It’s not the news Microsoft wants to hear heading into its imminent Windows 8 launch.
New research from UBS throws some cold water on Microsoft’s rumoured plans to launch its own Windows-based smarpthone handset. As noted in our source story from ValueWalk, UBS analysts state in their latest report that, “Itis difficultto see how Microsoft successfully enters a maturing high-end smartphonemarket.”
Ouch. Research in Motion isn’t off the hook either, with the analystssaying its BlackBerry smartphones – once a cutting edge status symbolfor jet-setting business executives everywhere – aren’t scoring highretention rates among consumers. Phones made by Nokia also show slidingretention trends in the study.
The big winners in the report, based on a survey of 2,000 smartphoneusers worldwide, are Samsung and Apple. Samsung’s customer retentionrate is rising, and iPhone still boasts a bullish 85 per cent retentionrate among its current users.
Newer products like the GalaxyNote have helped Samsung cut into Apple’s smartphone domination, UBSsays.
Samsung seems to be casting a longer shadow over Apple’s party,however. UBS said that despite the high overall percentage of iPhoneusers who intend to stick with Apple, the number of iPhone customerswho are thinking about defecting to Samsung is growing. Specifically,although Apple’s retention rate of 85 per cent is something most ITcompanies can only dream about, that’s lower than the rates seen in2011 (89 per cent) and 2010 (95 per cent).
Gaining ground at Apple’s expense is Samsung, which saw its retentionrate jump from 28 per cent in 2011 to 45 per cent this year.