Will Windows Phones Be Successful in 2012?

Recently, there has been a lot of talk concerning the lack of success of Windows phones; however, according to Greg Sullivan, senior product manager for Windows Phone 7, things are not over for Windows phones. Sullivan said that 2012 should prove to be a great year for the phone line.

At CES the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900 were debuted featuring Microsoft’s platform. It seems that Sullivan feels that these are just two of the many great Windows phones that will help get Microsoft’s numbers back on track.

"We're seeing great hardware from all our partners. AT&T is clearly very excited and is putting a lot behind the platform. It's not just a piece of software that got thrown over the transom to succeed or fail," Sullivan said.

Although Windows Phone seems to be having some success with AT&T, that does not mean that the other major U.S. carriers are just as excited about it. Earlier at CES, executives at Sprint were expressing their concerns about the sales numbers for Windows phones.

"We have a Windows device in our lineup, but honestly, it hasn't done well enough for us to jump back into the fire. We told Microsoft: You guys have to go build the enthusiasm for the product. We'll train our reps on why it's great...[but] the number-one reason the product was returned was the user experience," said VP of Sprint’s product realization David Owen.

Lois Fagan, director of product development for Sprint, also commented, "We want to participate in the market, but we can't build that brand by ourself. We're cautiously optimistic, but [Windows Phone] just hasn't taken off."

Sullivan responded to these remarks saying, “That's something that our Sprint team and the folks back in Redmond can work on. We're working closely with carriers to help show how Windows Phone can meet their needs across an array of slots."

Sullivan also made sure to back the statements that Nokia CEO Stephen Elop had made concerning the false rumors about Microsoft buying Nokia’s smartphone business.

"It would make it more difficult for us to have as thriving a third-party hardware ecosystem if we were directly competing with them," he said. "I think that's a challenge Google is going to face with the Motorola mobile acquisition."

Sullivan believes that there is plenty of time for Microsoft to catch up with other phone operating systems.

"This is like the PC market in the early to mid-80s. If you were going to declare a victor then, what would it have been? CP/M? Apple II? I think declaring the smartphone space locked up and done is like declaring CP/M the victor in the early '80s."

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Microsoft Sells 1.5 Million Windows 7 Phones

On Tuesday, December 21 Microsoft announced that it has sold more than 1.5 million Windows 7 phones in the first six weeks of sales. Unfortunately, those numbers represent the sale of phones to retail stores and carriers. The sales numbers of devices actually sold to customers are most likely much lower.

"Sales are ramping well as our reputation is growing for offering users a unique experience and are in line with our expectations – especially when compared to other new platform introductions," Achim Berg, corporate vice president of mobile communications at Microsoft, said in a statement. "With a new platform you have to look at a couple of things, first of all customer satisfaction."

This is good to hear because there were very disappointing sales numbers when the phone was first released. The Windows 7 phone was built up by the company but only sold 40,000 devices on their launch day. The phone was available through AT&T and T-Mobile. According to a market research source who tracks phone sales and such, Microsoft spent $100 million on an advertising campaign for the phone. Just to give you a comparison, Apple sold more than 2 million iPhone 4s in just the first two days.

Roger Entner, a Nielsen telecom analyst, said at the time that, "It's early in the game. Not every product surges right out of the starting blocks. The first Android phone was not a big seller at T-Mobile."

He continued saying that the Christmas season would really tell how well the phone would do. "We'll see what happens with Black Friday sales," he said. "They'll probably cut prices like everyone else does. It's the nature of the beast. The only one that doesn't do promotions is Apple."

Entner was right. Microsoft has been much more successful since the slow start. Selling 1.5 million devices in the first six weeks is an accomplishment considering the original sales numbers for the devices. Berg did not discuss the U.S. sales versus international, but he did say, “We know we have tough competition, and this is a completely new product. We're in the race – it's not a sprint but we are certainly gaining momentum and we're in it for the long run.”

Berg continued saying that Microsoft had “realistic” expectations for its Windows 7 phones. “We started fresh with Windows Phone 7, and it's a different kind of phone. Measuring for success is more long term than short term," he said.

He further discussed the Windows Phone Marketplace, which now has 4,000 apps and 18,000 different developers creating apps. "We're comfortable with where we are, and we are here for the long run; Windows Phone 7 is just the beginning," Berg said. Berg said that sales are “in line” with Microsoft’s expectations.

Berg promised that the company is planning on releasing several updates for the Windows 7 phone lineups over the next few months. The lineup was released in October. Five different Windows 7 devices are available in the U.S. from AT&T and T-Mobile including the HTC Surround, the LG Quantum, the Samsung Focus, the HTC HD7, and the Dell Venue Pro. It is expected that Windows 7 phones will be offered at both Sprint and Verizon by next year.

It will be interesting to see if sales really do well over the long haul. Microsoft seems very confident in the idea that their phones will be successful in the long term. It’s definitely no iPhone, but I believe that the Windows 7 phones will do well and that the addition of phones from Verizon and Sprint will cause the sales numbers to most definitely increase.

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