Windows Phone to close in on iPhone by 2017

As Jack wrote yesterday there looks to be no slowing down for Android in the smartphone world, but another non-Apple company is predicted to make major advancements in the next four years.

While forecasts in the mobile space are difficult to make since things move so fast, I find it encouraging to see Canalys predict that Windows Phone will rise to secure third place and even closely match Apple and the iPhone by 2017.

We have seen Apple's market share stay fairly flat for some time, likely because a single, very expensive iPhone is released once a year while we see devices across the pricing and quality spectrum running Android and Windows Phone.

I wrote about the falling average selling price and the flip from feature phones to smartphones this year and moving forward. We will see growth from the four major smartphone platforms moving forward, but Windows Phone is predicted to have the largest change in market share.

Windows Phone has taken nearly three years to get to about 3 percent, but with things like Halo for Windows Phone, flagship devices on major US carriers, and low cost, full-featured phones Microsoft is doing the right things to position themselves for success.