Lumia 920, Galaxy Note II launch October 21 on AT&T?
updated 01:15 pm EDT, Fri September 14, 2012
Samsung, Nokia models' release dates leaked
Neither Nokia's Lumia 920 nor Samsung's Galaxy Note II were given specific US launch dates when they were unveiled, but leaked information points to an October arrival. Unnamed sources within the carrier have confirmed to BGR that both the 920 and Note II are slated to launch on October 21. AT&T has not commented on the report.
The Lumia 920's launch will be especially important for Nokia. The Finnish phone maker has fallen on hard times, losing a once-dominant position in the mobile sector to Apple and other competitors. Most recently, Nokia revealed it had lost $1 billion in the second quarter of this year. The launch of Windows Phone 8 and the Lumia 920 are viewed by some as Nokia's last chance to return to relevance, though Nokia executives claim the company does have a backup plan should Microsoft's new mobile OS fail to gain traction.
The Lumia 920 features a 4.5-inch display, near-field communications compatibility, and built-in wireless inductive charging. It also incorporates Nokia's PureView technology, which is said to produce higher-quality images, though Nokia has come under some criticism for passing off simulations of the 920's imaging capabilities and passing off those simulations as actual images from the 920.
For Samsung, the Galaxy Note II represents the chance to follow up on the success of the original Galaxy Note, which surprised much of the tech sector by going on to sizable sales.
The Note II features a larger screen than its predecessor, as well as improved internals and a longer-lasting battery. It also features improvements to Samsung's Note-specific suite of productivity apps. Electronista went hands-on with the Note II earlier this month, finding the device to be much improved over the original.
