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Windows Phone, the # 3 SmartPhone Platform

Google Inc. NASDAQ: GOOG, and Apple Inc. NASDAQ:AAPL, Microsoft Corp. NASDAQ: MSFT

MSFT, BBRY

In a battle that has really just been joined for the 3rd best-selling SmartPhone platform, Windows Phone from Microsoft Corp. NASDAQ: MSFT)has wrestled away 3rd place from the precursor to BlackBerryNASDAQ:BBRY, Research in Motion Ltd.

The latest data from Strategy Analytics notes that this is the 1st time Microsoft has ranked ahead of BlackBerry since Y 2006.

Google Inc. NASDAQ: GOOG, and Apple Inc. NASDAQ:AAPL own the Top 2 spots.

Last month Strategy Analytics said that Google’s Android platform took 70% of global SmartPhone shipments in Y 2012, while Apple’s iOS took 22%. Android’s share of the total market is more than 50%, while Apple’s share is about 35%.

The new data was gathered before the release of BlackBerry 10 in late January, after Microsoft’s platform had been on the market for about two months. So the comparison may be something of an apples-to-oranges deal, and we will have to wait to see what happens this quarter and next.

BlackBerry is not rolling out its touch-screen Z10 phone in the US until mid-March and its Keypad Q10 phone will follow that by 8 or 10 wks the company has said.

That gives Microsoft essentially 2 more Quarters to build its US market share.

We will not know which platform will be in 3rd place until the end of Q-4 of this year. But, for now Microsoft in the lead as BlackBerry works get traction out of the gate.