Ever since Windows Phone 7 launched late last year, it's been a tad difficult figuring out exactly how many devices have been sold to consumers like you and me. Today analyst firm Gartner stepped in to remedy that problem with their worldwide Q1 2011 market analysis. According to the firm's estimates, there were 1.6 million WP7 handsets sold in the first quarter of 2011. That's certainly not a mind-blowing figure, although Gartner expects Nokia to give the platform a healthy boost in momentum in the long term. As for other platforms, Android continued to dominate the globe in Q1 2011, gobbling up 36 percent of the total market share, which is up from 9.6 percent in Q1 2010. Meanwhile, Symbian dropped to 27.4 percent market share in Q1, down from 44.2 percent during the same time one year ago, iOS finished third worldwide with 16.8 percent market share, RIM claimed 12.9 percent, Microsoft grabbed 3.6 percent, and the "Other OS" category earned 3.3 percent market share.
Nokia is still the king of the manufacturer hill, earning a hair over one-quarter of the total market share in the first quarter of 2011. Samsung grabbed 16.1 percent of the market, LG claimed 5.6 percent, Apple got 3.9 percent, and a mess of other companies earned three percent market share or less.
Although I'm sure that Windows Phone 7's estimated first quarter sales numbers aren't making Microsoft jump for joy, the platform is still pretty young and was only available on AT&T and T-Mobile here in the U.S. until 11 days before Q1 was up. Sprint and Verizon's WP7 sales likely won't have a huge effect on the platform's worldwide sales numbers, but it the No. 1 and 3 U.S. carriers could give WP7 a slight boost in sales. What do you all think of Windows Phone 7's Q1 2011 sales numbers? Are you surprised by the figure?
