, someone said that they missed out most of eastern Europe, where the numbers are higher. Can't remember where I saw it now though lol

I live in Ukraine. WP was quite popular here, but since Q1 last year no new stocks were sent to UA. So people are now switching to iOS and Android. Pity as they're was a good base here and one of the biggest group of developers for WP. And before anyone says that the reason for no new socks is the Russian invasion into Ukraine, no, I do not believe that as all the other brands have their latest models widely available. Problem could have been the margins. A 1320 was about 170 Euro compared to Euro 230 in western Europe. Though it would be an idiotic reason. MS does not have the luxury of hoping for healthy margins.

If Microsoft doesn't get their arse in gear, WINDOWS PHONE will become the DeLorean of the mobile phones; A unique and great looking vehicle that does not perform very well and fails because of bad management.

There is no data to back this up. This is from Paul Therott (via Twitter) yesterday.... "Is Microsoft's Windows Phone at long last dead?" No, but clickbait headlines with no valid supporting data are alive and well.

One word.... FLAGSHIPS PLEASE.

Exactly.

that's two actually.

Advertising try to drive the market, get an iphone or android because all your friends have them... So what, I've loved WP since it was PPC and I'm sticking with it.

This ^

And yet I see more and more people with them all the time.

If only we had good apps. Not even a decent facebook app we have. What are they expecting?

Facebook beta works fine for me, but I don't use it often so ymmv

This^

why dont they survey india?
im sure windows phone's market share here is more than 20%

Guess all that "ios, android first, cloud first, Windows whenever" strategy is really paying off.... /s

Lol right

I think this is the last chance for Microsoft to succeed in Europe. They provide us with too much delayed firmware and software updates. Some of their apps are not supported in this area at all. We need more apps. That's the main reason why nobody wants to use their phones. This is sad becouse I see the bright future in their OS. It's fanatastic. If they only would not be so lazy and kissing their buissness partners behind, instead to take care of needs of their everday users.  

Wait. That's two words.

It's the apps, stupid.

I could never switch. ​Android is too insecure, along with iPhone. And I don't like the interfaces on the two. I don't see why people choose the other platforms, apps aren't a problem with me.

We fight till the end! Windowssssssss

Waiting for 1030...

Well then , Microsoft should work 200% for WP OS. It's 2015 already... Many users still don't know about WP OS I bet. More commercial please. I hate the way they hit the IPHONE in their commercial. So immature & childish. They should highlight more about WP OS itself not hit another OS....

Immature, really? I thought it was humorous. I guess you were offended by the Apple commercials mocking Microsoft at every turn as well then?

I think that the new (somewhat new) CEO of Microsoft is the problem. Doesn't understand how to grow any products. Microsoft is failing not just in WP but in the Xbox vs PS4. So I think this CEO is a problem and the faster he goes the better. But this is just my opinion and you're entitled to yours.

Last try, if still dissatisfied, than move on.

Same, we keep our phones way longer than most people so after the next round we are out if it's still fledgling.

I'll be with WP :P

Market share isn't the same thing as sales though. Microsoft could have sold 10 times more than before, but if Apple sold 20 times more than before, Windows Phone market share would be down. Are Lumia/Windows Phone sales up or down?

Untimately, to attract developers, sales are irrelevant. Market share is. If the potential audience for an app on WP is still massively inferior to one on Android or iOS, the developers will still not invest resources in the WP app.

That's not strictly true.
I am a developer. The most important is the absolute return for your investment.
MS development tools (Visual Studio + C# / VB) are better than Android based (Eclipse + Java). That allowed me to create WP app much quicker than Android.
Not to mention the higher fees Google charges and tough competition.

hv u used Android studio?

When 8.1 comes, ppl say WP will gain a lot of market share. But... And now ppl says win10 will help WP a lot...
This also shows that Microsoft entry level/low cost device strategy is a failure to capture more market share. Apple can capture market share with their FLAGSHIP device!

I've asked this and I'll ask it again, if you were MS CEO would you give Joe Belfiore another year after 3 consecutive years of flop? Or would you poach/hire/promote a new leader to fix the trainwreck that is windows phone?

I think CEO is the one who should be fired. The last decision should be made by CEO isn't it? If the CEO disagree with what Joe Belfiore had done, those projects/devices wont even come out to public. This is my opinion.

But remembe that Joe B was a Ballmer era exec. He took over WP and launched it in 2011. Then he screwed up dev relations with the WP 8.0 break. Took forever to ship 8.1, slower than even the windows team. Now seems like another WP 10 break from 8 will happen further hurting developers invested in 8.1 tech. And all of this among decline share? Again, if you're Satya and inherited this executive, would you chop his head of give him a 5th or 7th chance?

No. With me in charge, Belfiore would have been sacked long ago. However, with me in charge, Microsoft wouldn't be producing phones either. Nokia would. Because I would be enough aware that Microsoft's strenght is software, not hardware. So instead of wasting money on phone development and production, I would put those resources towards OS development and app financing.

No.  It's not working.  Market share isn't moving up.  App developers are not on board.  They can't even get Starbucks - headquartered 20 miles from them - to develop an app.  They should NEVER have bought Nokia's hardware division. What did that get them? Tens of thousands of new employees, new divisions, new headaches, manufacturing issues, distribution issues, marketing, branding issues.  Sorry Microsoft, you're not going to "engineer" your way out of this fix.  Time to get onboard the Android boat or start giving away your devices.   

You're assuming Satya Nadella is interested in keeping Windows phones around.   I suspect he's looking for any excuse to bail on it.

Microsoft only has itself to blame. No flagships or even broad availability of medium flagships during this time.

