Earlier this week we reported that Microsoft estimated their sales of Windows Phone 7 would top 30 million units in 2011. Microsoft presented a study done by IDC at ReMix in Paris during a slide show. It turns out the slide was intentionally misleading, IDC did not do an estimate on the Windows Phone 7 sales.
The IDC study actually was about sales of smart phones running all version of the Windows mobile operating system. The study estimated there would be 32 million smart phones sold running Windows Mobile, this included Windows Mobile 6.5 which is already available on phone today. "At the ReMix conference in Paris, Microsoft presented a slide projecting the number of Windows Phone 7 [devices] to be sold in 2011. This slide was inaccurate, and intended to represent an analyst"s assessment of the market opportunity," Microsoft said in a prepared statement.
According to Fox Business, IDC won"t be able to estimate the sales of Windows Phone 7 devices until they are available for sale. After a Windows Phone 7 devices are on sale they will be able to talk to mobile operators and hardware vendors to determine proper sales estimates.
Microsoft is currently in fourth place in the mobile market selling just 16 million units in 2009. IDC estimates they will sell 22 million units this year and 32 million in 2011. They also estimate that in 2014 Microsoft will surpass Apple, who currently holds third place in the mobile market.
Mobile analyst Will Stofega said, "The first step was to ... redo Windows Mobile so it was more responsive, better (user interface), everything everyone complained about, and more up-to-date with the competitors. Now they have to ship, and they have to get (Windows Phone 7) into the hands of their OEM partners quickly, and that"s the challenge."