Now that we’re a month into the New Year, it’s about time to forecast how the year will pan out for certain companies, and how it will end up as 2013 draws to a close, right?

Okay, it is a bit early, but ABI Research certainly doesn’t think so, as it has come out with its forecasts for 2013, including detailed information on how the Windows Phone and BlackBerry will fare over the course of the next eleven months.

Overall, ABI is reporting that the total number of smartphones worldwide will reach 1.4 billion by year’s end, and of this number, 45 million will reportedly be active Windows Phones, and 20 million will be active BlackBerry 10s.

In addition, Microsoft will likely have around 5.5 million Windows-powered tablets at the same time.

These numbers may seem unimpressive, but ABI is reporting that it is still enough to keep developers interested, despite the steep competition Windows and BlackBerry face from iOS and Android.

“2013 should be seen as a relative success for both Microsoft and BlackBerry,” said Aapo Markkanen, senior analyst at ABI. “Our view is that the installed bases of this scale would be large enough to keep these two in the game.”

Still, Markkanen acknowledges the road ahead will be rough, as ABI forecasts 57 percent of the global smartphone total will run on Android by the end of 2013, and 21 percent will run on iOS.

Tablets are also set to hit 268 million active units by the same time, with 62 percent running on iOS and 28 percent on Android.

“The greatest fear for both Microsoft and BlackBerry is that the initial sales of their smartphones will disappoint and thereby kill off the developer interest, which then would effectively close the window of opportunity on further sales successes,” explained Markkanen, noting that “both firms have actively kept the developers’ interest in mind while designing and rolling out their platforms.”

So the future, if ABI’s report is any indication (and it likely is), is looking brighter than expected for Microsoft and BlackBerry in the smartphone business sector.

For a look at the report in full, click here.