This^

That has nothing to do with it - at all!  Lack of apps. Pure and simple. 

The one thing MS has an issue with is marketing, they can never get this right. I am primarily an Android user (sorry about the avatar, I am coming from androidcentral), and Google, like Apple, market the hell out of their products. I live in NYC, and during the holidays the android be together not the same ads were everywhere, bus shelters, billboards, Times Square. Apple does the same thing, I do not see Microsoft ads anywhere. I am on this forum, as I am getting back to Windows Phone, I hadn't used it since the CE days. I am quite impressed, I needed to learn it for work (I am IT and we had a big dept. head use WinPhone primarily). When re-teaching myself, I rediscovered Win Phone, I do like it a lot. I still use my Nexus 5 as primary, but I got a low end phone to get familirar with it (I got a 635) and I liked it, it was smooth considering it had 512 MB of ram. Mind you, it does not have all my apps I find on Android (a lot of root apps), but that is OK. I love my Nexus 5, but I will admit Android 5.0.1 (Lollipop) is really laggy, buggy and Google is stating they are working on the fix. If MS could get a better marketing team and talk to their carriers too, as this person at my fimr stated when you walk into a AT&T store and say you are interested in a Luma xxx, the ATT person will immediately try and shift you to iOS or Android.

So it seems wp going bb 10 way from all the comments. Posted via the Windows Central App

Same procedure as last two years, nothing will change. Windows mobile 10 will not, in my opinion, boast sales at all. Apps, apps its all about apps.they are not even updated a single time some important apps. Windows phone will keep a marketshare of 3-5% coming years sadly. It's a good OS anyway, I am still rocking a lumia 1520 high-end but hey there are lots of choices. It isn't all about the camera.

Something that people forget is that profitability counts more than market share. If companies can make money on Windows Phone then 3% 5% or 10% doesn't matter. It is a very big world market and there is room for more than 2 players.

marketshare is the reason nobody is making money with window sphone according to Huawei. No marketshare = no apps. No apps = no user traction. No user traction = low sales. Low sales = OEMs give WP the finger. If WP had marketshare, the money would follow and the profits as well not just for OEMs but for app devs, which will bring more apps, thus entice more consumers, etc.  

I think MS should simply give up US market (for now)

They should but they won't. They'll sooner shut everything else down than to admit that their own market doesn't care for them anymore. And that's how you crumble from 1st place.

Clearly they don't know how to adress their own market. They should have at least a quarter every year (like Q4) when there's no exclusive phones anywhere.

what would that acomplish? nothing.

They should shift their focus elsewhere, make something everyone would want to buy and then bring it to the US.

you're saying they are capable of making something everybody would want, if they can, why not make it for the entire planet? The problem with your premise is that you assume MS will succeed even if fails in the #2 market on earth (after china). Realistically MS will just flop overseas too as they have AND they will have no chance to EVER return to the US. Just look at nokia. Their comeback was worse than michael jordan's

samsung took on ROW, won and then entered US

The reason they won't do this:  most third party app development, along with most of the popular apps and services are a Western U.S./California thing. If  Microsoft wants to see even their small apps support fall through the floor, they'll give up on the U.S. market. Your suggestion has precedence:  Nokia, with Symbian, tried it.   But once the iPhone was introduced and took off everywhere, along with an App store, Nokia tried to re-enter the U.S. market, that they ignored, and court developers.   And we all know how that worked out.

Well, let's consider the increase in iOS devices and the decline of WP devices here. Apple put out only 2 phones, both are considered flagship, or high end devices. That is all. Microsoft put out no flagship devices that could tech spec-wise be considered in the same league as high end, flagship iOS or Android devices. We could argue all day long how you don't need high end specs in WP, but the public majority and tech bloggers don't see it that way. Micrososft better put out something people will talk about in the same league as iPhones or they will fall further in decline in 2015. I would hate to see that happen, but I think just a couple startegic high end device with Windows 10 will change everything. The challenge is not having people swear off the OS as irrelvent before that happens.

HTC m8 for windows is the only high end WP spec wise. and even that is a copy of the other OS. sad is it not.  

Microsoft should bring the (remaining) and most popular apps (snapchat- tango etc.) and games (hay day - clash of clans- 8 pool ball) . The system is already satisfied since 8.1 update.

This is what happens when u don't release a flagship phone. Alot of people like me still have the 920 and we have nothing to upgrade to in the WP world.
WP have til the z4 come out to release something good otherwise im off too.

Yup. I was in the same situation as you with my 920. I got tired of nothing happening and jumped ship. I have an LG G3 now. I miss the WP OS a lot, but I don't miss the lack of quality apps. 

Their marketing needs to change. The commercials for WP7 showed the device, all features, and were cool. They suck now, bashing the iPhone. It's unfortunate, but with my friends, too. They have iPhone and Android because it's a bigger market and more well known. Microsoft NEEDS to make that happen.

Only Microsoft know if they're selling more or less phones. And given recent web browser stats, we all know how reliable stats can be...

Holy moly China sure dont like them win phones!

Whether WP numbers are in decline or not I'm staying on this boat, I was from android and well I don't want to go back. As for Macintosh apple, well I cant afford it

That's because of no new flagships available yet.....

Smartphones from the past can't just disappear you know. As new phones are released over the year the numbers are a bit misleading. I mean we could be improving but iOS is still selling like hotcakes. Look at the bright side! I've actually seen quite a decent amount of WP in the wild nowadays. And Win 10 gonna be kickass.

I'm loyal to windows phone ios and android can kindly thoroughly f..k off

Cmon microsoft..release the beast! 1030 and 1530 is a game changer!

