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Microsoft ships 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

Summary: Microsoft says that it has shipped 2 million handsets to carriers, but there's still no word on how many have been sold to customers.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Microsoft says that it has shipped 2 million handsets to carriers, but there's still no word on how many have been sold to customers.

Greg Sullivan, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 group product manager, announced this figure in an interview with Bloomberg News. This figure represents the number of handsets shipped to carriers and NOT the number of handsets sold to consumers. This figure still remains a mystery.

We do get one metric though - Sullivan said that customer satisfaction was at 93% and brand awareness was at 66%, up 22% since the platform was released.

We previously got a heads-up when the company had shipped 1.5 million handsets to carriers.

Sullivan also announced that there are 6,500 applications for the Windows Phone platform and 24,000 developers signed up on board.

Topics: Mobility, Hardware, Microsoft, Windows

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  • It sucks!

    It's dead, it's ugly, it's Microsoft's, it's boring, it's..... uh, what else do all the haters say about it? Oh, it'll be in the bargain bin by [Insert Date Here], um.... I think that's about it.

    :)
    The one and only, Cylon Centurion
    Reply Vote

    • We could say all of those things, but, really we just want to know how many

      were SOLD.
      DonnieBoy
      Reply Vote

      • Why?

        @DonnieBoy

        Why does it matter to you how many have been sold?
        rapson
        Reply Vote

      • rapson, if Microsoft sold half a million more licenses

        beyond the initial 1.5 million, then DonnieBoy is worried that people actually like the operating System.

        Would that not equate to less Android handsets sold?
        Tim Cook
        Reply Vote

      • Carl: Mostly...

        @rapson
        ...so we can determine whether this is news or propaganda.

        Showing only the number of units shipped to ISPs does make it rather easy for MS to make WP7 look more popular than it actually is.
        John L. Ries
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @rapson - Boy, have YOU been eating the Microsoft turds! Sales to the consumer mean EVERYTHING! MS could ship 1 billion units to outlets. Unless they sell that number of shipments means NOTHING!

        Dag nab it, Carl, I though you were smarter than that!
        The Danger is Microsoft
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

      @Cylon Centurion 0005 I do notice that there are fewer comparisons to the KIN now... of course it's outlasted the KIN...

      I played with the 3 models AT&T had for about an hour before deciding to stick with iOS and get an iPhone 4 a few months ago... but if I was upgrading to a smartphone from a feature phone I think I would have gone with a WP7 despite my not liking the Metro UI as much as I do iOS. I liked the HTC Surround the best out of the three.

      Having said that I am curious to see how many have sold but IMHO it's up to AT&T being the seller of the devices to provide the sales info not Microsoft.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @athynz - Not really. AT&T could care less about specific models (except, perhaps, for stocking levels). Microsoft KNOWS how many are sold, since that's when they realize the profit and it gets recorded as a 'sale' (per GAAP requirements).

        It's up to MS...and they still keep dodging the issue. Hmmm...wonder why???
        The Danger is Microsoft
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

      @Cylon Centurion 0005

      You've missed the most important point.

      Why hasn't anyone told Donnie how many phones were sold?

      Oh and it's still the best current mobile phone and as long as I have one and Microsoft supports it, I really don't care how many are sold.

      Notice that all the trolls can do is try and put out FUD on sales and complain about the tiles - obviously they enjoy static icons to siloed apps or think they're phones should be challenging rather than easy to use.

      Donnie and the rest are desperate. They can see it is the best phone and it's really causing them a lot of cognitive dissonance.

      And that's a half million increase. If Donnie's wet dream of WP7 licences lieing idle is true, how could they sell more?

      It's getting a bit depressing and sad under the bridge ;-)
      tonymcs@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @tonymcs@ So why do you like to sit under the bridge? I honestly do not understand you trolls.<br><br>The reason people want to know how many are actually activated is simple. This is supposed to be the best phone you can buy. But as it turns out it is starting to look like another Microsoft kin. All hype, and no substance. I have yet to see one in the wild, but I do see plenty of Android phone and iOS phones, in the wild. Whit the massive sales number Microsoft is throwing out, youd expect to see just about everyone using one. My honest guess is that only 10% to 15% are in actual use the rest are sitting in a stockroom, or warehouse somewhere (next to those kin phones). ;)
        Rick_K
        Reply Vote

      • That'd be quite impossible...

