Windows Phone 7 off to slow start

A report from TheStreet claims that on its first day of release Microsoft sold just 40,000 Windows Phone 7 units.

TheStreet adds that the number doesn’t account for the 89,000 free Windows Phone 7 devices that were handed out to Microsoft employees.

The numbers are thon into stark contrast when it’s considered that Microsoft has spent in the region of $440m marketing the device. In addition, last month Apple reported that it was selling 270,000 iPhones per day and Google 200,000 Android handsets.

Speaking to the site, mobile operator T-Mobile would not clarify exact numbers, though did add that Windows Phone 7 was already receiving strong interest from our customers right out of the gate”.

Cote Collaborate analyst Michael Conte speculated that the arrival of so many WP7 devices at the same time may have confused consumers, adding: Mondays aren’t great launch days. They poured all that cash into it but they lost track of the fact that Fridays or Saturdays are the best launch days.”

He also cited some of the basic functions missing from the software at present, such as cut and paste.

However, it’s still very early days, as Nielsen’s Roger Entner points out: 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.

We’ll see what happens with Black Friday sales. 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.”