And they should drop them at the same damn time

It's okey if we look at all WP devices we find all with same version of MS operating system for along time,same UI , so no new only some budget phones. It is the time for WP 10.
MS only look at W 10 for Pcs , lol

I see people saying "It's because there is not a new flagship phone" but I doubt a flagship phone will really make a difference. People able to afford a flagship a year after they bought a flagship is not the majority. Neither is people who bought a flagship from another OS. In fact, I believe midrange is where the thick of the market is at. I feel that windows phone is a strong plataform but has a bad advertisement. Cortana vs Siri were fun for a while, now they're like "Come on, be more imaginative" They should show what the phone can do in real life situations. Another thing is the market. Yes, there are a lot of apps and that's great... but there are way too many apps that have been on beta for a year+ I believe MS should talk to big developers to see what can be done to get the apps out of beta, to release their apps in WP if they are not and even release their apps on WP first. xbox one, for example, MS did work with Blizzard to improve and optimize the game... something like that for WP would be awesome. I love my WP, I don't use much the live tiles but I think they are useful from time to time. I love the interface and the home screen. People asking for a different home screen is asking for a not/windows phone. But no matter how much I love my phone, I don't feel I can recommend it to other users. My GF for example. She is an iPhone lover but I can't tell her to switch to SP plataform because she would lose most of the functionality... heck, she could survive without 90% of the apps but Waze is a deal breaking app for her. Everyone uses it in my country... except us, the pariahs with WP.

ive tried using android but have happily gone back to my windown phone. i know W.P is the best O.S. and if the rest dont getbit great, judt means we're all more unique than the sheep. F@#$ing hate Apple with a passion!!!

Agree

It's the tide going down before the tsunami...

The decline is because if you have one you don't tend to upgrade yearly because the updates make your phone feel like new, often with awesome new features... and there's no clear flagship, although the Lumia 930 is the best phone I've had, and with the camera update its set to be even more awesome =D

Not surprised,holiday season the phones people wanted were not sold in some markets & the phones MS had on specials had no front cams,some no flash so if a person had money to spend why would they go buy an inferior product...joke marketing

I switched to android for about 2 months and guess what I'm terribly missing my Windows phone.. I'm just waiting to save some buks just to buy next lumia Microsoft phones cz i know 535 touch is not good.. Posted via the Windows Central

Well the 535 touch issue is solved now...so if you have the bucks you can buy it...

its not

My friend..said..his phone..is working..better...i thought its fixed...

Marketing...lots of it would help... But it has to be good... Not just any marketing will help.

Yep, you're right, I showed some of WP features at school, and three of my friends bought 830.

How's that "No new flagship phone" strategy working out?

Agreed. This is by far their biggest problem at the moment. They are completely alienating their staunchest fans on a daily basis, and seem completely content to continue to do so for the next nine months plus. So nobody recommends the platform anymore, and people are leaving as they upgrade so they can actually get a "current" spec smartphone, as opposed to something straight out of 2012. This "no new flagships" policy is the most boneheaded decision I've ever seen come out of MS. And that's saying something.

Agree. Who needs a banking app or local news app on a phone. WP apps work fine for me. I have things to do. WP is efficient and meshes with other MS services I use - One Note, etc. Plus a screen of equal size static little icons is lame in comparison. Similar comparison between Surface interface and iPad. My 928 always impresses.

Why I can't see middle east, I really would like to know!!

I don't think W10 will help. It is the name and the look of the OS that is being rejected. First and foremost drop the "WINDOWS" name since doesn't generate excitement anymore. Call it "SPARTAN" OS and then dump live tiles for now and make the OS look and feel of the other two. Once market share rise then slowly introduce live tiles. I am still hoping for W10 success just not too optimistic since even the best hardware didn't help market share grow.

You are seriously suggesting to make the OS like the other two as a way to compete? That is a way to conform. WP needs to offer something different and unique. If it doesn't, they might as well just be Android phones.

lol lol. so firefox OS is taking off because it isn't called windows. don't be silly. people don't buy android. people buy a phone, just comes with android. people don't buy windows, people buy a PC that comes with windows. The mechanics of the dominant OS isn't in targeting people with its name, it is in the tyrany of the default choice. MS is just on the losing side.

Great point. People would buy the phone having Windows if the device were nice enough for them to want, i.e. flagship device. Yes, low end devices are important to get out there in small/poor/emerging markets, but it is only the flagship device that will get you the required respect.

Great.. Who would prefer if Microsoft places restrictions and maintaining app gap and releases non functional video and music apps and useless gallery... No better file management no USB on the go and flagships lack SD card and many many issues with WP... Who would dare to waste their money for an OS which is still under development..app gap hasn't filled yet they took years to update basic features..Settings is a mess on Windows phone... No background download option too

I dont know how kantar founds these numbers but during Christmas we saw Lumia phones were third on list of phones being activated may be next month the numbers will change again..

That's because you don't know the difference between increase in sales and increase in marketshare.

Maybe 5 bought a wp device last december while 8 users are leaving?

I wish I could get the facts about India (not joking though :P )
Because I've been seeing a lot of WPs here after the launch of 530,630 and 535.

Well that is a given as there has been no flagship as of late to win mindshare, the HTC W8 doesn't count as it still confined to the US. Most people generally do their xmas shopping in November and given there was nothing to get flagship wise. Not to mention the icon debacle, if MS doesn't wake up from this and still releases carrier exclusive devices then there will be no hope for them to win the US market ever. Furthermore if nothing amazing materialises with Windows 10 for phones then they might as well give up. I hate to be a downer but how many times can you reboot a product and expect to win? Especially windows central and even reddit is now awash with negativity, the loyal users can only take so much... people expected amazing things with WP7, nothing happened then we had WP8, which was mutilated by the abandoment of the hub model and caving into the demands of people who wanted it to become like ios / android. Sure they could keep throwing money at it like the xbox, hope the pit slowly fills up and tops out. But that is really not going to work as MS would rather be an platform agnostic company as opposed to putting Windows first. If they don't change this approach with Windows 10 then I don't see them going further than 3rd place.

