Windows Phones smartphones achieved record sales in Q4 

Microsoft has announced that they've seen record sales of Windows Phone handsets during the holiday season. The tech super-giant had this to say:

"We’ve seen record sales of Windows Phone this holiday worldwide, nearly doubling phone sales during Christmas week (YOY). In the third quarter this year, according to IDC, Windows Phone reinforced its position as a top three smartphone operating system and was the fastest-growing platform among the leading operating systems with 156% year-over-year gain. Windows Phone is the #2 smartphone operating system in 14 markets, and shipped more units than iPhone in 24 markets in Q3. Our portfolio continues to expand: from award-winning flagship devices like the Nokia Lumia 928/1020/1520, to affordable new innovations like the Lumia 520/625/1320 and Huawei W1/W2."
 

Obviously this is a bit of PR from Microsoft in the form of them patting themselves on the back, but the lack of concrete numbers takes away some of the fun. It should be noted that Microsoft speaks of a record for sales in the holiday season, and not for sales in general, but we guess both are true.
Microsoft also released some comparative data that translates to real Windows Phone usage. They've provided a list of markets where their handsets ou shipped the iPhone, and a list of where Windows Phone is the number two OS of choice.

In case you are wondering what the difference between the two is - the first is for shipments during the Holiday season and the second one is total market penetration. We don't know where Microsoft got its data, but if it's correct, the achievement is certainly impressive


Where Windows Phones shipped more than iPhone:

• Chile

• Colombia 
• Czech Republic 
• Egypt 
• Ecuador 
• Finland 
• Greece 
• Hungary 
• India 
• Italy 
• Kenya 
• Kuwait 
• Malaysia 
• Mexico 
• Nigeria 
• Pakistan 
• Peru 
• Poland 
• Saudi Arabia 
• South Africa 
• Thailand 
• Ukraine 
• United Arab Emirates 
• Vietnam