Support NeoGAF

[Anton Sugar]

MS's efforts (lol) for Windows Phone to gain traction have their biggest chance yet with the launch of Nokia's Lumia 900, the "big brother"/higher end version of the Lumia 800. Most WP fans have been advocating to "wait for Apollo", the next big OS update that is rumored to come late this year with a higher hardware ceiling, but the Lumia 900 is gonna be too tempting for most. Two great deals here:

While ATT is offering it for $100 with a 2 year contract (with $450 no contract pricing), they are also running a "Save up to $100" deal which makes your Lumia preorder MOTHAFUCKINFREE.

In addition, Wal-Mart is offering it for $49 (Black and Cyan models only, White is available April 22):

Preorder Nokia Lumia 900 $49 with 2 year contract [Slick Deals]

Walmart (via LetsTalk) has the Nokia Lumia 900 for preorder for $49 with 2 year contract:

Black [letstalk.com]
Cyan [letstalk.com]

Price is shown after entering your zip code. List price with 2 year contract is $99 from AT&T.

Specs on the phone:

• 4.3" Clearblack AMOLED display
• 4G LTE
• 8MP autofocus camera with dual LED Flash and Carl Zeiss Lens optics, featuring Tessar 2.2/28 optics
• 1MP front-facing camera with f2.4 aperture
• 16 GB storage
• Not a hand-me-down from HTC, Samsung, etc.

Although not directly related to this deal, MS's "Windows Phone Challenge" ended on March 29th, with many people on "waiting lists" as demand was exceeded, but they do still have a great deal for getting more people onboard with Windows Phone: Trade in smartphone for Windows phone and receive $50-300 in credit toward a new WP(expires April 8, 2012)

For extra HNNNNNG, the white Lumia 900 will be launching April 22nd:

Related:

AT&T promises biggest launch ever for Lumia 900

AT&T and Nokia are bringing out the big guns when they launch the Lumia 900 next month.
"At all levels, this is a notch above anything we've ever done," AT&T device head Jeff Bradley said in an interview with CNET, noting that includes the launch of the iPhone.
The resources behind this campaign and the attention given underscore the importance of ensuring the Lumia 900 succeeds in the U.S. The device represents the best -- and some would argue last -- chance for for Nokia and the Windows Phone platform to have a breakout hit, something both have struggled to do in the past.
For consumers, the blitzkrieg will begin right around when the phone launches on April 8. AT&T and Nokia are readying a massive television marketing campaign to raise consumer awareness. The Lumia 900 will be the centerpiece at AT&T stores, with massive signs and posters promoting the device. Nokia and AT&T spent considerable time training store reps, and a majority of them will be carrying one with them at all times. The phone will launch with a number of accessories, which Bradley said sends an indirect message to consumers that the device is unique and important enough to get significant support.
"Before you walk in to the store, you know this is our hero phone," Bradley said, referring to the Lumia 900's flagship status.

The Verge: This is my next: the Nokia Lumia 900

So, I've finally convinced myself I can use Mango as my daily driver. What about hardware? Nokia is the only Windows Phone manufacturer who's bet the farm on the platform, and its hardware shows — every device from Samsung and LG has been either forgettable, a rehash of an Android product, or both. HTC's been a little better, but they're not at Nokia's level on the Windows Phone side (and considering the circumstances, I can't blame them). But that Lumia 800... my goodness. That design! I don't think it's a stretch to say that the N9 / Lumia 800 chassis could go down as most beautiful device Nokia has ever made. In fact, I think you could say that it — along with the iPhone 4 / 4S — is the best phone design in history. That's not an exaggeration.

But then, Nokia... then you scale it up to a more reasonable and modern 4.3 inches, add a front-facing camera, and give it LTE. You offer it in your amazing shade of searing, unapologetic cyan, and you sell it in the US on AT&T. It's like you've personally made a bespoke phone for me.

Maybe you have! Naw... well, maybe!

I kid, of course. But look: I've been using a Galaxy Nexus since last November. That's basically an eternity in Chris Ziegler Phone Years. Android 4.0 is absolutely stellar, and apart from the miserable camera, the Galaxy Nexus is the best phone I've ever owned.