I'm sure that the december sales have at least brought us to the level before, maybe even better.

I don't know.. But I just can't stand Android... Despite all that material design horsesh**, that thing is butt ugly. If I ever switch from WP (and that's a big if), it'll be BlackBerry... Here's to Hoping they stay kicking.. iOS... Ain't got no time for that overpriced POS glorified launcher crap.

Unless universal apps work as expected, wp just has no chance

Universal apps is more of a thing to court developers.  It's not a consumer facing feature.

Honestly, I'm not surprised by this news after all. With no real Flasgship being announced in 2014, few apps that are on Android/IOS that work, or none at all (snapchat etc), MS releasing far superior apps on Android/IOS than on WP this was bound to happen. Too many low-end phones and not enough mid-high range. I went to WP to have something different, I loved it, but I have no left and went back to Android with my OnePlus One, and I can tell you it's a fresh of breathe air. If MS announces a TRUE high-end flagship this year then I may consider going back, but until then i'll be sticking with android. And before you all abuse me (Like the WP community tends to do) I love MS, I use everything MS related but this is my opinion. 

Well u must have forgotten the Lumia 1520. It is still up to par to everything else out there. So I see no need for new flagship if u still have one in the Lumia 1520 and the 930. What else do you need? The HTC one m8 is ok but a lazy HTC excuse to make a wp8 devices. They only flashed wp8 on to it. Great job HTC. Not.

The 1520 has been discontinued. There are no flagships currently available in the US (just remaining 1520 stock).

I had a Lumia 1020, which is 2 years old. The hardware was starting to get outdated. My OnePlus One is more up-to-date. And the fact that the OnePlus One costs considerably less than the Lumia 1520 too. I'm from Ireland, so we don't have the HTC One M8 for Windows and by time the 930 hit Ireland the specs were already outdated due to Nokia/Microsofts annoying exclusive deals. For me, something like the 1030 specs would have me interested. But until then I will be staying with android.

Canada has no high end devices e.g. any 900 series or the 1520 i.e. nothing to compete with the iPhone or Galaxy S5 or Note. No HTC, no Band etc. The trouble is that like it or not Microsoft does not depend on Windows Phone for survival a la Apple and at this point it really seems like they are trying to save face than admit defeat. I think they should give up making millions of devices and just adopt the "Surface approach" by putting all their energy into one great premium phone. That way their focus can go back to making software for all platforms so that Windows or Microsoft apps run on everything.

Yay!

I think only in India windows phone market share is increasing.

And what's the news, this always happens

Really though, it's not going to make it by just selling low end devices.low spec. exclusive do not work.

I doubt its true. More and more people are buying windows phone. I'm saw WP more in 2014 then recent years. MS is bringing more low end and midrange phones in march. 2015 will be big for them. But still hoping they bring 1020 successor by Q2.

Kantar data has always been iffy, but if this is true, MS kind of brought this on themselves.  I get that lower end devices move in higher volume worldwide, but that's not an excuse to stop producing flagships altogether.  I've got a 920 I've had since Nov 2012, and as of a few days ago it's hobbled (side button issues).  So, as a customer in the US, what options do I really have for a comparable replacement?  I'm on AT&T, which has probably has the best set of options overall, and all they've got is the HTC One M8 with Windows (9 month old hardware and mediocre camera) and the Lumia 830 (barely an upgrade and AT&T is charging way more for it than what even an unlocked version costs). If you're on Sprint, you have no options at all.  Seriously, what are they thinking.  They needed either the 930 to be everywhere or they shouldn't have canceled the McLaren.  This situation is a serious shame, b/c software-wise 8.1 is actually a huge step up from 8.0.

I ended up with the HTC M8 coming from the 920. The fact is that this is a very capable phone and the photos are above average if you learn how to actually use the settings. It's not Pureview, but it's more than capable for the average Joe.

How does the camera compare to the 920?

There is the Lumia 1520 probably best windows phone yet.

Which AT&T has discontinued. There is literally no high end Windows Phone available in the US at this point.

Yes the HTC one m8 and the Lumia icon and the Samsung ativ se are all pretty current flagship devices.

Lumia Icon is discontinued.  There are no Snapdragon 800 based Lumias available in the US, other than existing stock.  Completely ridiculous.

I agree it's a good phone spec-wise, but I'm not really looking for a phablet.

Then u have the Lumia 930 international or icon for USA. And the HTC m8 both are pretty recent and the Samsung ativ se.

