Could Windows Phone 7 actually make a dent in iPhone sales? Personally, I always took WP7 as a bit of a joke, but a recent report from IDC makes me think differently. They predict that Windows Phone 7 market share will pass up the iOS as soon as 2015. Personally, I doubted whether Windows Phone 7 would really take off at all, considering the failure of Windows Phone 6. However, IDC believes otherwise.

The report claims that because of Microsoft’s recent partnership with Nokia for a hardware manufacturer will boost Windows Phone 7 to pass Apple’s iOS for the number 2 spot, behind Android. Currently, however, the iOS market share of 15.7%, over ten percent above WP7’s 5.5%, says otherwise. Seeing as Nokia is one of the top mobile phone manufacturers in the world, however, the recent partnership may change that. Nokia’s insistence to stick with the dated Symbian operating system has been widely seen as it’s downfall – so a lot of Nokia supporters are hoping the new operating system may alleviate the recent downturn in Nokia sales figures.

However, no one really knows what Apple has up it’s sleeve, and who knows what the next iteration of the iPhone and iOS might bring, let alone what we might have by the next three to four years? If Windows Phone 7 does indeed pass up iOS, it certainly won’t be an easy fight.

You can view the original report by IDC here.