But I must be ramblin' on now. And for the moment, Nokia, you have my undivided attention.

Co.Design: No Joke: With Lumia, Nokia Crushes The iPhone

Let me be clear, Nokia’s phones are better than Apple’s, both in terms of physical and digital design. Supple, amiable, vibrant, and durable, the Lumia 800 and the slightly larger 900 are the new kings of smartphone design. The body has an original signature corner that combines two forms: the vertical tubular main form meets a rounded window for the screen. It’s a fresh look at a detail many mobile phone designers tackled before. The Apple halo effect forced many design teams toward the familiar solution: a two-dimensional rounded form surrounding a screen. Nokia was brave enough to forge its own path to arriving at highly effective way of differentiating the Lumia from the rest of the pack.

The Microsoft Metro user-interface is a perfect complement to Nokia’s design philosophy. Unlike Android, it doesn’t kowtow to Apple’s styling paradigm. It isn’t trying to create a faux reality with drop-shadows, ugly wooden bookshelves, or even uglier leather-bound calendars. The UI is anchored in modern graphics and simple, legible, iconic icons. It is fast, easy to browse and navigate, without coming across as sterile, utilitarian, or cold. In short, it’s a triumph of class modern design from the European school, using Sanserif type, strong color logic, a well-executed grid, and elegant proportions.

No, I'm not trying to stir up shit with these last two articles--but they are two respected sources that should at least get you thinking about the legitimate quality of these new phones when compared to the current leaders, especially compared to the current WP offerings. If you wanted to hop onboard with WP, now is probably the best time, at least for a while. You should be able to go fondle one in your local ATT or MS store.

 

[clav]

Anton Sugar
Microsoft WP7 Sales Associate

 

[dejay]

I'll wait for Apollo.

 

[alphaNoid]

FUCKING NICE! I want a Lumia 900 badly, will probably wait for a white one.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Anton Sugar
Microsoft WP7 Sales Associate

 

[derFeef]

Getting a 900 no matter what as soon as I can.
DAT WHITE 900!

 

[Complex Shadow]

HHHNNNNNGGGGG

 

[Meus Renaissance]

The Cyan and White Lumia's are the best looking phones ever. Period

 

[Menelaus]

Give me Verizon or give me death.

So sad this is GSM. So very, very sad.

 

[Discusguy]

I would buy the Nokia 900 day one if I wasn't still on contract with ATT until Jan. 2013. I think the off contract price of the 900 is great but I can't afford it now.

 

[Anton Sugar]

I would buy the Nokia 900 day one if I wasn't still on contract with ATT until Jan. 2013. I think the off contract price of the 900 is great but I can't afford it now.

Do you currently have a Windows Phone? You could try that $50-300 deal toward a new one.

 

[jee]

Looks cool. Can it run Android?

 

[freshair]

need/want magenta

 

[Windu]

I'll wait for Apollo.

.

 

[Discusguy]

Do you currently have a Windows Phone? You could try that $50-300 deal toward a new one.

I have a Samsung Focus. What deal is that?

 

[kharma45]

The Cyan and White Lumia's are the best looking phones ever. Period

Cyan is still the best for me. Was playing with a white one a few days ago and whilst it is nice it's not on a par with the cyan.

 

[Timedog]

 

[Anton Sugar]

I have a Samsung Focus. What deal is that?

Ah, damn, I'm in the same camp. Will be getting one when I upgrade in July.

$50-300 deal is here.

 

[Complex Shadow]

Cyan is still the best for me. Was playing with a white one a few days ago and whilst it is nice it's not on a par with the cyan.

You take that back you whore.

>=[

 

[DrFunk]

Give me Verizon or give me death.

So sad this is GSM. So very, very sad.

lol CDMA

 

[Funky Papa]

I fibbled around with one of those and it made my HTC HD7 look like a cheap toy. The weird thing is that it doesn't even look that great in pictures, yet it feels oh-so-right in your hand.

