Microsoft Sells 40K Windows 7 Phones
NEW YORK (TheStreet) — As big-splash debuts go, Microsoft's(MSFT_) Windows Phone 7 launch at AT&T(T_) and T-Mobile didn't exactly make waves Monday. Even with a glitzy media intro last month hosted by champion inside-seller and company chief Steve Ballmer …
Context & Ripple Effects
Windows Phone 7 arrived Monday on AT&T and T-Mobile after Steve Ballmer's glitzy October media introduction, but the opening number was small: about 40,000 handsets sold on day one. CNET's launch-day accounting had already flagged the muted reception the morning before the first sales tally landed.
The soft debut lands against a competitive backdrop the corpus makes concrete: T-Mobile stores have begun stocking Apple iPhone and iPod connector cables — confirmed by the carrier as serving unlocked and roaming devices — while reports circulate, unconfirmed, that T-Mobile could be a darkhorse to break AT&T's US iPhone exclusivity. The Street's story was picked up in parallel by PC World, which framed Windows Phone 7's fortunes around a million-unit sales benchmark.
First-order effects
- Microsoft and its two launch carriers now have a day-one datapoint of roughly 40,000 units to defend, putting immediate pressure on AT&T and T-Mobile marketing spend and in-store placement for the platform.
- Ballmer, who hosted last month's high-profile introduction, owns the narrative gap between that splash and the quiet sell-through reported by The Street.
Second-order effects
- If early Windows Phone 7 velocity stays thin, T-Mobile's floor-space calculus shifts toward Apple — its confirmed cable stocking and the rumored exclusivity talk give it a ready alternative to champion over Microsoft's platform.
- AT&T, currently the iPhone's exclusive US home, gains leverage in any renegotiation with Apple if rival carriers' non-iPhone bets like Windows Phone 7 fail to move volume.
Third-order effects
- A weak third-ecosystem start reinforces a carrier-shelf dynamic where iOS and Android crowd out new mobile platforms, making handset makers and carriers more selective about backing operating systems without proven day-one demand.
The trend: US smartphone retail is hardening into an iOS-and-Android market where carrier shelf space and launch-week sell-through decide whether a third ecosystem gets a second chance.