my plan to fix WP: 1) accept the strategy has failed. trying the same will fail. accept drastic changes are needed. not doing so will mean certain defeat. 2) once getting past that, let's distrupt: open source WP completely so that the community can create cyanogen-like variants that will install on phones made by OEMs that dislike WP (i'm looking at you nexus). Give it away to anybody and allow an OEM to customize it in any way they see fit. Create an official branch like android does for the pure WP experience which any user can install at any time and override the OEM flavor. Provide OEMs with a rich API like windows has which lets them customize it or skin it without breaking updates, just like windows has had since win XP. 3) port the android runtime to WP allow android apps to be installed/migrated from peopler's droids. Plus allow C# to be used in android apps via a VS template for MS devs who don't want to deal with java but still make WP/Android apps just as xamarin does. 4)  sell nokia off completely. get out of the hardware game and instead pull a google nexus move and partner with OEMs to create a Surface phone series where surface phones are manufactured by OEMs who benefit the same way nexus OEMs do. 5) invest the crap of your location services. cortana sucks because it relies on bing maps. MS should outspend google 2:1 in location services if it hopes to catch up. 6) allow android apps on the WP store similar to amazon to completely cut off google from the distribution of android apps. Let developers upload apk's for free of their android creations. Offer then 100% of profits. Kill the 70/30 split. 7) make all your apps best on windows phone and not worse and last. 8) fire the entire executive team responsible for every WP decision. Appoint a real developer super start like Scott Gu to deal with the SDK evolution and platform. 9) Create a true developer preview program where users get firmware and software updates regardless carriers. Let OEMs chip in firmware updates if they want. This will be an effective carrier bypass in disguise. 10) partner with a carrier like tmobile, interested in distruption of the market, to offer a 100% update policy on all WP devices. tout this as a superior android alternative where the carrier no longer gets in the way. "uncarrier 2.0" The only way things are going to change is if we accept defeat and move to a strategy of victory. 

You're telling me that releasing a bunch of low spec glorified feature phones targetted toward island chains in the south pacific isn't moving the needle? 

WHo cares?  If Android is bringing in billions for Microsoft, then just transfer the money to the development of WP until things pick up.  In the mean time, if MS could find a way to make it so we didn;t have to use a carrier that could be a game changer.  Right now in the US market we are being hosed by the carriers.  I am paying a ridiculous amount of money to have 3 phones on my family plan and any way around that would be awesome.  Furthermore, no one can say that the carriers aren't part of the reason that WP8 isn't picking up in the US.  We owe them no favors....

-in other news, MS dropped the patent cases from rockstar against google, basically android revenue will become a bit fat Zero in the next few years as more patents fall.

I don't think if MS was using patents from rockstar to go after android, if they did then Apple would be making billions from android too.  MS legal issues with Android stem from in house developments and things they bought with Danger Inc.  I have heard of no manufaturer other than Samsung that is trying to get out of paying MS.  And in Samsungs case it's trying to say it's because MS is now competing with them in the Android market with that Android forked Nokia phone that was out for like 1 month.

Kantar never Heard anyway this is just a prediction right. Honeatly don't give a f*** I have really good hopes Microsoft will pull off the eco system for WP. I rather have a flip phone than iPhone or android

Good for you. You must be new here :D
Kantar, btw, is always showed numbers favoring and flattering towards WP.

Microsoft missed the boat in launching the smartphone, and again with the tablet, and now appears to miss it with televisions.
I see the slew of smart tv's that are adopting an open source OS and wonder why hasn't MS done this already?
Sure, xbox1 is nice, the SP3 is great, and I really enjoy WP. So much so, that I really don't have any envy for iOS or Android.
I think MS is on the right path in building an OS that can be used everywhere and will be the dominant force of the future in providing a unified approach for integrating the Internet of Things with the tools we use to make our lives better.
I remain optimistic and support MS and their current strategy.
However, I wish they would just paint the true bigger picture and deliver it.
MS's evolution has been a long and painful road. But, it has gotten us to this point and I believe the best is yet to come.
Market share reports are not always the best data point to gauge success. MS is finally leading and the hardware makers are responding.
Get your popcorn ready the show is unfolding before our eyes.

Off topic, anybody has a problem to search for images on google using windows phone? The image quality is terrible, i got much better results on bing.

No Nokia, no customers....

That's what happens if you don't care about your own platform.

No flagship phone at the moment, waiting for 1020 successor No cortana for for most of us in the third world who doesn't want to switch from our regions, (Android doesn't select but gives every use the same treatment on features). How long are we going to wait for International Cortana who doesn't care which region you are in??????? We are denied the right to purchase certain items on Xbox e.g. On spartans, though you have paid for the game on store, but we can't buy the credits, same on Six guns WE NEED ANSWERS FROM MICROSOFT, THEY ARE NOT LISTERNING ON THIS ONE, MAYBE IF YOU ASK THEM ON OUR BEHALF PLEASE! THEY MAY FORGET US!

I'm from India and Cortana is only at Alpha version. But I'm using the Cortana. Just change the region and speech to US and you can enjoy Cortana. It's really fun and easy to use it.

But changing the region doesn't that mess up the searches, maps and location services,etc. And even if do, what would happen if I changed it back to the old region? Would Cortana still be available on my phone.

Cortana would be removed if you revert back to your region!

So is it really worth it? To change the region in order to get Cortana even if it messes up some settings and features of the phone.

*SIGH* whatever... I'm happy where I'm at right now and could care less. Just put the sacred to these ppl and get is the apps we're missing devs!

I'm with WP until the wheels fall off. I'm just hoping for an outstanding upgrade to the 1520. New must have software and software features is a must.

Going down to 0.6% in China, the world's largest market, IS the wheels falling off.
 

Not really what I mean by wheels falling of is, until MS stops trying. When they stop trying, I will unfortunately have to choose between Android or iPhone. I'm not really keen on the idea of having just two to choose from. The biggest ISSUE for WP is lack of apps that people will want. WP have plenty of apps and many of them are actually better than the official ones. However, people want official apps. I love WP and don't really see myself switching to Android or iPhone right now. But, if I had to choose, iPhone 6 Plus would probably be it.

I have bought a Lumia 730 and this is my third windows phone after 520 and 525. I'm really satisfied with the performance and very much pleased with the Lumia Denim. Never gonna switch to any other platform.

