Two Australian phone carriers, Telstra and Vodafone have admitted that after a month on sale Windows Phone 7 devices are selling slowly when compared to sales of Android and iPhone handsets. This is despite a multimillion dollar launch and advertising campaign by Microsoft.
One Australian carrier who did not want to be named said “Sales are disappointing; consumers are not walking in the door and saying I want a Windows based phone. They are for Android and iPhones. There are issues with the amount of applications available and consumers know this”.
A Telstra executive told ChannelNews that sales were “weak” and that demand for other phones including Blackberry, iPhone and HTC Android devices were in high demand.
In the UK Mobile Please has revealed that just three percent of their sales are Windows OS based phones.
The Company said that Android based phones was outselling Windows based phones by 15 to 1 and that Symbian based phones from Nokia was outselling the Windows OS devices by 3 to 1.
The statistics are also backed up by the giant Carphone Warehouse group, who said that WP7 phones were simply “not selling”.
They indicated that BlackBerry phones, HTC’s Android devices and the iPhone as the ones in strong demand.
Despite being one of the major providers of phones in the UK Carphone Warehouse had no WP7 phones on display and said it “might have one in the back,” according to a journalist who visited one of their largest stores.
Electronista is reporting that Windows Phone 7 developers have reported mounting problems with a lack of proper tools while several developers have said that they have not been paid after Microsoft promised to pay developers for applications.
Currently there are 3,000 WP7 applications Vs over 300,000 for the iPhone and iPad and over 125,000 for Android based devices.
Electronista said that GoVoice app writer Nick Yu said that Microsoft’s analytics tools for the mobile OS aren’t working, making it impossible to track how many copies had been downloaded or other details.
Justin James another developer said that Microsoft not only hasn’t paid developers but won’t give them their first payments until February, he said.
He has accused Microsoft of rushing a product to market well before it was ready.
“Microsoft is essentially allowing people to pay to participate in what is still a beta experience, and the results are a disaster,” he said. “If people did not have to pay to submit applications, it could be swept under the rug, but once you are formally a paying customer, you have every right to expect better.”
