Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform is approaching a double-digit market share in the five biggest European markets, driven by Nokia’s push into the low-end and mid-range, according to the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

Windows Phone market share in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, stood at 9.2 per cent for the three months ended August 2013, up 4.2 percentage points year-on-year. And the platform is particularly strong in France and the UK, with 10.8 per cent and 12 per cent share respectively.

Nokia’s strength comes from devices such as the Lumia 520 and Lumia 620. “These models are hitting the sweet spot with 16 to 24 year-olds and 35 to 49 year-olds, two key groups that look for a balance of price and functionality in their smartphone,” Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar, said.

The big loser was BlackBerry, which saw a 3.4 point share drop, to just 2.4 per cent, across the “EU5”. The “others” category also shrank by 4.0 points, presumably through shrinkage for Symbian OS and Samsung’s Bada.

While Android saw a 1.3 per cent increase across the five markets, it is pressured in some countries. “After years of increasing market share, Android has now reached the point where significant growth in developed markets is becoming harder to find,” Sunnebo said.

In terms of vendors, Samsung, HTC, BlackBerry and Motorola all saw shrinkage, with Apple, Sony, Nokia, LG, and “other” all making gains.