According to newly released numbers, Microsoft shipped two million Windows Phone 7 handsets in the fourth quarter of last year. That number pales in comparison to the 16.2 million iPhones Apple sold (sold, not shipped) in that same timeframe, but the company is insisting that–at least in this point of the game–it’s all about customer feedback, a front that Microsoft claims to be winning.
Says Greg Sullivan, a senior product manager at the company, “Sales are an important measure, but for a new platform we think customer satisfaction and active developer support are more important indicators of how sales will be over the long term.”
On that front, things are certainly looking up. Brand awareness is up 22 points over the quarter before, to 66 percent. Microsoft also claims a 93 percent customer satisfaction rate, at present. There are some 6,500 Win Phone 7 apps available, with 24,000 developers having signed on to create ones for the operating system.
Are the numbers sunny enough to be declared a win for Microsoft? Not really. Not yet, anyway. Microsoft can show off all of the satisfaction surveys it wants, but rest of the industry is judging itself on sales figures–sooner or later, Microsoft will have to as well.
