Microsoft CEO: Windows Phone 8 Sales to 'Ramp Quickly'

by Zak Islam November 12, 2012 at 7:00 PM - Source: Reuters

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has acknowledged that Windows Phone remains "relatively small" in the smartphone market, but believes Windows 8 will boost sales imminently.

While Google's Android mobile platform and Apple's iPhone has dominated the smartphone market for years, Ballmer believes Microsoft's relationship with Nokia, Samsung and HTC will finally push sales for incoming Windows Phone 8 handsets.

"With the work we have done with Nokia, HTC, Samsung and others ... there is now an opportunity to create really a strong third participant in the smartphone market," he said in Tel Aviv at Microsoft's first Windows 8 launch outside the U.S. "We are still relatively small ... I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly."

He stressed that Microsoft will continue to market and advertise (in the region of $1.5 billion) Windows 8, its Surface tablet and Windows Phone more than for it's done with previous products. Ballmer reiterated that Microsoft sold more than four million copies of Windows 8 during its launch weekend last week.

"The initial reaction to these products has been really really phenomenal ... And if you look at how people will get Windows 8, the truth of the matter is more people over time will get Windows 8 by buying a new computer than by upgrading old computers," Ballmer said, noting that a total of 400 million personal computers are sold each year.

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rohitbaran

I was expecting Ballmer's photo for this article! Anyway, let's see how much good his prediction is this time.
Shin-san

1. What's Ballmer supposed to say? "Our sales will drop like a boulder into the sea!"? 2. At least they have good advertising, although the little girl doing pony images to the Final Countdown was awesome. Just as long as they don't do anything weird like the Superman one
sykozis

Considering how WP7 users got screwed....I doubt WP8 will "take off" because people will expect the exact same thing to happen again. I bought my WP7 phone under the assumption (based on statements made publicly by MS) that it would receive an upgrade to WP8....which they later backed out of. Had I known from the beginning that MS would change their minds, I'd have never bought the phone.
jhansonxi

Quote:

With the work we have done with Nokia, HTC, Samsung and others ... there is now an opportunity to create really a strong third participant in the smartphone market

It may have been shortsighted to base such cooperation more on lawyers than engineers. I suppose we'll find out soon enough.
wildkitten

sykozisConsidering how WP7 users got screwed....I doubt WP8 will "take off" because people will expect the exact same thing to happen again. I bought my WP7 phone under the assumption (based on statements made publicly by MS) that it would receive an upgrade to WP8....which they later backed out of. Had I known from the beginning that MS would change their minds, I'd have never bought the phone.

And that is really no different than Android phones. How many people bought phones promising that they would get ICS and it never materialized, or any other version for that matter? Lots. Fact is, like it or not, only Apple pushes out a new version of their OS to every model. I think part of it is how Apple stands up to the carriers, which both Microsoft and Google should learn from, and the fact that Apple controls the hardware. There is no Samsung iPhone or HTC iPhone or Motorola iPhone.
CaedenV

what? no crazy Balmer pic?

Anywho, I am sold on wp8. Just waiting a few more weeks for reviewers and early adopters to find any fatal flaws in any of them before I make a decision.
Wife will probably get the HTC8s
I would like to have the Lumia 920... but as I will be on TMobile, it sounds like this is not an option, so my fallback is on the Sammy Ativ S, but if the camera is as weak as the SGS3 then I will probably go with the HTC 8X. I would go with the 8X by default except for that damn SD card support!

For those who talk of WP7 users getting screwed I really don't know what you are talking about. When 7.5 was released we all knew that wp8 was going to come out in the same calander year, and anyone who spend more than 30min to research their purchase would have known that. Also, in spite of running an entirely different OS core than wp8, wp7 users will still get all of the new features that apply to the hardware available on a wp7 phone, and they will still get most of the apps available to wp8 users. They are still getting updates (in a much more timely fassion than some other phone OS companies provide...) and support, it is not like MS was playing dirty, or hiding the new release of wp8. In fact, the #1 reason people did not get one of the wp7.5 phones was simply because they knew wp8 was coming. If nothing else, wp8 sales should be good because poeple (like myself) are simply not having to wait, or hold our breath, on our purchase. I know some higher end phones will be coming out next year (quad core, 2GB of ram, SD card support on a high end phone, tmobile version of the lumia 920, etc.), but the ones released out the gate are good enough, and there will be no other major changes to the game for a good long while yet. The time is right as a customer to jump in.

On the sales side I think we will see more push from retailers to sell wp8 devices over Android. The kickbacks are better than they were on wp7, the sales people know the customers are not going to get jilted by a new release, and MS cannot come under a lawsuit attack from Apple which makes wp8 a safer sale.