Sometimes I feel like Windows Phone is Microsoft's little side hobby and they don't really give a fcuk whether it sinks of swims. :)

As far as they keep patent-trolling android devices, Microsoft apparently won't get very serious about it. IMO they should advertise more aggressively. There are some people who doesn't even know there's a windows OS for phones

Some people I know don't even know what a windows phone is.

This is EXACTLY what it had felt like... since WP's introduction. But especially now with their anti-flagship crusade.

When I went to buy my windows phone the salesperson at att deliberately tried to talk me into buying a Droid.

This happens.

Hardy a surprise

This is what happens when your product lineup stagnates.  When there is nothing to buy, people buy nothing.

Carriers are killing WP in the US.

No. *Microsoft*, through sheer mis-management, is killing Windows Phone, all on their own.

We got the beastly 1520.

No flagships, so... People with a 1020, 1520.. Most likely won't downgrade for a new phone

I was a top proponent of WP. I can't be anymore. And it's all Microsoft's fault. How can I advocate an OS that cannot check it's own Outlook mail for the last 8 months (not to mention sync contacts, backup SMS, etc)? MS dropped the ball. If WP10 is the same, I am quitting even though I still think WP is the most convenient OS.

I'm no than of Microsoft's strategy, but what the hell are you talking about? Outlook works just fine, as does contact syncing.

Right.

It doesn't if you get the 80C805E2 error, and I, along with thousands of WP users, do get it. Out of nowhere, one day it pops. There's no fix other than wiping the phone. I don't have the time nor the will to wipe a phone and rearrange contacts on Microsoft's whim. OS updates don't help. This is a travesty, completely inexcusable, unacceptable, and has turned me away from believing in WP.

I have a Lumia 920, but i'll only wait until Windows 10. If nothing changes to a big and really great SO, I'll jump to iOS or Android. I'm really tired of waiting...

My thoughts exactly.

I really think Microsoft's complete ignoring of anything other than the low end market for the next nine months or so is their own bullet to the head. Most boneheaded decision EVER... "lets just completely cede the high end and alienate or most faithful users who used to be our biggest evangelists." yeah, great plan MS. Morons.

These figures are very biased too, as it covers iOS phones AND tablets, and all android (forked or not) phones AND tablets... And only Windows Phones, no tablets, laptops, PC's.... Windows 10 will fix this disparity in the figures, that actually paints a false picture.

if msft fails with windows 10... then i think that's pretty much it for WP's future. wtf you're doing msft? :( work more on the app gap. THE APP GAP. though i hv less issues with it now prsonally, it does still remains a huge concern when it comes to this platform.

Iam waiting what will happen with Windows 10 and an new flagship phone

This is unsurprising, as there is nothingi n the U.S. for people to buy, except for the overhyped (yeah, even by its lowly standards) and underpowered Lumia 830. Verizon never pushed Windows Phone, and they've now taken everything but the half-assed port jobs off of their site. AT&T never got a 930, meaning they have the 1520 and some mediocre (at best) devices.   This is a direct result of having Microsoft spin its wheels for a year and Nokia skip 2013 for a flagship release.  You can't expect market improvement without phones to buy, and now that Microsoft has left such a giant hole in the market for users, it'll probably be a hole that's hard to fill with a new flagship, just because people can't help but wonder what kind of long-term upgrade path or software support they'll get with Windows Phone now.

Lumia 1020 users are already missing the new camera features that came in with denim as they are only for L830, 930 & 1520. thats fragmentation

That really isn't. It is called technological advancement. The fact of the matter is that the 1020 runs on 3-year-old hardware. To make the software work on hardware that old would be a matter of holding back other advancements or delaying the software for stop long to optimize that it would be topped by the competition by then. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that Microsoft needs a 1020 successor to go with the new software.

Speaking from personal experience locally in UK; we're seeing much more of Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices also our company is switching many client users to Windows Phone devices every week so this news comes as a surprise however we've seen this pattern before where there is a "new low" and "new high" therefore hopefully we'll see more of "new high" soon... Assuming Microsoft continues to take the right steps unlike selling MixRadio!

Not surprised by these figures. There must be other people like me who are waiting for new models to be released. My 1020 was due for upgrade in November and I refuse to replace it with anything but a worthy successor.

Am I the only one that doesn't give a sh*t about stats? I'm not trying to read into them and become an armchair analyst. I have my choice of phone, and that's all that matters. Once I hear it from Microsoft itself that WP is done, then I'll act accordingly; if I feel the need to switch to another OS, I will. That's the beauty of being a consumer..I can buy and use whatever I want.  I have just as much loyaty in WP and Microsoft as it has in me.  For that matter, that goes for any OS...Android, Mac/iOS or Windows/WP.

I like your thoughts. +1

This ^ ^

I'm sick n tired of being last and always catching up... But 730 forces me to stick to WP!! Ah! What a masterpiece from Nokia! Sad coz it's the last Nokia!

of course there is decline because everyone is waiting for real new phones, real new flagships... I have a L1020 but waiting for the L1030, I will buy a new Windows Phone when it arrives and it is very frustrating that new real flagship arrives

Windows Phone market share will improve when users can run Android or iOS apps natively. Until then, good luck. 

This just shows that Apple holds the leash on the flagship smartphone market. Anytime they release a flagship that the masses are excited about, other devices are going to lose marketshare. They sell millions in a matter of days.

Its all about apps...there still just aren't any...look at any advert....they never promote windows phone..just "available on app store"!!

Why would the platform be doing well, when there aren't anything but cereal box devices available, and Microsoft is prioritizing iOS and Android themselves these days.   Windows Phone is the neglected red-headed step child inside Microsoft.    If they don't give a fig, why should anybody else??

