A bigger and savvier marketing push can help, but people have to be willing to buy Windows Phone handsets over better-know rivals. And there's some data that suggests they are.

The NPD Group's Connected Intelligence service data from a consumer survey. One set of numbers confirmed that Android continues to account for about half of all smartphone purchases in the U.S. in the last three quarters.

As writer Ingrid Lunden noted, in covering this survey, "[H]ere's a curious fact: when all mobile users who either owned a smartphone or intended to purchase one were asked about what kinds of devices they want to buy next, 44 percent also said that they were considering Windows Phone 7 devices -- meaning that the door is open for significantly more sales of Windows Phone 7 devices, if Microsoft and OEMs (and specifically its newest and biggest OEM, Nokia) get their acts together."

Lunden noted the new data showed that 45% of consumers say they are "unaware" of the Windows Phone OS. Another data point: "And among the 50 percent of consumers who said they will be buying a smartphone [in the coming quarter], but didn't want to buy a Windows Phone, the biggest reason, accounting for 46 percent of respondents, was because they didn't know enough about the Windows Phone OS."

"Microsoft's ad campaign needs to focus on what is the value of this operating system," says Ramon Llama, senior research analyst for mobile devices at market research firm IDC. "Android and iOS can have a 'carousel' of homepages. Microsoft's UI with its Live Tiles and Hubs [of related apps and services] is a big change from those static icons."