The doom and gloom merchants have been banging away about the imminent death of Microsoft for months now, but could it be that the Redmond firm is actually on the verge of making a stunning comeback?

That depends who on who you believe. Until now, Microsoft has been suspiciously quiet about the number of Windows-based tablets its sold, leading cynics to suggest that the reason is because there’s just not that much to say. Of course, very few analysts have seriously considered that Redmond’s coyness might just be some kind of smokescreen to hide how well it’s been doing.

It’s probably a bit too early to tell, but new numbers released today by the research firm Strategy Analytics suggest that Microsoft’s mobile strategy is in a far healthier state than anyone cared to admit. In the last three months, Redmond and its manufacturing partners shipped over three million Windows tablets worldwide, giving it an impressive 7.4% share of the global tablet market. Readers are reminded of course, that this comes just a week after Microsoft stunned everyone by recording significant Q1 profit increases across the board for its last quarter.

Strategy Analytics didn’t break down the separate figures for the Windows 8 and Windows RT versions (which run on ARM-based devices) in its report, though its chief analyst Peter King later told UK website PC Pro that its likely that the latter version is still struggling, citing distribution and licensing fees as the two biggest problems. According to King, a large number of consumers are disappointed with the RT’s performance in comparison to Win 8, and this has left vendors waiting for Microsoft to come up with a response.

RT might be struggling, but for Windows 8 tablets its an entirely different story. Though its market share is still dwarfed by Apple and Android, capturing 7.4% is a big, big improvement for Microsoft when you consider that six months ago its tablet strategy was pretty much non-existent (no, we’re not including the rubbish Windows 7 tablets).

Nevertheless, there’s still lots of work to be if Microsoft really want to be taken seriously. Strategy Analytic’s comments that Windows 8 devices remain something of a niche product compared to the overwhelming variety of cheap and cheerful Android tablets, and the all-powerful Apple iPad, which remains the undisputed tablet king. Overall, the various iPad flavors accounted for 19.5 million units shipped, with Android in a not-too-distant second place with 17.6 million tablets shipped.

The theory that Windows 8 tablets are a niche product is affirmed by King, who told PC Pro that the devices were performing extremely well in B2B and vertical markets, though they are yet to resonate with consumers. This might change with the introduction of Intel’s new Bay Trail chips, which will most likely be used to power an array of ARM-based devices and consumer focused Win8 devices such as the reputed 7-inch Surface tablet. With these chips likely to slash the cost of Windows tablets to under $300, Android in particular could well be in for a challenge.

There could also be a challenge from China. While all the eyes have been on the “big three”, Strategy Analytics reports a big increase in the number of ultra low-cost, no-name “white-box” tablets running forked versions of Android emerging from the land of copycats. This comes following a prediction last year that white-box tablet makers could ship as many as 60 million devices throughout 2013.

Strategy Analytics notes that if white-boxes were added to Android shipments, this would give the OS an overall 52% market share, leaving iOS well behind in second place with just a 41% share.

Overall, the last quarter proved to be the most successful one so far in the history of tablets, with demand from consumers and business users both seeing unprecedented growth.