Iphone6 effect

Could have something to do with not having any flagship phones and all the insurance companies trying to replace windows phones with galaxies

This is mostly due to carrier exclusivity in the United States and the lack of any new high end Windows device. Many of my friends was interested in the Icon until Verizon support selling it. The lack of support from Verizon has now turned all of them away from any interest in Windows Phone. In fact, it's starting to turn me away as well, and I'm one of Windows Phones BIGGEST supporters! Microsoft seriously needs to release a new flagship phone and ensure it is NOT exclusive to any carrier out I'm afraid Windows Phone sales will continue to dwindle!

This is mostly due to carrier exclusivity in the United States and the lack of any new high end Windows device. Many of my friends was interested in the Icon until Verizon stopped selling it. The lack of support from Verizon has now turned all of them away from any interest in Windows Phone. In fact, it's starting to turn me away as well, and I'm one of Windows Phones BIGGEST supporters! Microsoft seriously needs to release a new flagship phone and ensure it is NOT exclusive to any carrier or I'm afraid Windows Phone sales will continue to dwindle!

I went from a Sony Xperia ray to the xperia arc then to Lumia 520 and now to the Lumia 830 and I'm never gonna switch to android or ios.

Are these stats to be trusted? MS must have sold bucket loads of cheap phones in the US over Christmas. I bought three 635s and shipped then to New Zealand and then unlocked them for about$10 USD each.

I was asking myself the same thing. In a previous article, there were also some 100 percent wrong stats given.

Don't worry guys...... This is due to Android Lollipop and iPhone 6/6+ and iOS 8. Windows 10 will see an increase in share for our platform. Our time will come.

Oh sad news for wp fans. Posted via the Windows Central App

Its no wonder, I mean, the HTC m8 for windows is super nice, but we got an 830 Lumia for the holidays??? Thats it?? With new flagships.on the horizon to coincide with windows 10, I doubt we will see much growth until then. Microsoft is in this for the long haul, and they are just finally getting to a point in which they can switch from playing catchup to innovation. Once the stores unify on all windows platforms, we will have something rock solid! I pray they get the rest of the bugs and the locker sorted out for Xbox music too, im sick of having to download and install music on every new phone piece by piece. They should be able to just allow downloaded music to easily be ported to a new phone that has the same ms account log in. The app works much better but its still far off from how perfect it worked with windows 7.5

I've been using my 925 now for about 10 months. I was given an iPhone 6 for work I like wp and have been on them since mango but ms just are not moving quick enough!
The iphone 6 is miles better in quality usability and functionality and I love wp! Ms seriously need to get moving before the whole thing becomes a dead duck

The problem is the lack of inovation in Windows Phone, all the phones have 5MP cameras and the "affordable" phones cost $400.

Not sure what u talking about? The Lumia 1520 has 20mega pixel the 1020 has 41 mega pixel and so on. If u want more then 5 mega pixel u need to fork down some more money. But u get phones with more mega pixel for cheap. Like the HTC 8x the Samsung ativ s and several lumias like 920 and so on that doesn't cost much. Even the 1020 isn't very much money anymore. And even the Lumia 1520 isn't so expensive either anymore.

It'll be interesting in the next few months. I honestly think WP as we know it is going away. 10 won't be a "hey we added a few new things but it's basically all the same". 10 will be "hey, everything is new but the look." We'll find out what it can do on the 21st eh? Also, we'll find out what it's going to be called. Windows Phone is going away so I wonder what it'll be? Probably just Windows 10 Mobile or something generic. :P  Fine by me. Just need more flagship devices to reboot the effort.

I like the windows phone title better. Hope they can come up with something better.

One of the very few benefits of the low marketshare numbers, is that with Windows 10, Microsoft gets another 'do-over' in mobile. The downside is, this would be what, their fourth attempt at smartphones?   Aside from 'universal apps', I'm not sure why THIS time it's going to be different.  

WP is being left to wither on the vine

Why is this in any way surprising? No new flagship in hardware, whatever was released was released half-ass. The so-called flagships released did not support the OS's full features like glance etc. The OS itself needs help, its at par now with the release of 8.1 with other phone OSs but nothing so far to give anyone an incentive to switch. Even die hard fans like me are reconsidering their options....

Yeah. Microsoft is putting too much money on Windows 10.

Will usb otg support would come when windows 10 launches for phones??

That is hardware supported, not software support , not all androids have OTG support due hardware limitations, I wish can Bluetooth supports for generic hardware , I own, an old Bluetooth keyboard that Windows don't support,

Ms purchased Nokia, what for? The 930 ( icon ) is a iPhone 5 copy, nothing since...every blog I read once loyal users are waiting to leave

Looking forward to my next wp. Why would I switch apps that I want good camera, fast os and good battery life.

I wonder if these market share sources took in consideration my mom and dad which don't use apps or games and are not tracked by ads... You know, these starts are not accurate. I see more and more WP phones in Romania.. And every company (mobile apps) is also developing apps for windows phone.. Not just iOS and Android.

