Windows智能手机市场份额攀升至第三

    第三名易主！

    微软（Microsoft）Windows Phone操作系统首次击败黑莓（BlackBerry）。市场调研机构IDC近日发布了2013年第一季度全球智能手机市场分析报告，Windows智能手机的市场份额成功攀升至3.2%，黑莓手机的份额则跌至2.9%。而在上个季度，两家公司的份额恰好相反，微软Windows Phone的份额为2.6%，黑莓份额为3.2%。

    微软想必能稍稍松口气了。不过，一个季度的数据说明不了什么，谁知道微软第三名的宝座又能坐多久呢？微软和黑莓都曾是智能手机领域的霸主。早些年，微软发布的第一代Windows手机系统曾把红极一时的Palm打得丢盔弃甲。而两年前，黑莓的全键盘手机还在34%的市场份额中怡然自得。在苹果（Apple）2007年发布iPhone前，市场上每两部智能手机就有一部是黑莓。【而且，RIM曾一度被评为《财富》（Fortune）全球增长最快的公司之一。】市场调研机构MarkestandMarkets指出，2014年全球智能手机行业产值有望达到1500亿美元。

    为了确保第三名的宝座，微软和黑莓如今都使出了浑身解数。排在最前面的是谷歌（Google）和苹果，Android和iOS总共占据了92.3%的市场份额。2013年第一季度，谷歌Android占据了智能手机总出货量的75%。上周三，谷歌在年度I/O开发者大会上宣布，Android手机的激活量已突破9亿部，相比去年第三季度的5亿部，数量大增。苹果第一季度iPhone出货量高达3740万部，创下该公司有史以来一季度的最好成绩。不过，iOS的市场份额有所下滑，跌至17.3%。

    要想摆脱市场份额为个位数的尴尬境况，微软和黑莓亟需能削弱谷歌和苹果绝对领先地位的产品。2011年初，微软宣布和诺基亚（Nokia）达成战略合作，如今已初见成效，诺基亚的Lumia系列手机就是其中代表。（两家公司共享研发和市场资源，为了一表忠心，诺基亚甚至放弃了自家操作系统。）黑莓也不甘失败，推出了全新的黑莓10操作系统和新款手机，今年初，该公司甚至还更换了公司名称。上周，黑莓又推出了新的手机并表示BBM短信服务将登陆竞争对手的平台。

    证券公司Baird Equity Research在一份报告中对两家公司的举措表示赞许，但同时表示其成效未必显著。“根据我们的调查， 美国市场对黑莓Z10和诺基亚Lumia系列的需求很小。”报告最后总结道。有一点可以肯定，第三名的争夺必将旷日持久。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航

    There's a new number three.

    Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Phone operating system has overtaken BlackBerry (BBRY) for the first time, according to researcher IDC. The firm released its quarterly report on the smartphone market, showing that during the first quarter of 2013, Windows devices made up 3.2% of all smartphones shipped. BlackBerry devices accounted for 2.9% of the market. That is almost a perfect flip of the results in the quarter previous: Microsoft's OS then accounted for 2.6% of all shipments, and BlackBerry 3.2%.

    Good news for Microsoft? Certainly. But one quarter change does not cement a definitive third-place operating mobile operating system. Both companies were once dominant in smartphones. Microsoft's earliest version of Windows for phones powered once-hot Palm devices. And just two years ago, Blackberry's keyboard-sporting devices enjoyed a 34% market share. Before Apple's iPhone came along in 2007, it owned 50% of the market. (What's more, RIM was once Fortune's Fastest Growing Company.) By 2014, the global smartphone market is expected to be worth some $150 billion, according to researcher MarkestandMarkets.

    Both have desperately tried to gain momentum and lock themselves in as the third player, behind Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL). Combined, Android and iOS make up 92.3% of the market. Google's OS leads with some 75% of all smartphones shipped in Q1. On Wednesday, at is annual I/O developer conference, the search giant revealed that, in all, it had activated 900 million Android-powered phones, up from the 500 million announced last fall. Apple, which had its best first quarter ever with 37.4 million iPhones shipped, saw market share for its iOS dip to 17.3%.

    To move beyond single-digit market share, Microsoft and Blackberry are going to need devices that can erode Google and Apple's enormous lead. Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Nokia (NOK) in early 2011, which is bearing fruit, including the Lumia line of smartphones. (The two share development and marketing resources; Nokia abandoned its own proprietary system in favor of Redmond's.) Meanwhile, Blackberry -- which changed its name earlier this year -- has tried launching a new OS, Blackberry 10, alongside new devices. This week the company showed off additional hardware and said its BBM messaging service would come to rival platforms.

    In a research report, Baird Equity Research praised both sets of moves but noted they were likely to have only modest consequences. "Our U.S.-based checks continue to suggest tepid demand for the Blackberry Z10 and Nokia Lumia devices," the report concluded. One thing is for certain, it's going to be a long fight to hold on to number three.