Setting the numbers straight on Windows Phone 7

Seattle Times ^ | May 28, 2010 at 3:59 PM | Sharon Pian Chan

[SmokingJoe]

Numbers for Microsoft's new mobile phone sales projections are ricocheting around the echo chamber of the tech blogosphere Friday and research firm IDC wants to set them straight.

Microsoft plans to start selling a new version of its mobile phone called Windows Phone 7 for the holidays. MobileTechWorld reported Microsoft expects to sell 30 million of the new phones by end of 2011, based on a slide shown at a ReMIX conference. The Thursday report cited IDC, the research firm in Framingham, Mass., as the source. ReMIX is a Microsoft Web developer conference where the company is courting developers to build apps for Windows Phone 7.

I talked to Will Stofega, a wireless industry analyst at IDC Friday, and he said the numbers are not from IDC. "We don’t know who used it and where it came from. It’s kind of disturbing," Stofega said. Also, he said, "We're really pissed." And, "No one ever called to see if this was a mistake that someone made."

IDC forecasts mobile phone shipments based on operating system, and does not break out specific devices such as Windows Phone 7, Stofega said. When it forecasts the Microsoft shipments, he said, it includes past operating systems such as Windows Mobile 6.5, as well as Windows Phone 7.

Here are IDC's projections for phone shipments, based on operating system, in the year 2011. The projections were made in March:

Microsoft, including Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Phone 7: 32 million

Apple iPhone - 36 million

Google Android - 42 million

Stofega said these are shipments projected for 2011, not the number of handsets already sold and in use.

Here is a screenshot below of MobileTechWorld's story below with the slide in question

[SmokingJoe]

Robbie Bach and his people can't even quote IDC numbers right. How pathetic is that?

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Microsoft expects to sell 30 million of the new phones by end of 2011...

IDC's projections for phone shipments...in the year 2011... Microsoft, including Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Phone 7: 32 million

Hmmm... What's the problem here? Microsoft says they'll sell 30 million Windows Phone 7 phones in 2011. IDC is upset and says that it will be 32 million Windows 7 and Windows 6.5. Seems that the only real difference is how many may be Windows Phone 7 units sold. If past trends are any indication, Windows 6.5 will be quickly phased out as Windows Phone 7 rolls. Try to find a Windows 6.1 phone now; that was last year's MS phone OS of choice.

Interesting to see that Microsoft is still targeted to stay close to the iPhone. And that Android is going to beat both by a good margin. Maybe the iPhone isn't the "god of all smart phones" that it's been constant trumpeted to be!

[q_an_a]

Dropped calls - the AT&T iphone hsitroy is terrible. The phone is good.

[DemonDeac]

“Interesting to see that Microsoft is still targeted to stay close to the iPhone. And that Android is going to beat both by a good margin. Maybe the iPhone isn’t the “god of all smart phones” that it’s been constant trumpeted to be! “

Of course you are talking about one model phone on one crap provider versus several dozen phones on several services. Imagine the numbers on the iPhone if it wasn’t shackled to ATT.

[norraad]

Agree, the technology is there, but is f’d by Dogbert mismanagement(the problem is hsitroyical).