Lumia 800 helps Windows Phone beat Symbian in UK

Windows Phone 7 is now outselling Symbian in the UK, data gathered by the analyst firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has shown.

According to the company, in the 12 weeks leading up to 20 February 2011 Symbian had a 12.4 percent share of UK smartphone sales. In the corresponding period a year later, the doomed platform had a 2.4 percent share.

Meanwhile, Windows Phone 7 (WP7) — Nokia's adoption of which is the reason for Symbian's looming demise — now has a 2.5 percent share, up from half a percent a year earlier.

"There are strong signs that WP7 Nokia handsets are starting to make an impact on the European smartphone market though US sales, where the Nokia brand is weaker, remain underwhelming," Kantar Worldpanel ComTech global consumer insight director Dominic Sunnebo said in a statement.

According to the company, Nokia's Lumia 800 is almost single-handedly responsible for the rise in Windows Phone 7's share, accounting for 87 percent of the platform's sales. The strongest market for Windows Phone 7 appears to be Germany, where market share is now at 3.1 percent of sales.

"The fact that WP7 sales have overtaken Symbian based on one handset is encouraging; however, Nokia will need to expand the range quickly in order to keep up with the slew of next-generation competitor products being launched in quarter two," Sunnebo said.

The UK market leader, of course, is Android, with a 48.5 percent share of all smartphone sales. Apple's iOS lags behind with a 28.7 percent share, followed by RIM with 17.1 percent.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech also noted that 73.2 percent of all handsets sold over the recent 12-week period were smartphones, "meaning that 51.3 percent of the British population now owns a smartphone".