Report: Windows Phone 7 revenue an 'abysmal' $613 million
The Seattle PI calculates the fiscal 2011 sales that Microsoft took in from Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 at no more than "a mere" $613 million.
Microsoft's Windows Phone sales for 2011 are "abysmal," according to a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published last Friday.
Diving through Microsoft's annual report released late last month, the news site came up with a revenue figure of $613 million for the full fiscal year, which includes Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, Zune, Mediaroom, Surface, and hardware.
Remove the sales kicked in by the Zune and the other non-mobile items, and Microsoft's mobile operating systems actually delivered less than $613 million.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request from CNET for comment on the Seattle PI story.
Microsoft has kept its Windows Phone 7 sales close to the vest. Its last report was back in January when the company said it had sold more than 2 million Windows Phone 7 devices since the OS launched in October. However, that number included only handsets sold to mobile operators and retailers and not necessarily to actual consumers.
And as Seattle PI points out, it's hard to directly compare sales of Windows Phone with those of the competition. Apple, which reported iPhone sales of $13.3 billion in its third-quarter results, sells its own hardware and adds in revenue from agreements with mobile carriers and iPhone accessories.
Most of Google's revenue for Android comes from advertising since the mobile platform is free for smartphone makers.
Commenting on Seattle PI's story, WP Central says that maybe Windows Phone's sales aren't so abysmal, at least compared with those of Android.
For now, saturating the market and not necessarily making money is the goal of both Google and Microsoft with their respective mobile operating systems, says WP Central. And the site does see a somewhat brighter picture ahead for Microsoft. Though it concedes that Windows Phone sales aren't "hot," it does believe the tide could turn by next summer when the combined impact of Mango, Nokia, and Skype turn Windows Phone into a more "cohesive ecosystem."