Windows Phone Just Outsold iPhone and BlackBerry

Microsoft's MSFT Windows Phone platform is giving Apple AAPL a run for its money -- in seven nations. The Windows maker quietly announced this little tidbit earlier this week. Microsoft also revealed that its mobile OS had outsold BlackBerry BBRY in 26 different markets. Overall, Windows Phone has obtained 10 percent of the market in a "number of countries." These vague details led to a mountain of speculation. What were the countries in question and why weren't they listed in the original blog post? The New York Times has provided a few answers. According to the famed publication, Windows Phone beat the iPhone in six countries: Argentina, India, Poland, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine. What about the seventh country? It turns out that a series of smaller nations, such as Croatia, have been lumped together in one category that researchers at IDC refer to as the "rest of central and eastern Europe." Benzinga has reached out to IDC to inquire about the identities of the 26 countries where Windows Phone reportedly outsold BlackBerry. This article will be updated accordingly when those details are provided. In the meantime, it appears that China is one of those nations. According to Computerworld, Windows Phone has already obtained seven percent of the Chinese market. This sales surge occurred only two months after release. Windows Phone also outsold BlackBerry in the United States last fall. Sales are expected to continue growing, with an estimated increase of 150 percent by the end of the year. To be fair, BlackBerry 10 was not available in 2012. While the company (formerly known as Research In Motion) had planned to release its next product in time for Christmas, BlackBerry delayed the flagship OS until early 2013. Earlier today BlackBerry announced that it had shipped one million BB10 handsets during the last quarter. That is less than 10 percent of the 11.1 million BlackBerry devices that were shipped during the three-month period. As anticipated, the vast majority of those units were for the older OS -- BB7. While many have been quick to criticize BlackBerry's results, Ovum analyst Jan Dawson advised reporters and investors to reserve judgment until after the following quarter. "[Observers should] wait for the next quarter's results, which will be a much better indicator of the long-term success or failure of the platform," he said. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis@benzingapro.com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