        @Rick_K
        Unless AT&T or T-Mobile are sharing warehouse space with Verizon, there's little chance that WP7 phones would languish in the same warehouse as a Kin. Remember - Sprint and Verizon haven't gotten any WP7 love yet.
        Wolfie2K3
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @Wolfie2K3
        I was kidding. The point was it might end up like the last failed Microsoft phone product.
        Rick_K
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @tonymcs@... Until MS reports how many they recognize revenue for (i.e. how many consumers purchased) it's a mute point. Here's hoping you picked a winner!!
        The Danger is Microsoft
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @tonymcs@... So it's the best mobile phone OS currently available in your opinion? Great, I am glad you got what you wanted but that doesn't make it the best for everyone. As far as anybody putting out FUD, seems to me that is what MS is doing by talking about units shipped and being closed lipped on the actual activation numbers. How long did the half million addition units shipped take? Aren't iOS and Android activating 300K-350K a day? Not that I expect them to do that well this early on but you can't through 1/2 million around like it's some incredible number nobody has ever seen when it's less that two days or activations for either of the two top competitors. You know that if this were Apple you would be one of the first for bashing them about not releasing activation numbers, you can't have it both ways.

        As far as why is it important to release the activation numbers, because developers need to (and dare I say have a right) know the numbers to determine if the platform is worth their investment to develop for now or wait a bit or not at all.
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

      @Cylon Centurion 0005 Aren't they already in the bargain bin? Actually weren't they already in the bargain bin before Christmas?
      rbgaynor
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @rbgaynor Kind of like the Android phones offered free by carriers with a new contract?? Last I checked you couldn't get a free WP7 device with a contract. You actually have to pay a subsidized rate for it. But hey, don't let the facts get in the way of your propaganda. That would take away our entertainment here. LOL
        Tiggster
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

      @Cylon Centurion 0005

      Even if all 2 million were actually sold that is still a pretty disappointing number, but there are a couple points in there that the trolls seem to be missing.

      First, that 93% satisfaction rating is a very nice number, right up in iPhone/iPad territory. Even if the phone doesn't have much traction right now, if customers are that happy with it, it has a strong chance of growing by sheer word of mouth. Right now it's kind of like the best kept secret of phones: where not many people have them or have even really heard of them, but the people that do own one, love them.

      Second, brand awareness has risen dramatically. Since brand awareness is one of WP7s biggest current challenges imo, that is a good sign.

      Third, the 2 million is up 500k from the initial 1.5 million. Meaning at least some of the manufacturers have had enough success to feel the need to build more phones. LG is obviously unhappy, but they had by far the worst phones on the market. No one would choose the LG phone over the Samsung for example except by accident.
      SlithyTove
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @SlithyTove

        Reminds me of the Zune in that those few that owned one loved it, even rating it higher than iPods (best kept secrete). Not saying WP7 will end up like the Zune, just pointing out that Just because it received a high user rating does not equal future success.

        Marketing/advertising, OEMs hardware offering, feature/firmware updates especially when compared to iOS and Android....these all plays a part in it's success.
        dave95.
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @SlithyTove - Yes, and as per usual MS will blame the OEM's for the failure to sell WP7 (just like WinCE, .Net, Vista, etc.).<br><br>Face it. MOST people don't LIKE MS warez. They only buy them when forced to (like Office, Win 95, 97, 2000, XP, etc.).
        The Danger is Microsoft
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Microsoft shifts 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets, no word on how many sold

        @SlithyTove You are absolutely right about the satisfaction rate, that is an impressive number. The issue is that number doesn't mean nearly as much if 200 people have the phone (obvious extreme there) version 2 million people and they are not telling us how many. As far as the additional 500K shipped, that could be due to manufactures having enough success to build more but it could also very well just be more units that were shipping on the initial scheduled order and had absolutely nothing to do with actual consumer sales. The issue is that MS is keeping quiet and that leaves it open to speculation. If they just came out with real numbers rather than being what I consider sneaky by using shipment figures everyone would know and end the speculations.
        non-biased
        Reply Vote
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