With any major launch in the mobile industry, people want sales numbers immediately following release to try and gauge how well the product was received and how well it'll fare in the future.  Windows Phone 7 is no different, and one analyst has already chimed in with his estimate.  Scott Moritz has said that Microsoft sold 40,000 Windows Phone 7 devices on launch day, according to an estimate from a market research source.  Microsoft declined to comment on the numbers, but T-Mobile said that there was "already receiving strong interest from our customers right out of the gate."

It's important to note that it's not clear how accurate the 40,000 number is, as Microsoft is just about the only one that knows exactly how many Windows Phone 7 handsets were purchased on Monday.  Considering how many reports of shortages (and other problems) there were, though, I wouldn't be surprised if launch day sales were around 40,000.  While that number is far below the 200,000 Android phones and 275,000 iPhones sold every day, WP7 is still extremely young and will take some time to grow and be adopted by consumers.  A truer test of how Microsoft's OS will do in the market will be holiday sales.  By that point, most stores will be able to stock enough phones on the shelves, and consumers will be more aware of WP7's presence  Have any of you picked up a Windows Phone 7 device since its launch?

Via SlashGear, The Street