The halo effect of having a hit on desktops and laptops is hopefully going to bring Windows 10 Mobile along for the ride, at least to some degree. Just as a data point, I noted that sources within Microsoft have now counted over 80 million unique installations of Windows 10 - though of course it's early days, with 2 billion or so PC users in the world. Still, we're on track for around 130 million users by the end of 2015. Add in another 40 million Windows 8.x users and that's a decent installed base for an ecosystem of applications and a tile-friendly interface that will be recognisable in phone shops across the world. Well... that's the theory, anyway!

From the short article at Petri.com:

Not long ago, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 had surpassed 75 million installs and that number continues to grow with my insider sources telling me that the OS is installed on more than 81 million machines.

Windows 10 is crucial for Microsoft’s future success in the enterprise and consumer markets. Seeing as Windows 8 was largely ignored by the enterprise and that the consumer did not warm up to the OS, if Windows 10 does not succeed, that means Windows 7 is the long term future for the company. But, with Windows 10 already taking 5% of the marketshare for desktop operating systems, the initial feedback suggests that the OS is off to a good start.

And while the 81 million figure represents the total base, Microsoft has provided a small glimpse into the enterprise sector where they have stated that there are 1.5 million installs of its Enterprise SKU. They also touted that the OS is actively being tested and considered for deployment in corporations around the world and they expect that number to grow quickly.

Which is all very positive. I should remind everyone again about Microsoft's stated reframing of the goals for Windows 10 Mobile and their own first party hardware:

In the revised (see above) release text, Satya and the team added:

We’ll bring business customers the best management, security and productivity experiences they need; value phone buyers the communications services they want; and Windows fans the flagship devices they’ll love.

Which is interesting, only necessarily guaranteeing Windows 10 Mobile hardware at the top end. Certainly the current mass of budget offerings isn't bringing in huge success. My best guess at a simplication of the range would be, at the budget end (think 640), lower-mid range (think 640 XL) and top end (think 950 and 950 XL, these are dead certs in my opinion), all complementing other first party hardware such as the Surface 3 hybrids and tech oddities like Hololens and Surface Hub. And hopefully less phone variants and less pandering to networks around the world. Just produce some no compromise great hardware to run Windows 10 Mobile on and let the market decide. 

It's clear that transferring allegiance to Windows 10 onto the smartphone as well isn't a 'given', though a combination of familiarity, services, together with good value products, at least gives Windows 10 Mobile a chance to get a good foothold in the market.