Windows Phone 7’s sales have not been a source of great satisfaction for Microsoft, yet Steve Ballmer admits to remaining optimistic.
The Windows Phone 7 project, announced with great enthusiasm as a response to the dominant market share of Apple and Android, is struggling to truly take off.
There’s much discussion, and new smartphone devices running Windows Phone 7 are being released – such as the HTC Titan and HTC Radar – but, when all is said and done, WP7 hasn’t achieved significant success.
Steve Ballmer, the dynamic president of Microsoft, is well aware of this. He hasn’t shied away from the reality: while admitting that sales results have fallen well below the company’s initial expectations, he remains very optimistic about the future.
“I can’t say I’m happy with where we are right now, but I’m really optimistic about where we will be soon. We just need to get to the next phase,” Ballmer stated.
Reflecting on what this next step might be, one inevitably associates it with a major mobile giant: Nokia.
This is precisely where efforts are being focused, thanks to the agreement between the two companies, although there are no confirmed release dates yet for new Nokia smartphones equipped with the Windows Phone 7 operating system.
Microsoft will now concentrate on catching up to its own WP7 adoption forecasts; Nokia will, in turn, have to bet everything on re-entering the elite circle of major mobile device manufacturers.
The stakes are undoubtedly high for both parties; only the market will determine how much Ballmer’s optimism resonates with smartphone buyers.
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