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The latest numbers from IDC show that Windows Phone is still having a tough time gaining traction, as the operating system was found on just 3.2% of all smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2013. And things could look even worse for Microsoft in the second quarter since Windows Phone devices will have to go toe-to-toe with heavyweight flagships being rolled out by both Samsung and HTC, as well as the low-cost BlackBerry Q5 that BlackBerry is aggressively pushing into emerging markets. In fact, the only company that’s really devoting a lot of resources toward manufacturing and publicizing Windows Phone devices is Nokia, which really has no choice since it has chosen Windows Phone as its exclusive operating system. More →

With Microsoft planning to release an overhauled version of Windows 8 over the summer, some may be wondering when the company will give a similar treatment to its Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system. The answer, says ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, is likely not until 2014. Instead, Foley’s sources say that Windows Phone users can expect three smaller updates to roll out throughout the rest of 2013 in preparation for a more substantial update sometime next year. These updates will include “support for CalDAV and CardDAV, so that it will continue to work with Google contact and calendar syncing services” and will “reintroduce support for FM radio… a feature which was part of the Windows Phone 7 operating system platform, but which was cut for Windows Phone 8.”

It may be time for Steve Ballmer to crank up his famous “Developers, developers, developers!” chant again if it will get software developers more excited about Windows Phone 8. Sameer Singh at Tech-Thoughts has charted the growth history of the three major mobile app stores and has found that Windows Phone’s app store is lagging behind where iOS and Android were 30 months after their initial launches. What’s more, he’s found that the additions of new apps to the Windows Phone 8 app market have markedly slowed over the past six months, whereas iOS and Android both saw significant rises in app additions over the same periods after their initial launches. Singh speculates that the slowdown in interest from developers is due to “limited install base, low user engagement, monetization challenges and regional developer restrictions,” among other factors.