Solid like a Nokia, too.

 

[thirty]

there's actually a $100 online offer from att which makes this phone free. link is in the wp7 thread.

 

[derFeef]

need/want magenta

I know it's not glossy, just a quick mockup.

 

[Discusguy]

Ah, damn, I'm in the same camp. Will be getting one when I upgrade in July.

$50-300 deal is here.

Cool. I'll see how much credit I could get for my Focus.

 

[thirty]

You take that back you whore.

>=[

soft touch cyan is better than glossy white.

 

[Relix]

Reminds me of Sprint and Palm Pre. lolz

 

[MechDX]

Damn, posted in the other thread but Ill post it here as well:

Just preordered one for $0.00 from ATT.com.

 

[Anton Sugar]

there's actually a $100 online offer from att which makes this phone free. link is in the wp7 thread.

Shit, don't know how I forgot that one, considering it's the reason the thread was made. Added and PM'ed mod for title change.

 

[Gav47]

Nokia can still make sexy hardware when they want to.

 

[Laekon]

Wish my iphone contract was closer to being up. I really want to try out one of these as I think the Windows OS is the best one right now.

 

[Ptaaty]

doesn't this only have 512mb of ram and a single core?

As in....isn't this more or less the same guts as my almost two year old Galaxy S/captivate?

I am not trying to hate on this, looks like a nice design....and I am interested in checking out WP7...but contrast to what the Galaxy S III should pack...and well.

Specs aren't everything of course, but this is currently low range for smartphones.

 

[Technosteve]

can we flash the lumia 900 to n9 firmware?

 

[kharma45]

soft touch cyan is better than glossy white.

Yeah it was the glossy finish that didn't appeal to me.

doesn't this only have 512mb of ram and a single core?

As in....isn't this more or less the same guts as my almost two year old Galaxy S/captivate?

I am not trying to hate on this, looks like a nice design....and I am interested in checking out WP7...but contrast to what the Galaxy S III should pack...and well.

Specs aren't everything of course, but this is currently low range for smartphones.

Specs aren't everything no, WP7 is extremely well optimised for its hardware and runs as smooth as any high end Android phone with as much RAM etc you can throw at it.

 

[VanMardigan]

As in....isn't this more or less the same guts as my almost two year old Galaxy S/captivate?

It's a newer version of the CPU at a higher clock speed and a newer GPU. But yeah, if you're going to be doing spec comparisons with your friends, then you don't want this phone.

 

[hwalker84]

Waiting for the White one. I can use other upgrades on my corporate account to upgrade to the Lumia even though I got a Titan during the penny sale.

 

[Discusguy]

When are the MS stores getting the Nokia 900 because that trade in deal is only good until 4/8/12?

 

[SquiddyCracker]

What's the difference between this and "Apollo"?
I'm kinda getting tired of my old brick phone, and maybe it's time for me to upgrade to one of them smartphones.

 

[King Of Fuh]

godammit.

In Canada, the closest I can get to this is a Lumia 800....

25 bucks on a three year contract, 429 dollars on a two year contract. I'd even take the AT&T deal, but I learned my lesson last phone that three years is too long for me.

 

[Timedog]

I know it's not glossy, just a quick mockup.

That looks BAUS. Looks like a mixture between salmon and magenta though, but that could be my monitor settings.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

looks great.

I wish them luck.

 

[thirty]

don't wait... wha?

 

[hwalker84]

What's the difference between this and "Apollo"?
I'm kinda getting tired of my old brick phone, and maybe it's time for me to upgrade to one of them smartphones.

Apollo will be a massive overhaul of the WP OS. The major features we know of are multi core support and different screen resolutions.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

godammit.

In Canada, the closest I can get to this is a Lumia 800....

25 bucks on a three year contract, 429 dollars on a two year contract. I'd even take the AT&T deal, but I learned my lesson last phone that three years is too long for me.

Rogers should have the Lumia 900 around mid April. They are already taking pre-orders, black only though. They better have cyan.

