What goes up must come down and on Wall Street, billions are made and lost betting on which direction companies are headed. Apple is the most valuable technology company in America by a huge margin so needless to say, it gets plenty of attention on the Street. At some point, be it sometime in the next few years or sometime in the next few decades, Apple will no longer be on top. It is inevitable. The question countless industry watchers try to answer, of course, is when.
Various guesses — sorry, estimates — have been made in recent years, and the boldest among them have been off by a laughable margin. In mid-2011, for example, Pyramid Research released projections that showed Windows Phone’s global market share rocketing past iOS later that year and then going on to overtake Android in early 2013. Fast forward to the third quarter of 2013 and Windows Phone’s market share still sits in the low single digits.
At last count, Android was installed on an estimated 81 percent of all smartphones that shipped globally last quarter, iOS’s market share was 12.9 percent and Windows Phone’s share rounded out the top-three at 3.6 percent.
Earlier this week, another bold prediction was offered by Forbes contributor Mark Fidelman. According to Fidelman, Microsoft will overtake Apple in the mobile market in three years.
Now, this prediction is hardly as outlandish today as Pyramid’s was back in 2011. Google’s land-grab strategy has ensured that Android will sit at the top of the mobile food chain for many years to come, at least where market share is concerned. Beneath Google, however, there is definitely room to play. We have seen no evidence that BlackBerry’s smartphone demise will reverse course anytime soon. This leaves Apple and Microsoft exchanging blows for the time being. Read more: http://bit.ly/1ggxHra
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