40,000 Windows 7 Phones Sold

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/did-windows-phone-7-only-sell-40000-handsets-on-launch-day/10288?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+zdnet/hardware+(ZDNet+Hardware+2.0)' target='_blank'>http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/...t+Hardware+2.0)</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Did a $100 million advertising budget only manage to generate 40,000 Windows Phone 7 sales on launch day?"</em></p><p><object width="600" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/EHlN21ebeak&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EHlN21ebeak&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" /></object></p><p>I must say though, the commercial is well done and I laughed out loud several times when I saw it the first time. Even now I chuckle a bit, especially when the guy drops the phone in the urinal and when the son throws the baseball and hits his dad in the head. But I liked Benny Hill too. But my entertainment isn't the question here is it? After throwing approximately $100 million in advertising at the general public, the Windows 7 Phone only sold approximately 40,000 phones on launch day. Some countries sold out however, but still, Microsoft has to be a bit disappointed. Apple's original iPhone was initially a disappointment too, however they activated almost 150,000 of them on the initial launch weekend.&nbsp;</p>

[Macguy59]

I was going to link to that . . . an interesting point was made about the launch being on a Monday instead of Friday or Saturday. Jason, what do your contacts say about this ?

[Jason Dunn]

I was going to link to that . . . an interesting point was made about the launch being on a Monday instead of Friday or Saturday. Jason, what do your contacts say about this ?

I haven't heard anything official yet - but, no joke, I've been trying to get my hands on a Samsung Focus since yesterday morning and can't. No Rogers wireless store (my carrier) has it, and the online salespeople can't access it either. It's not available as an upgrade for me yet, and it seems unless I'm a new customer, I can't order it. If anyone else is like me and trying to buy one, they're probably having the same problem.

I have no idea what things are like in the US, but I've heard several reports of them being sold at out carrier stores - makes me wonder if the carriers underestimated the demand?

Also, let's not forget that no pre-orders were taken, so there's no ability to gauge pent-up demand. I'd have pre-ordered one for sure!

Last point: up here at least, I've seen zero carrier ads for WP7. Not sure if the carriers in the US are advertising - I've only seen the Microsoft commercial on US TV stations. And those commercials don't mention make/model of the phones, or who's carrying them. So from that perspective, it's a bit hard to figure out how you'd buy one. :confused:

I wasn't expecting to see iPhone-like demand...let's face it, Apple products bring a lot of hype and demand with them...but I think 40K with limited availability and no pre-orders, it's not such a bad start.

Let's give it three months and see. :)

[marvi1]

How many more of these disappointments do you think Ballmer will be allowed?

[Macguy59]

More info

Encouraged ? (http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/11/11/att.says.wp7.promising.but.selling.in.low.numbers/)