Windows Phone 7 devices made their North American debut yesterday and it may have been a slow start for Microsoft’s mobile OS reboot. Citing “a market research source who tracks phone sales,” The Street is reporting that some 40,000 devices were sold through AT&T and T-Mobile USA on the first day. Neither carrier provided details on the number of devices sold but a T-Mobile spokesperson indicated that there was “strong interest from our customers right out of the gate” for the HTC HD7 (which is sold out for now).
Industry strategist Michael Cote with Cote Collaborative suggests that Microsoft should have launched its devices on a Friday or Saturday, historically the best launch days. It may have also confused customers with too many devices although it may less be less about the number of devices rather than the fact that they are all quite similar in terms of specifications.
With a reported US$500 million set aside by Microsoft for marketing and a busy holiday season ahead of us, it is still early days for Microsoft’s new OS. One day’s worth of unsubstantiated sales data is unlikely to tell us where Windows Phone 7 is headed.