Nokia Lumia 900 flagship slashed to $50 on AT&T
updated 05:37 am EDT, Mon July 16, 2012
Lumia 900 gets reduced to just $50 subsidized
Nokia and AT&T have slashed the price of the Lumia 900 Windows Phone 7 flagship handset to just $50 on a two-year plan. With most flagship handsets costing anywhere up to $199 on a two year contract, the Lumia 900 had debuted in April at an already thrifty $99. A recent analysis of Lumia 900 sales in the US suggests that Nokia has managed just 330,000 sales since its debut, while news that the smartphone won't be upgradeable to Windows Phone 8 may also be behind the price cut.
Widely regarded as one of the leading Windows Phone 7 smartphones, the Lumia 900 represents Nokia's highest profile attempt to turn its rapidly dwindling smartphone market share around. Although it is competitive in terms of design and screen size, at 4.3-inches, it runs a single core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.4GHz. Windows Phone handsets have struggled to create the impression that they are competitive specification-wise with the market leading and dual-core iPhone 4S along with Samsung's dual-core Galaxy S II and S III models.
Beyond specifications, Microsoft's June announcement of Windows Phone 8 confirmed rumors that the Lumia 900, along with all other current Windows Phone 7 handsets, are not compatible with the new OS. As a stop gap measure, Microsoft has offered a final update for Windows Phone 7 handsets that will take them from version 7.5 to 7.8. That update will give WP7 users a similar UI to WP8, but won't include any of its underlying architecture enhancements. Further, the Windows Phone marketplace lags well behind the iTunes App Store and Google Play for the number of apps available.
As far as deals go, it is one of the better ones available, and may appeal to bargain hunters and new entrants into the smartphone segment. However, it will come with some not insignificant strings attached.
