bill - 1:49 am on Nov 10, 2010 (gmt 0)

This doesn't sound too promising a start.

Microsoft Sells 40K Windows 7 Phones [thestreet.com] As big-splash debuts go, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 launch at AT&T and T-Mobile didn't exactly make waves Monday. Even with a glitzy media intro last month hosted by champion inside-seller and company chief Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, which spent a reported $100 million on the phone's advertising campaign, sold a mere 40,000 Windows 7 phones Monday, according to a market research source who tracks phone sales. The anemic sales number does not include the 89,000 Microsoft employees that will be given free Windows 7 phones. Microsoft reps declined to comment. A T-Mobile spokeswoman did not offer a number of phones sold, but said Tuesday that the Win7 phone was "already receiving strong interest from our customers right out of the gate."