"Malware vendors" ?

That was a little snarky even for ElReg and I'm not a WP7 fan. It's fair to call the thing "negligible", but "malware" implies some specific malicious intent against the user rather than negative competitive maneuvers in the marketplace. Maybe "nullware" would be more appropriate, representing market share, developers, and common interest without explicit malice focused on the end user.

WP7 globally had last week 0.5 percent market share of new users: http://j.mp/gl6Fom+. For every Windows Phone that sold 80 Android phones, 50 iPhones, and 40 other phones sold. It's amazing we're even talking about this WP7 thing. How many articles has ElReg had about Samsung's Bada, which has bigger market share? In the last year even Windows Mobile 6.5 phones have sold better, and promise to continue to do so. Where are the articles about the thriving Windows Mobile 6 ecosystem?

This new OS obsoletes all the old phones by supporting front side camera. Retailers have to be ecstatic about that. I bet they can't wait to stand up their unsold stock that isn't moving units against the new inventory that promises to do the same, but has that feature.