Sales of BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) devices have almost hit zero in major markets like the U.S., China, Spain and Japan, says a report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. According to the data, the UK is the only region that is left with some hope for the devices from the Canadian smartphone maker.
BlackBerry reduced to zero
For the three months ending October 2013, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s share of sales in the U.S. has squeezed to just 0.8%. Apart from the minute shares, the fact that the overall market has grown is even more discouraging for the struggling company. The market share of BlackBerry in China, Spain and Japan has been reduced to less than a tenth of a percent, which is considered a zero by Kantar.
Another setback for the Canadian firm is that in every market reported by Kantar, the company was beaten by Windows Phone handsets.
The latest data highlight the struggle of the smartphone maker that failed to sell itself to a private equity group, and later fired its chief executive Thorsten Heins. The company has already revealed that it would focus more on corporate sales, and with such share in the consumer segment, it seems that BlackBerry have made a wise choice. The UK was the largest market for BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) with a 3.3% share.
Android still dominant
For Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the results were mixed. Though the company got a push from the latest iPhones, it was comparatively less effective than that of last year. In the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France the share of the iPhone maker was reduced to 15.8% from 20.8% a year before.
“The good news for Apple is that this wider appeal is attracting significant switching from competitors,” said Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
Android retains the top spot in all markets except Japan. The Android platform was the most dominant in Spain with 90.1% of all sales, which was even more than that of “urban China” with 78.1% of sales. In Japan, the iPhone was ahead with 61.1% sales compared to 36.2% for Android.
Windows making inroads
Almost three years after launch, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s Windows Phone made strong gains. Apart from outpacing BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) in every market reported by Kantar, Windows Phone also outsold iPhone in Italy gaining 16.1% versus 10.1% of Apple. In EU’s five biggest countries (UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France) Windows Phone accounted for 10.2% sales share against 15.8% share of iPhone.
“Momentum for Windows Phone is continuing, although its growth remains reliant on low-end handsets,” commented Sunnebo.
