Most analyses of app sales begin and end with smartphones. Last month, research firm Distimo looked at the Windows Phone 7 marketplace; a pale and puny thing it seems at first, with download volume on the top 300 apps in the U.S. (Apple's App Store for iPhone being 39 times larger than the top 300 U.S. apps for Windows Phone. It's not surprising that Apple sees more volume.) Microsoft hasn't give out hard numbers on Windows Phone sales. According to 2011 first quarter estimates by Gartner, Microsoft may have activated 1.6 million copies of the operating system. Late last month, the blog TNW estimated that the number of Windows phone copies sold so far might be in the realm of 8 million. That would cover January through November. An estimate by Gartner pegs Windows phone sales at 1.7 million in the third quarter, which would suggest maybe 6 or 7 million total. Let's call it 7 million to split the difference.