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Windows Phone gains momentum, overtakes iOS in Italy

The operating system now makes up one in 10 smartphone sales across Europe, but Android still own 72 percent of that market.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
Josh Miller/CNET

Microsoft's Windows Phone is starting to gain popularity in Europe.

Windows Phone now accounts for 10 percent of smartphone sales in Europe's five biggest markets, research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said Monday. Windows Phone has performed so well in Italy that it's now more popular in that country than Apple's iOS.

"Windows Phone, driven almost entirely by Nokia sales, continues to make rapid progress in Europe and has also shown signs of growth in emerging markets such as Latin America," Kantar said.

Despite the improvements, Windows Phone is still a long ways behind Android. According to Kantar, Android owns 71.9 percent of Europe's mobile market, up 4.2 percentage points compared with last year.

Looking beyond Europe, Kantar reported that Android now holds 81.1 percent of China's smartphone market.