Microsoft to Spend Half a Billion Promoting Windows Phone 7

Microsoft will reportedly spend about half a billion dollars to promote Windows Phone 7 and hopefully catch up with Google and Apple, according to Kim-Mai Cutler in an article for TechCrunch.

Cutler relays a prediction from Jonathan Goldberg, a telecommunications analyst at Deutsche Bank, who estimates that Microsoft will spend $400 million on marketing alone for the Windows Phone 7 launch. This number doesn't include millions spend on "non-recurring engineering" costs to help offset development costs for manufacturers.

“This is make-or-break for them. They need to do whatever it takes to stay in the game,” says Goldberg. “It’s still wide open. They don’t have to take share from Android or Apple, so long as they can attract enough consumers switching from feature phones.”


Another source tells Cutler that Microsoft will spend half a billion on marketing and half a billion on development which totals a whopping one billion dollar cost for the launch.

“We have a long-term view and Microsoft has been in this position before in other businesses where we’ve had to take a long-term view,” says Microsoft senior product manager Greg Sullivan, who would not comment on the estimates. “The mobile phone market is growing by leaps and bounds, but it’s still in the early stages.”

So far, reviews of Windows Phone 7 have been mainly positive. The company is hoping that unique features such as XBox Live integration and Microsoft Office will be driving factor in the adoption of their mobile operating system. Microsoft recently revealed a list of popular games that would be ready for launch which can be viewed here.

Considering the explosive growth and future potential of the mobile sector, and Microsoft's late entry to the game, spending one billion on the launch is likely a necessity to prevent the company from falling further behind.


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