Month: December 2010

Did Microsoft really sell 1.5 million of Windows Phone 7 devices in 6 weeks?

If you are Microsoft or Paul Thurrott, then you would say yes. If you are not either of them, you might have more questions about the number. If you are Paul Thurrott then you would argue that Microsoft did sell 1.5 million of Windows Phone 7 devices in 6 weeks.

In Windows Weekly 188, Paul Thurrott simply defends Microsoft’s sales number using some salesperson language. To paraphrase:

“Well, a sale is a sale. Microsoft does not sell any Windows Phone 7 phone to end consumer. Microsoft sells Windows Phone 7 licenses to phone manufacturers, It is obvious that Microsoft sells more than 1.5 million of Windows Phone 7 licenses. Phone manufacturers have sold 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 phone to retailers. So don’t you dare dispute Microsoft’s sales numbers! So sayeth Paul Thurrott, Microsoft P.R. Person.”

I might have taken some poetic license in paraphrasing Thurrott. Listen to Windows Weekly 188 and you’ll sense the tensions between Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott talking about the subject. In the end, Leo Laporte took a step back and let Thurrott have his words.

Based on that, I am certain that there are a lot less Windows Phone 7 devices sold to end users than what Microsoft and Paul Thurrott want everyone to believe.