Microsoft ships 2 million Windows Phone 7 handsets
Microsoft has revealed sales figures relating to its newest mobile platform, and the news is that two million Windows Phone 7 handsets have been shipped to carriers.
The news came to light in an interview with website All Thing Digital and marks an impressive last month for the company, given that it announced shipments of one and a half million in December.
What isn’t clear is how many of those shipments translate into sales to consumers, but according to senior product manager Greg Sullivan, feedback on the handsets has been largely positive. “When people use the phone, they really, really like it,” Sullivan told All Things Digital.
Sullivan goes on to explain that according to recent customer satisfaction data, 93 percent of early Windows Phone 7 adopters were either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their purchases.
“One of the key ways that we’ll measure success of Windows Phone is did we ship a phone people love,” says Sullivan. “That’s a really great number.”
On the flipside, LG Electronics, one of Microsoft’s smartphone partners, has announced that the initial push of the phone was ‘less than we expected’ so perhaps the handsets have yet to find a place among a wide range of customers just yet. We’ll wait to hear Microsoft’s actual figures on customer take-up before judging, then,
Meanwhile, one of Microsoft’s competitors, Google, has been reported as ‘unhappy’ at the slow uptake of paid-for applications for its Android platform. It was always going to take time for Google Marketplace to catch up with Apple’s iTunes but according to reports, Google is nonetheless still displeased at the poor uptake of paid-for apps among users.
As for Windows Phone 7, consumers can expect an update before long to improve app performance and add other functions. For vendors, it’s another opportunity to market the handsets in what is fast becoming a fiercely competitive marketplace.
