First-day sales of 40,000 Windows Phone 7 devices. That’s the estimate from a leading financial site, which, if true, could represent a relatively weak U.S. launch for Microsoft’s new mobile platform. In the words of Microsoft’s current Phone 7 advertising campaign, “Really?”
On Tuesday, TheStreet.com reported that figure, citing “a market-research source who tracks phone sales.” By contrast, Apple took 600,000 pre-orders for its most recent iPhone 4 on the first day of availability, and Google has said it is activating more than 200,000 Android-based phones every day.
Lack of In-Store Promotion?
On Monday, three Phone 7 devices were released — the Samsung Focus and HTC Surround through AT&T, and the HTC HD7 through T-Mobile. By Tuesday, there were reports that the HD7 was sold out, but it wasn’t clear how many units were available through the carrier.
There are also reports of a dearth of in-store promotion for Phone 7 devices at AT&T or T-Mobile stores, with valuable promotion space instead dedicated to Apple’s iPhone at AT&T stores former and Android devices at T-Mobile stores.
The HTC HD7 offers a 4.3-inch, 800×480 touchscreen, internal storage up to 8GB, 576MB of RAM, 720p HD video, and a five-megapixel camera. The Surround features a slide-out speaker for sharing music, internal storage up to 16GB, and 720p HD video. The Focus offers a four-inch Super AMOLED display, a five-megapixel camera with panorama and other enhanced photo options, internal storage up to 8GB, and 720p HD video. Both the HD7 and the Surround have a kickstand for hands-free viewing.
The LG Quantum and Dell Venue Pro are expected to be released in the U.S. in the next few weeks, and Phone 7 handsets have been on sale in New Zealand, Europe and the Asian Pacific since last month.
How Long To One Million?
Some observers are noting that the real indication…