SMARTPHONE DEVELOPER Microsoft has managed to stem the slide of Windows Phone 7 (WP7) smartphone operating system market share in the US, according to analyst outfit NPD Group.

NPD Group's figures for US smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2011 holds few surprises, with Google's Android marginally increasing its share of the pie to 52 per cent and Apple's IOS experiencing a similarly small gain up to 29 per cent. In the past those gains would be at the expense of Microsoft's dead Windowns Mobile operating system and its latest money hole WP7, however NPD's figures show that Microsoft's market share held steady.

Since Microsoft launched WP7 at the tail end of 2010, the company has been tight lipped on sales figures, though it was widely reported that Microsoft spent the best part of $400m advertising WP7 devices. Smartphone sales figures had shown Microsoft's efforts were in vain as its share of the smartphone market was slowly being eroded away thanks primarily to Google's Android, however finally someone has reported that WP7 has held its ground.

Although Microsoft has managed to halt the decline, the truth is that WP7 is near rock bottom as it is. NPD reports that Windows smartphones, which includes both WP7 and Windows Mobile, made up just five percent of units sold in the second quarter.

It's not all doom and gloom for Microsoft, however. The company will be eyeing Android's 52 per cent market share as a potential gold mine as tries to flog licences for Google's operating system to device manufacturers, claiming Android infringes its patents.