1.5 Million Windows Phone 7 devices Sold by Microsof

The early numbers are in for Microsoft’s product latest cell phone operating system Windows Phone 7: 1.5 million gadjets sold to date. Nonetheless, that number entails some explaining. Microsoft on Tuesday morning published a ersatz interview with Achim Berg, vice president of business and marketing for Windows phones, who says Windows Phone 7 is growing fast.

The “sales” number is a bit tricky: “Another is phone manufacturer sales – phones being bought and stocked by mobile operators and retailers on their way to customers,” Berg thought. “We are pleased that phone manufacturers sold over 1.5 million phones in the first six weeks, which helps build customer momentum and retail presence.”

To be clear, that means Microsoft has sold 1.5 million handsets to mobile operators and retailers to put on their shelves, not 1.5 million phones activated by punters. Then again, I’d be surprised if 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 phones were activated already: Microsoft is ingoing a market already dominated by Google and Apple. Google claims it’s activating 300,000 Android phones a day, and Apple proclaims 270,000 iPhones are activated each day. Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do before it can start boasting parallel numbers.

Nonetheless, Berg’s statements commonly give a humble overview on a fresh, new start. Berg adds that after just six weeks, Microsoft has recruited 18,000 developers, and there are 4,000 Windows Phone 7 apps accessible in its app store. 1.5 million “sales” isn’t the sort of sales we’d usually care about, but it shows that the software giant has a solid foundation of partners to help Windows Phone 7 potentially gain a foothold in the smartphone market in the coming years.