Windows Phone 7 Sales Still Not On Par With Expectations, Steve Ballmer Explains
![Windows Phone 7 Sales Still Not On Par With Expectations, Steve Ballmer Explains [Microsoft CEO Admits to Poor WP7 Smartphone Sales, Doesn’t Provide a Number of Total Activations]](http://tftscdn4.nexus404.com/Blog/thumbnailimages/alt/windows-8-samsung-tablet-pc-2TFTSThumb220153.jpg)
Yesterday, when looking at the impressive 500,000 downloads of the Windows 8 developer preview that occurred in less than a day, I was making the case that Microsoft is trying to subliminally turn Windows Phone 7 into a popular mobile OS with help of Windows 8.
The Metro UI, that’s going to be part of Windows 8 devices is one of the main features of Windows Phone 7, one that differentiates it from its competitors. By incorporating it into a desktop OS, Microsoft is basically paving the way for future Windows Phone 7 sales as customers will eventually grow more familiar, and possibly more fond of that interface to want phones running a similar OS.
Considering that Windows 8 will probably be installed on up to 500 million computers, in the following years, and I’m speculating now based on the current progress of Windows 7, that’s a very large base of potential Windows Phone 7 buyers too.
I appreciated the fact that Microsoft is disclosing its Windows 8 developer preview was downloaded half a million times in a short time frame but I also mentioned I don’t like the fact the company is not mentioning any actual number regarding Windows Phone 7 activations. Apple and Google throw such numbers to the public all the time.
Some of the readers believed I was taking a stance against Windows 8, but that’s not where I was going with my argument. I was simply observing what I already stated above, the Windows 8 may also be a launch pad for future Windows Phone versions, a way of marketing this mobile OS.
Today Steve Ballmer acknowledged the fact that Windows Phone 7 sales are not on par with the company’s expectations. We already knew that since Windows Phone 7 sales are missing from Microsoft’s current earnings reports. Speaking at the company’s financial analyst meeting Ballmer said:
“We haven’t sold quite as many as I would have liked in the first year.”
“I’m not saying I love where we are but I am very optimistic on where we can be. We’ve just got to kick this thing to the next level.”
“With Nokia we have a dedicated hardware partner that is all-in on Windows Phones,” Ballmer said. “They are not doing something on Android or [any other operating system].”
On a different but related note, I keep reading forecasts for the mobile environment for the near future and everyone is expecting Windows Phone smartphones and Windows tablets to gain more and more market share in the years to come. But what kind of catalyst will finally help make WP7 handsets popular? Is it going to be Nokia, or is it going to be Windows 8?
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The TFTS Team
>everyone is expecting Windows Phone smartphones and Windows tablets to gain more and more market share in the years to come
Actually, only Microsoft employees are expecting that. Gartner and IDC were paid to say they’re expecting it, but don’t really believe it. Nokia and Windows 8 can’t save this thing – they can just go down the drain with it.