In short, if MS screws this up, they only have themselves to blame! They literally have everything in their favor right now.
extremepcs

I wonder how many of the 4 million Windows 8 sales were people actually going to the store and buying it / buying it online vs MS forcing tier 1 vendors like Dell, HP, and Lenovo to buy OEM copies to include with their new computers.
dirgle

If anybody other than Balmer had said it, I might have believed it.
tomfreak

extremepcsI wonder how many of the 4 million Windows 8 sales were people actually going to the store and buying it / buying it online vs MS forcing tier 1 vendors like Dell, HP, and Lenovo to buy OEM copies to include with their new computers.

who cares, I have not buy any store stuff from my Ipad Apple store, I have not buy anything from Android app store too, I wont be buying in win8 store too. The free apps are good enough generally.
Thomas Creel

I'm not buying it, my iPhone 5 isn't going anywhere.
Regardless of what Balmer said, Microsoft is a long way off before Windows 8 can make any significant impact to tablet or smartphone market. First of all, Microsoft does not have a clue when it comes to product delivery channel. Have you seen reports of people lining up buying Windows 8 phone or tablet anywhere? No? Part of the reason is because it is hardly available anywhere. You walk into many stores and find Windows 8 is being sold at old notebook form factor without touch screen. Where is the new devices like Taichi? or even Acer W700? Amazon reported that they are out of stock. There are hardly any real Windows 8 devices currently in the market as the vendors do not really believe in they can sell them. Or how about Surface? You quickly realize Microsoft is only selling it to USA market via its online store and no where else. For a company which has long have international presence than Apple, Apple and other Android vendors sure are doing a much better job in managing their product delivery channels, which make new products available to all over the world in a matter of one or two months. It is like Microsoft does not even believe in its own product. The same thing has happened to Zune and now it is gone. Balmer has been hiding in its office too long that he failed to see Microsoft has turned into an inefficient corporate culture that has long lost its ability to compete in a cutthroat markets which the current smartphone and tablet market is in. Microsoft is moving way too slowly in a market which refresh its product line almost every year. By the time their product is available to most market, a new generation of Apple and Android products will be available and any good idea they have, such as touch cover, might have been copied.
Bloob

extremepcsI wonder how many of the 4 million Windows 8 sales were people actually going to the store and buying it / buying it online vs MS forcing tier 1 vendors like Dell, HP, and Lenovo to buy OEM copies to include with their new computers.

All of them were either retail copies or internet upgrades. OEMs have already ordered tens of millions of copies.
m32

So they finally put an Tegra 3 in their headsets? No? Well it ain't for me then. I need it for bragging rights.
nekromobo

sykozisConsidering how WP7 users got screwed....I doubt WP8 will "take off" because people will expect the exact same thing to happen again. I bought my WP7 phone under the assumption (based on statements made publicly by MS) that it would receive an upgrade to WP8....which they later backed out of. Had I known from the beginning that MS would change their minds, I'd have never bought the phone.

Umm.. and on what "other"-camps would you have had better support? I have been really happy with my nokia 800-updates, last summer superbly better camera update, and still imminent 7.8update to come..
nekromobo

CaedenVwhat? no crazy Balmer pic?Anywho, I am sold on wp8. Just waiting a few more weeks for reviewers and early adopters to find any fatal flaws in any of them before I make a decision.Wife will probably get the HTC8sI would like to have the Lumia 920... but as I will be on TMobile, it sounds like this is not an option, so my fallback is on the Sammy Ativ S, but if the camera is as weak as the SGS3 then I will probably go with the HTC 8X. I would go with the 8X by default except for that damn SD card support!

Nokia 820 is the phone your looking for
wildkittenAnd that is really no different than Android phones. How many people bought phones promising that they would get ICS and it never materialized, or any other version for that matter? Lots. Fact is, like it or not, only Apple pushes out a new version of their OS to every model. I think part of it is how Apple stands up to the carriers, which both Microsoft and Google should learn from, and the fact that Apple controls the hardware. There is no Samsung iPhone or HTC iPhone or Motorola iPhone.

Ah but, Apple do not give updates to every device, the iPad 1 did not get iOS 6 and neither did the iPhone 3GS, and the simple reason is, the hardware is not powerful enough to run the new operating system, and the same goes for windows phone 7 and 8, and its even worse for windows as it was limited to 512mb RAM (1GB is standard now on phones) and also a single core (dual core is also standard)
cats_Paw

If i remmber right, Balmer was in wikipedia identfied as worst CEO of the year at some point, so it kinda dosent make much sence to listen o him. And why would, in gods name, any company have an old champ as a CEO?! Old people are always going to be less eficient than younger ppl.

