Microsoft may have moved just 674,000 Windows Phone 7 devices in its first few months on sale, well-known Russian phone leaker Eldar Murtazin said in a new estimate. While Microsoft said it had shipped 1.5 million to partners, its figures for late 2010 would have netted less than half that amount. The situation is believed to have been exacerbated in early 2011 and in April, Murtazin said.
Microsoft hasn’t confirmed or denied the numbers. However, it has typically dodged questions of actual sell-through across its various hardware partners. Despite posting a record winter quarter, it provided neither its total units shipped nor sell-through for WP7 and instead focused on the positive reactions of those who had bought in.
Reporting shipments rather than sell-through isn’t uncommon among technology companies. The concern over Microsoft has centered on a rumored wide gap between numbers. Companies like LG and HTC normally sell the majority of their stock and leave just a few weeks of inventory for replacements or as a cushion if production suddenly stops.
