Windows Phone showing strong growth in South Africa as iPhone and Blackberry stalls

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Mobile device May-13 Jul-13 Growth over 2 months Growth %
BlackBerry 3,100,000 3,100,000 0 0%
Android 1,000,000 1,200,000 200,000 20%
iOS/iPhone 600,000 600,000 0 0%
Windows Phone 150,000 220,000 70,000 47%

One of the countries in which Blackberry still rules is South Africa, but it seems that dominance is likely to grind to a halt pretty soon, as their growth there already did.

Vodacom, one of South Africa’s largest networks, have reported their subscriber numbers for July 2013, and it shows that Blackberry did not grow at all between May and July.

Instead South African Smartphone buyers were turning to Android and Windows Phones, with Android adding 200,000 and Windows Phone adding 70,000 subscribers, representing 47% growth in the installed base in only 2 months.

Another company which is not growing its share is Apple, which is stalled at 600,000 subscribers.  The numbers bode well for Windows Phone, which is already outselling iOS in South Africa, according to the IDC, to overtake its installed base by the end of the year also.

The growth is likely the result of affordable new models like the Nokia Lumia 520, suggesting Nokia’s low-end strategy has been spot-on for developing markets. It also shows Blackberry may find even its traditional markets disappearing much faster than they expect, meaning by this time next year the company may no longer even be in the conversation.

Via Myboradband.co.za

More about the topics: south africa, vodacom, windows phone 8

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