Ok, sure, older ppl have more expirience, but there comes a point when you get too expirienced, and dont have a chance to learn new things.
DjEaZy

... Microsoft will continue to market and advertise (in the region of $1.5 billion) Windows 8, its Surface tablet and Windows Phone more than for it's done with previous products....
1) money can buy you everything...
2) may be M$ should give away $1.5 billion worth of windows 8 licenses... it could bring better adoption rates... i stick to 7...
nameon

sykozisConsidering how WP7 users got screwed....I doubt WP8 will "take off" because people will expect the exact same thing to happen again. I bought my WP7 phone under the assumption (based on statements made publicly by MS) that it would receive an upgrade to WP8....which they later backed out of. Had I known from the beginning that MS would change their minds, I'd have never bought the phone.

No, if you bought a WP7 phone (which were there since 2010) and thought youd magically get WP8, your just kidding yourself and are really naive, be realistic.. also my Omnia 7 still beats the S***T out of my ICS HTC and am planning to get rid of it
belardo

MS is carpet bombing Windows8-anything. Period.

Notice how most tech sites have NO actual reviews of Windows 8? So their success story is like BORG... we're going to get you sooner or later with numbers.

- Spending $1.5b?! Wow, a great product can usually sell itself.
- Windows 8 Head, Steve Sinofsky Departs Microsoft - after 23 years with the company?!
- crappy ugly conflicting UI?

Its so bad, drunk people can't use it: (you tube) Windows 8: Operating Under the Influence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cMVKW-fR1M

I'm not seeing the rave reviews for Win8 that were there for Win7.
marcolorenzo

I think people knew since a long time ago that WP7 users won't be able to upgrade to WP8. People who thought they could only presumed so which is their own fault really. Also, it may be true that you can still upgrade your old 3GS (or maybe even 3G, i don't know) to the latest iOS, but the newest features won't be available to the older phones. You'll most likely just be getting some security upgrades which older Android and WP users also get as long as their OS is still supported (last i heard, WP7 users and Honeycomb and Gingerbread are still being supported). So it makes no difference really.
house70

wozza365Ah but, Apple do not give updates to every device, the iPad 1 did not get iOS 6 and neither did the iPhone 3GS, and the simple reason is, the hardware is not powerful enough to run the new operating system, and the same goes for windows phone 7 and 8, and its even worse for windows as it was limited to 512mb RAM (1GB is standard now on phones) and also a single core (dual core is also standard)

You forgot to mention that the iOS updates for older models are crippled versions, and that's just because they think the hardware is not powerful enough to run the full versions. Apple might change the build number to show the latest and greatest, but in fact you don't get the full OS functionality (the Siri debacle was just one example out of many).
I have a feeling you're wasting your time with these people, though.

marcolorenzoI think people knew since a long time ago that WP7 users won't be able to upgrade to WP8. People who thought they could only presumed so which is their own fault really. Also, it may be true that you can still upgrade your old 3GS (or maybe even 3G, i don't know) to the latest iOS, but the newest features won't be available to the older phones. You'll most likely just be getting some security upgrades which older Android and WP users also get as long as their OS is still supported (last i heard, WP7 users and Honeycomb and Gingerbread are still being supported). So it makes no difference really.

Same comment as above.
marcolorenzo

belardoMS is carpet bombing Windows8-anything. Period.Notice how most tech sites have NO actual reviews of Windows 8? So their success story is like BORG... we're going to get you sooner or later with numbers.- Spending $1.5b?! Wow, a great product can usually sell itself.- Windows 8 Head, Steve Sinofsky Departs Microsoft - after 23 years with the company?!- crappy ugly conflicting UI?Its so bad, drunk people can't use it: (you tube) Windows 8: Operating Under the Influencehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cMVKW-fR1MI'm not seeing the rave reviews for Win8 that were there for Win7.

Actually: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-8-review,3334.html
http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/30/windows-8-review/
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/windows_8_Review?page=0,4

So no, we haven't noticed how there's NO actual reviews of Windows 8. Also, if you think a great product could sell itself without any substantial marketing, especially considering Microsoft's current position, you'd be kidding yourself. Perhaps only Apple could and even they have a very carefully crafted marketing strategy.

I wonder when Sinofsky WOULD be allowed to leave MS without it representing him abandoning ship by your logic. He just managed to help MS released a new OS. If he wanted to move unto other projects, this would be the perfect time to do that rather than leave mid-way through development. And I don't think the UI is ugly at all. I find it highly refreshing. But of course, my opinion isn't fact, unlike yours I suppose.
adrhellb

Quote:

"... I expect the volumes on Windows Phone to really ramp quickly."

I think offering a high-end phone (you don't need it, but pople still buy the SGS3) and a phone with a physical keyboard would win some hearts. The current line-up is imo quite half-assed.

Also, I'm probably not get a WP8 phone for Christmas, not buying it myself before the inflated Christmas prices are gone, and the phones aren't even in stock before mid December in my area. (Read: Everyone will either wait untill after christmas to buy one for themselves, or buy another AVAILABLE phone.)

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