Windows Phone gains momentum, overtakes iOS in Italy

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Microsoft's Windows Phone is starting to gain popularity in Europe.

Windows Phone now accounts for 10 percent of smartphone sales in Europe's five biggest markets, research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech said Monday. Windows Phone has performed so well in Italy that it's now more popular in that country than Apple's iOS.

"Windows Phone, driven almost entirely by Nokia sales, continues to make rapid progress in Europe and has also shown signs of growth in emerging markets such as Latin America," Kantar said.

Despite the improvements, Windows Phone is still a long ways behind Android. According to Kantar, Android owns 71.9 percent of Europe's mobile market, up 4.2 percentage points compared with last year.

Looking beyond Europe, Kantar reported that Android now holds 81.1 percent of China's smartphone market.