For years, Google and Apple have dominated the smartphone market. With Microsoft's announcement of Windows Phone 8 last week, there's a new kid in town - and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer excepts it to be quite popular.
At a Windows 8 launch event in Israel this morning, Ballmer said that while “We’re still relatively small … I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly,” according to Reuters. "With the work we have done with Nokia, HTC, Samsung and others ... there is now an opportunity to create really a strong third participant in the smartphone market."
But can Windows Phone 8 ever be third behind Google's Android phones and Apple's iPhone? Together, the phones share about 85% of the smartphone market, with Apple's iPhone holding 16.9% of that share. (Windows Phones have previously only held about 3.5%) If Windows Phone 8 can come close to - or even surpass that - Ballmer's dreams of being a strong participant in the smartphone market could actually be a reality.
