Say what you will about Microsoft's previous mobile efforts, but there's no denying the company is firing on all thrusters with Windows Phone 7. During a presentation at ReMIX in France, Redmond cited IDC data suggesting it will ship 30 million WP7 handsets by the end of 2011. For comparison, the company only shipped 3.7 million Windows Mobile phones last winter, according to Gartner.
Microsoft plans to meet that ambitious goal by riding the mounting wave of people adopting smartphones. It's expected that 40% of the handsets sold next year will be smartphones, which compares to an estimated 14% this year. Of course, Microsoft's competitors undoubtedly have the same intentions.
Android phones are gaining serious traction and Apple has managed to carve out a healthy chunk of the mobile arena since the launch of its iPhone in 2007, shipping upwards of 50 million units. With a new model due next month and the potential arrival of CDMA iterations, the iPhone isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
