Francisco Jeronimo, research manager for European mobile devices at IDC, said that Windows Phone shipments for the first quarter of 2012 were up 156 percent, year-on-year. In total, Windows Phone market share grew to 4.1 percent, up from 2.2 percent, according to figures from IDC's first-quarter 2012 mobile phone shipment and market share report, released on Friday.
However, while Windows Phone is enjoying more support, it is not helping to turn Nokia's fortunes around, according to Jeronimo.
"The Nokia Lumia range has performed interestingly but it still below expectations," Jeronimo said. "Nokia's new Windows phones to be launched this year will continue to contribute to steady growth for the OS."
He added that Windows Phone would continue to make gains throughout 2012 and that "the new Windows Phone 8 handsets to be launched by manufacturers are drawing attention from operators in Europe".
Microsoft's gains came at the expense of Research in Motion's BlackBerry OS and the Symbian platform.