Windows Phone now makes one in 10 smartphones sold across the five major European markets as it overtook iOS in Italy and is gaining momentum in emerging markets, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

The Android operating system, run by Google, continues to dominate across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain with 71.9 per cent sale share, an increase of 4.2 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

In Britain, Windows accounts for 11.4 per cent of the market but Android is still the number one operating system with 58.4 per cent while BlackBerry now only has 3.1 per cent. Apple‘s iOS has dipped by one percentage point to 27 per cent, although it is expected to strengthen at Christmas.

Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech explained: “August is traditionally a quiet month for Apple as consumers wait for the release of new models, and strong sales of the iPhone 5S and 5C at the end of September did not manage to make up for the lull. The full impact of the new iPhones will be seen at Christmas when iOS is expected to bounce back strongly in Britain, the US and Australia.”

Smartphone percentage penetration in Great Britain stands at 68 per cent in September, with 87 per cent of devices sold in the past three months being smartphones.

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.

Mr Sunnebo added: “With the smartphone market in developed countries so congested, it is emerging economies that now present manufacturers with the best opportunity for growth.”

“Nokia dominated in Latin America for many years, and while its popularity declined with the fortunes of Symbian it now has an opportunity to regain the top-spot. The majority of consumers in Latin America still own a Nokia feature phone and upgrading to an entry level Lumia is a logical next step. Price is the main barrier in developing markets and the budget Lumia 520 opens the door to smartphone ownership for many.”

In a bid to boost its mobile phone marketing strategy Microsoft agreed a deal to buy Nokia‘s mobile phone business for £4.6bn in September this year. One in four Windows Phones sold in the US are low-end Lumia handsets and Nokia are on course to sell 10m handsets in Q4 2013.