The guys at Microsoft sure wasn't expecting that!

ah wherever, as long as they keep making them and it suits my needs I'll keep using it. never really cared all that much about market share anyways since I'm not really missing anything. I just want a big time flagship like McLaren was supposed to be

Probably the market got saturated of smartphones and people simply stopped of purchase compulsively smartphones till they really need an new one also the galaxy S5 don't caused major fanfare because some Samsung fans says that the S5 can't be, more faster than, the 4 an they are waiting the GS6

The latest lumias are a variety of the same phones. It doesn't make sense that they put a really good lens in their phone but restrict storage.

chillax everyone, what we are seeing is the release of iphone 6 in these figures, android dropped 2% wp 1.6 so actually wp stood up better than android. of equal note is wp realse throughout the year so august september are the best figures to show market position and trend otherwise figures are skewed by the annual ios launch figures    

Poor advertising effort married with not enough flagship-class devices. Flagships attract customers to the platform, even those who have budget for low or mid-class products. They define platform and act as, well, "ambassadors" for the platform. I hope MS will get things right with Windows 10 and unified apps. They have so much potential in integration of desktop, gaming and smart devices, but somehow they haven't achieved most of it. Their effort feels very... decentralized, as if there is no one central authority to sync all point the departments involved in right direction. I cannot see a reason why Windows Phone cannot be the best choice for every Windows PC and/or Xbox owner, but MS must work their strengths to make this choice simple and obvious. Shenanigans like releasing MS Office for iPad before having touch-friendly Office for Windows tablets might make more money initially, but in a long run only hurts sibling platform.

My buddies htc8x was dying a slow painful death, he loved WP but with no flagship in sight and with the 830 being his best option in Canada he opted out for the note 4. He probably activated it yesterday. I'm on my 3rd WP with the current one being the 830. With little carrier support, no mention of a flagship no wonder people who tested the WP waters are bailing. This is the second person I've convinced to try WP that has defected. WP 10 better be amazing with amazing new hardware or this might be the death nail. So ms wants to be mobile/ cloud first. Might be a challenge with no mobile.

Even if there are 100 reasons to join the Android/apple bandwagon, I won't because of one great reason : The dynamic start screen. I love it, can't live with static thumbnail icons :)

I wonder if our increase in Australia had anything to do with one of the two major supermarket chains having a pre-Xmas special on the Lumia 520 (or might have been 530) where you could buy it outright for under $50.
Beyond that a drop in most places isn't to surprising given no new flagship announcements to counter the iPhone 6 release.

All first gen Wp8 devices may not be upgradable to WP10.. that may increase market share /s

I like Android, but my problem is with Google and Android is growing more and more restrictive full of Google bloatware.

Go Aussies!! :D

Wish they did new Zealand market share. All these numbers say to me is apple released a major phone and no one else did. Also with previous market share, android losing 5+ % points could amount to millions of lost sales whereas a small drop for windows phone is not as significant. That china drop is a worry though!

Microsoft product for ever...

Is it really any surprise when all the devices on offer are limited to certain carriers and completely underwhelming. There isn't a single WP device that I'm excited about at the moment.

Sales is down because they failed to make their Xbox Entertainment service visible to the public and also made sure Windows Phone logos are displayed when companies advertise app downloads of their own apps on their website. There's no accountability of marketing what so ever.

Same goes to Windows apps and services.

its pretty much expected when no new phones are put out there, if they had a killer device that could of competed with the iphone 6 it may have been a different story.

Why is it that its always John Callaham reporting negative press about Microsoft?? It seems like all your articles are always about negative Microsoft news. Lets not forget about your article based on Microsoft supporting Android apps. Report something positive for a change!!

So, Kantar's opinion is apparently the opinion of the rest of the world, even mine... Please, when any idiot says that an iFail sells better than WP, that is clickwhoring. The reasoning is simple: That percentage is from people getting rich(new rich people) buying a new iDevice(yeah sure!) or... Insecure apple users that need to reaffirm their status by having 2 or more iDevices(this is more like it) Whatever you said kantar, you are the truth, the only truth, except that they hide one simple thing: They, as ZDNet and The Verge are Apple fanboys to the core. Talking about biased reports... ZDNet, The Verge and now joining Kantar... Pathetic!

  Microsoft needs to release a true Lumia flagship and quickly. People are starting to lose hope and moving on to other platforms.

I don't think purely market shares represent true picture. In US iphone6 sold in big numbers skewing the market shares in its favor. In China Xaomi and other cheaper android phones not only got significatn share but increased the overall market size quite significantly. Having said that MS needs a relook at their mid and high end phones pricing and selling strategy. I wonder if anything except the entry level Lumias, have got any traction in any of the markets globally.

My Windows Phone Experience is about to come to an end and I am not looking forward to it. My works has opted to use an app to replace critical text communications and a WAP site. Unfortunately the app is only on IOS and Android. So reluctantly I must make the switch. I will be leaving my family behind which are on windows phone. At least I will be able to take my Microsoft services with me, Outlook Email, XBOX Music Pass and the Health app. The only decision is what to switch to at this point.

I will stick to WP!

Microsoft needs to embark on a crowd mentality project, that's what is stunting the growth of windows phone. They need psychologist to work alongside their marketers.

Shock horror, ms does no marketing for phones and has no interesting hardware and there competitors overtake them.. No joke!

Just want a high end windows phone. Posted via Windows Phone Central App

This decline is NOT so much due to lack of a new Flagship phone, (Most sales are Low end) It is due to the poor Microsoft Mrketting and poor branding.  Nokia was an international company, and understood world wide marketting, and Nokia brand is highly respected around the world consumers. Microsoft brand is disliked by most consumers, and Microsoft marketting only in US. Microsoft does not understand global consumer markets, and most of its own servcies are US only.  It is no wonder that Microsoft is failing with world wide consumer devices.     Lose your US only centric viewpoint, and think about what the World Wide Consumers want.  

A lot of people were sitting on 520/62x. Since 8.1 it is not possible anymore as these phones became slow as hell. It is time to buy new phones and since WP also starts to lag after updates anyway, Android becomes an obvious choice. When it was 8.0 I was so happy that my cheap phone was behaving like flagships from other companies. Now I want xperia or something, not lumia