BlackBerry 10 can't stop Windows Phone overtaking as third-most used smartphone OS, Android still king

There’s no shaking Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS from first and second place respectively at the top of the smartphone user number rankings charts, but the battle for third place is a corker. The latest stats have just come in from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, covering Q1 2013, seeing Windows Phone overtake BlackBerry for third place.

Microsoft’s mobile OS now sits at 3.2% of the smartphone market share, up from 2.0% last year, with BlackBerry dropping down to 2.9%, a considerable fall from their 6.4% share a year earlier in Q1 2012.

While that’s a 133.3% growth for Windows Phone, BlackBerry’s share has shrunk by 35.1%. This is despite a gigantic new hardware and software push from the Canadian company, launching new handsets like the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10, as well as the well-considered BlackBerry 10 OS. While the Nokia and Microsoft partnership across the Lumia line-up is finally making headway it seems, leading the Windows Phone charge, it must be very worrying times over at Blackberry HQ.

“Windows Phone claiming the third spot is a first and helps validate the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia,” said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

“Given the relatively low volume generated, the Windows Phone camp will need to show further gains to solidify its status as an alterative to Android or iOS.”

As expected, Google’s Android OS retains the top spot with 75% of the market share (that’s 79.5% year-on-year growth), with Apple’s iPhone line taking a 17.3% share in second place.

For more from the report, click here.