Microsoft is out with its first official sales number for the new Windows Phone 7 smartphones: 1.5 million in six weeks.
The number was revealed by Achim Berg, vice president of business and marketing for Windows Phones, in a Q&A posted to Microsoft’s website. Berg says the number is, “in line with our expectations – especially when compared to other new platform introductions.”
While that’s a fraction of the sales being reported by Google and Apple (there are currently around 300,000 Android devices being activated daily and 3 million iPhone’s were sold in the device’s first three weeks on the market), it is perhaps better than some were projecting given Microsoft’s unwillingness to talk numbers in recent public appearances by executives.
Earlier this month at All Things Digital’s D: Dive Into Mobile conference, Microsoft Corporate VP for Windows Phone Joe Belfiore acknowledged it would likely be years before Windows Phone 7 comes close to rivaling the market share of its competitors. At least we now have a starting point by which to draw comparisons.
While Apple is pre-announcing sales numbers, Microsoft has come forward with some sales figures of their own — for Windows Phone 7. The first handsets went on sale on October 21 in Europe and November 8 in the US and according to Achim Berg, Microsoft’s vice president of business and marketing for Windows Phones, the sales have meet expectations thus far.
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But more important than that, what about the numbers — 1.5 million smartphones were sold since launch, which is just about six weeks time. All in all, the company seems positive about the milestone and it looks like things are going well for Windows Phone 7, though going well in a fairly quite way.
“We believe that to succeed in mobile you need, first of all, a great product, and we think we have that. What we’re hearing from our customers is that they’re thinking the same way. Additionally, early customer survey data on the overall software experience is very positive and the willingness to recommend our phone is very high. That’s really good for us.”
Interestingly enough, he also went on to state how they (Microsoft) are in this for the long haul, commenting that they are “comfortable” where they are and “are here for the long run.” But more important, they still feel that once a potential customer gets the phone in their hands they will be happy.
“Our opportunity is to make sure people get to play with a Windows Phone. Once they do, they love it. This is very important for us.”
Furthermore, there are now 18,000 registered developers and at present there are more than 4,000 apps available in the Marketplace. Lastly, as for what to look forward to seeing from Windows Phone 7 in the coming year, the promised update as well as “several more mobile operators around the world” and “a broader portfolio of devices from phone manufacturers at different price points.” Sounds like there will be something for everyone.
What do you think of this phone compared to the iPhone?
