Maybe Nokia bet on the wrong horse. Data released late last week by research firm comScore found that Microsoft's (News 
- Alert) share of the U.S. smartphone market plunged a full 22 percent in the three months ending in June.
Even worse, the software giant's market share has fallen 38 percent since the launch of Windows Phone (News - Alert) 7, Microsoft's highly anticipated mobile OS. The company currently maintains just a 5 percent sliver of the U.S. smartphone pie.
Only time will tell if Microsoft's seemingly dismal first half of 2011 is a bit misleading, or if the company is truly in peril. The Redmond, Washington-based firm is hoping to rebound toward the end of the year with the release of Mango, the new Windows Phone 7 update that is said to come loaded with 500 new features, including tighter integration with chatting services and social networking sites.
The May announcement of the update could be partially responsible for the market share dip, as it may have given consumers the motivation to hold off on purchasing a Windows Phone 7-powered handset until Mango arrives.
Microsoft is also banking on the fact that its partnership with Nokia will help revitalize its position in the smartphone market. The Finnish cell phone maker agreed to a deal back in February to move its entire line of handsets over to Windows Phone 7.
It will be interesting to see if the impending launch of Mango and Windows-powered Nokia phones will help put Microsoft back on the map, or if its time sitting on the bench will mark its demise. On its current pace, Microsoft will garner only a 4 percent market share when Mango makes its debut. By that time, prospective Windows Phone 7 customers and developers could have moved on to a handset run by Apple (News - Alert) or Google's Android, the two biggest movers in the last three months.
comScore found that Google increased its share in the U.S. smartphone market to 40 percent, up from 35 percent in the previous quarter. Apple also jumped up a full point to 26.6 percent.
As expected, Research in Motion (News - Alert) (RIM) took the biggest beating, dropping from a market share of 27.1 percent to just 23.4 percent.
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Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
