Windows Phone Thoughts: Windows Mobile Outsells Windows Phone 7?

"Here's the latest bad news for Microsoft's mobile phone strategy: the decade-old Windows Mobile platform outsold the slick new Windows Phone 7 platform in the US last quarter, according to stats released by NPD today. Windows Phone 7, which launched halfway through the quarter, got 2% market share, compared with 4% for Windows Mobile."

The Business Insider website has posted a reference to data published by The NDP Group which suggests that in the U.S. consumer smartphone market Windows Phone 7, debuting for the first time in their statistics, has garnered 2% of the market. At the same time, Windows Mobile captured 4% of the market (although it dropped 3 points since the last time the data was collected). For debate is the question of just how significant this is? Looking carefully at the data, The NDP Group indicates that the data is based on "U.S. consumers, aged 18 and older, who reported purchasing a mobile phone. NPD does not track corporate/enterprise mobile phone purchases". It seems to me that this may not be all that surprising, given that Windows Mobile still has a significant presence at many retailers, having been in the market for many years and with many handsets from various manufacturers using it. Windows Phone 7, in my estimation, still has a long way to go to develop its retail presence and mind share through advertising. It also wouldn't surprise me to see the Windows Phone 7 percentage remain lower for some time this year. Could there be another explanation? Let me know in the comments.