How Goes WinPhone7 Launch?

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I told you so! Some of you took exception to my not-so-sunny take on the launch of Windows Phone 7 earlier this week. Well, lo and behold, its early days, but so far the first reports are lackluster.

There are no official numbers coming from Microsoft. However, The Street.com is reporting that only 40,000 Phone 7 units were sold on launch day (Monday), which is slightly less than half of the 89,000 Microsoft employees that are getting one for free as a company perk.

The good news is that 40,000 sounds pretty good compared to the Microsoft Kin that came and went earlier this year and only sold about 8,000 units. The bad news is about 200,000 Androids and 275,000 iPhones are reportedly sold and activated on the average day.

Microsoft has a loooooooong way to go.

Frankly, I don't think the company is going to make it in the smartphone space. Make no mistake, Microsoft is too big with pockets too deep to give up anytime soon. But, game over! There, I said it.

Here's why:

1. Microsoft is just too far behind the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

2. All three of the above-mentioned smartphone families are each, in their own right, quality products. This is almost a Coke Vs. Pepsi debate at this point. If you are looking for a dark fizzy drink, it's all good and there's no need to seek out anything else. Yes, I know the hardcore geeks will swallow their own tongues reading this and flame me with dueling specs on various models. But, it's true. For the average bear, these are all solid options. Why take a gamble on a new entry into the field?

3. The cool factor. Microsoft doesn't have it and never will. This dooms them to failure in the smartphone wars. Smartphones are a vanity device. Name features and beloved apps all day long. But, it's a personal device and that means ego is involved. People love what their iPhone can do, but make no mistake; they love the attention of whipping out a cool device in front of their friends. Blackberry is a corporate status symbol. Android is the high testosterone smartphone (it even rhymes with steroid for crying out loud). The iPhone is the epitome of urban chic. And then there's Microsoft: a pair of granny panties in a laundry basket of skimpy boyshorts from Victoria's Secret.

P.S. For those of you that thought I was being too harsh worrying that a new Microsoft product might be buggy (Because we all know that never happens with Microsoft!), there are already complaints and rumors piling up that there may be a bug causing problems with the WiFi connection in Windows Phone 7, especially those Dell Venue Pro handsets. Stay tuned on that one.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @oricchio

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987. @oricchio