Microsoft is hoping that their new mobile OS, Windows Phone 7, will make a big splash in the mobile world when it launches next week, but one research firm doesn't see the potential.  Gartner has released some data saying that WP7 will push Microsoft's share of the worldwide mobile market up to 5.2 percent in 2011, compared to the 4.7 percent share it has now.  The growth will be short-lived, however, as Microsoft's share will settle at 3.9 percent by 2014.  Meanwhile, Gartner believes that Symbian will hold the market lead in 2014 with 30.2 percent of the market, followed by Android at 29.6 percent. 

While it's always tough to predict how well a new mobile OS will be received, I have a feeling that Windows Phone 7 will be able to gain a decent amount of ground.  After all, Microsoft is pouring just about everything they have into WP7, and there are already several manufacturers and carriers on board.  On the other hand, it's tough to gain a ton of ground in the increasingly-crowded cell phone market, especially with established platforms like Symbian, Android, iOS, and BlackBerry.  Microsoft is holding an event next week, which PhoneDog will be live at, so we'll have to wait and see just how popular WP7 is at launch before we begin to call it a failure.

Via PocketNow, InformationWeek