If you look at the global smartphone market, Windows Phone devices don’t come close to the phenomenal share that the iPhone holds. Things become quite different when you look at each and every individual market. Take Russia for example, where according to a new Bloomberg report, Windows Phone is all set to overtake the iPhone in terms of market. That’s because major carriers are actually backing WP devices as opposed to iPhones and that’s obviously doing wonders for the Microsoft mobile platform’s adoption in Russia.
IDC figures indicate that Windows Phone market share is going to rise from 5.1 percent last year to 8.2 percent this year, whereas iPhone drops from 9 to 8.3 percent. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that MTS, Russia’s biggest carrier, has stopped selling iPhones since 2012. Instead it is promoting WP devices and has even set up Windows Phone zones in its retail stores. Andrei Dubovskov, CEO of OAO Mobile TeleSystems, says that Apple requires operators to pay it a lot of money to subsidize and promote iPhones in Russia. He says that its not beneficial for them and that “its good” they stopped selling iPhones because that would have resulted in negative margins for them. So what about those MTS customers who want to use iPhones? Dubovskov says they can purchase it from the grey market or through independent retailers.
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