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Lumia 520 extends lead as most popular Windows Phone, as Nokia takes 90 percent of the market

Affordable is proving to be the winning formula for Windows Phone, with the 520 not only dominating but extending its lead on Microsoft's mobile platform.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

For all of Nokia's efforts to promote its high-end and hero devices, it's still the humble Lumia 520 that's proving the biggest driver of Windows Phone uptake.

The Lumia 520, already thought to be the most widely-used Lumia device, has extended its lead as the most popular Windows Phone device, according to the latest Windows Phone share breakdown from advertising network Ad Duplex.

November numbers from Ad Duplex show that the Lumia 520 added 3.3 percent to its share of Windows Phone market, now accounting for 26.5 percent worldwide, followed by the Lumia 920 and Lumia 620 with 8.8 percent and 8.6 percent rise since October respectively.

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Worldwide Windows Phone market share. Image: AdDuplex

In the US, where Nokia has been expending more effort tying up promotional deals with carriers, the T-Mobile Lumia 521 dominates the Windows Phone market. The 520 variant has 22.8 percent US share ahead of the Verizon Lumia 822 with 13.3 percent and the AT&T Lumia 920 with 12.1 percent. HTC's 8X accounts for 10.3 percent.

The story is similar in the UK, where the Lumia 520 has added eight percent to its share and now accounts for 28.2 percent of Windows Phone devices in use.

Nokia doesn't break out specific sales figures for each of its Lumia products but in October it announced record Lumia shipments of 8.8 million for the third quarter, which it put down to down to strong demand for the Lumia 520. 

The continued ascent of the Lumia 520 and arrival of other Lumia devices has squeezed HTC's 8X out of the top 10 Windows Phone models worldwide. At tenth spot with 3.1 percent in October, the HTC 8X was eclipsed in November by the 4.7-inch screen Lumia 625, which accounts for 2.9 percent of all Windows Phones.

Looking solely at the 21 available Windows Phone 8 devices, the Lumia 520 accounts for 35 percent worldwide, followed by the Lumia 920 and 620, with just over 11 percent each. In all, Nokia now holds 90 percent of the Windows Phone market, while HTC's 8X and 8S together account for seven percent. Meanwhile Samsung's Ativ S Neo and Huawei's W2 account for 1.8 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. All 21 phones made up 3.6 percent of the 261 million smartphones sold in the third quarter, according to IDC.  

Or, to put it another way, when Microsoft takes ownership of Nokia's devices business early next year, it will be almost the entirety of the Windows Phone ecosystem.

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