It is often considered the struggling runner up in terms of smartphones, but in Europe at least Windows Phone is steadily securing a notable share of the very competitive market. According to figures released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Windows based smartphones, particularly ones manufactured by Nokia, are responsible for around 9.8% of all smartphone sales in the five largest European markets (UK, France, Italy, Germany and France).

Android remains the dominant OS by far, with Google's Linux-based system earning 71.9% of the overall European market share. However, this differs from country to country, with upwards of 90% in Spain compared to 58.4% in the UK. iOS has a 14.6% share in the five major European countries - from 27% in the UK to only 4.8% in Spain.

Kantar's Dominic Sunnebo explains that "August is traditionally a quiet month for Apple as consumers wait for the release of new models, and strong sales of the iPhone 5S and 5C at the end of September did not manage to make up for the lull. The full impact of the new iPhones will be seen at Christmas when iOS is expected to bounce back strongly in Britain, the US and Australia."

Sunnebo also suggests "with the smartphone market in developed countries so congested, it is emerging economies that now present manufacturers with the best opportunity for growth", stating that cheaper Nokia - and therefore Windows - phones have an opportunity to gain significant share in these markets.