 

[twobear]

god this phone is gorgeous

i'll wait and see what the iphone 5 is like but i REALLY want this

 

[Barrett2]

Very tempting, but i think i'll wait for iPhone 5.

 

[King Of Fuh]

Rogers should have the Lumia 900 around mid April. They are already taking pre-orders, black only though. They better have cyan.

Even still, I'm sure they'll hose us on the contract price for it if it's anything other than 3 years.

 

[Baby Milo]

this is pretty tempting

 

[Windu]

What's the difference between this and "Apollo"?
I'm kinda getting tired of my old brick phone, and maybe it's time for me to upgrade to one of them smartphones.

Thanks to a recent leak which has revealed some interesting information about the next major Windows Phone version, I can now publicly discuss Windows Phone 8 for the first time.

Windows Phone 8, codenamed Apollo, will be based on the Windows 8 kernel and not on Windows CE as are current versions. This will not impact app compatibility: Microsoft expects to have over 100,000 Windows Phone 7.5-compatible apps available by the time WP8 launches, and they will all work fine on this new OS.

Windows Phone 8, as its name suggests, will also be tied closely to the desktop version of Windows 8 in other ways. They'll be launched closely to each other, and will share integrated ecosystems, thanks to the shared underlying code, components, and user experiences. Windows Phone 8 is part of the "Windows Reimagined" campaign that Microsoft announced for Windows 8. This makes sense as they're companion products in every sense of the word.

Windows Phone 8 will offer far more hardware choices than are available today, which will come in more form factors and offer more (four) screen resolutions, according to Pocketnow. (I can't independently confirm that last bit.) The compatible software services will be expanded dramatically, and made very consistent with what's being made available to desktop versions of Windows 8.

Key new features of Windows Phone 8 include:

Data Smart. A way to actively save cellular data when possible and avoid "bill shock". Microsoft (not coincidentally) just blogged about this feature in relation to Windows 8. Re-read that post and think about how a smart phone would need/use exactly the same functionality. Data Smart can be extended by wireless carriers to integrate with their offered data plans.

App-to-App communication. Because Windows Phone 8 apps, like Windows 8 apps, are sandboxed from each other, this new system will provide a Windows 8 contracts-like app-to-app communications capabilities.

Internet Explorer 10 Mobile. Windows Phone 8 will continue to use a highly tuned version of IE which utilizes the latest web technologies.

Shared components with Windows 8. The kernel, multi-core processor support, sensor fusion, security model, network, and video and graphics technologies are all coming to Phone from Windows 8.

Companion experiences with Windows 8. Microsoft is offering a very similar user experience across phone (Windows Phone 8), PC (Windows 8), and TV (Xbox vNext). Pocketnow says there will be a new sync client, and not Zune PC software, though I can't confirm that part, and a set of common cloud services that will work across all three. This includes the ability to sync content (photos, music, movies) between the three screens, phone management from PC or web, shared content between each device, and Xbox LIVE games, entertainment, and more.

SkyDrive integration. Microsoft will make your content available on all of its platforms via SkyDrive.

Skype app. Still a separate but better app and not integrated into OS. Still optional.

NFC and Wallet. Windows Phone 8 will allow users to securely pay and share via NFC and manage an integrated Wallet experience.

Local Scout. Now with personal recommendations.

Camera improvements. New "lens apps" and a far more powerful camera experience.

Business features. Windows Phone 8 will include full-device, hardware-accelerated encryption with BitLocker and always-on Secure Boot capabilities, just like Windows 8. Also, it will support additional Exchange ActiveSync policies and System Center configuration settings and inventory capabilities. Businesses will be able to distribute phone apps privately as they can with Windows 8 apps.

Obviously, there are still plenty of questions and of course information I'll continue to protect. But suffice to say that Microsoft's plans for Windows Phone are quite exciting indeed.

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-phone-8-preview-142154

 

[Smithy C]

Anyone know when this is coming out in Europe?

 

[Anton Sugar]

Amazon wireless offering it for a penny: http://www.wpcentral.com/amazon-wireless-now-offering-lumia-900-penny?style_mobile=0