(Image source: TechnoBuffalo)
BY EVAN THOMAS
How much do you love your sweetheart? Enough to get him or her a new phone? Microsoft has announced Nokia’s flagship Windows phone, the Lumia 800, will be available stateside at Microsoft stores just in time for Valentine’s Day ... for $900.
The Verge cites sources close to Microsoft, who say the 800 will be available as part of a bundle which includes a wireless speaker system and bluetooth headsets. Oh, and the phone will be unlocked, which means it’s not tied to a specific carrier.
Awesome...... But 900 bucks? This is not what Nokia said it was going to do, says GottaBeMobile.
“The only way to describe this is bizarre and that’s because of how much different this is from the rhetoric that Nokia trotted out at CES. There, the Finnish manufacturer stated that it would be attacking the U.S. market with affordable prices. $899? Really?”
The Lumia 800 sports a 3.7-inch display, a 1.4ghz processor running Windows Phone Mango, and an 8-megapixel camera that shoots 720p HD video, all packed into sleek polycarbonate shell. Engadget called it one of the best Windows Phones yet.
But Microsoft doesn’t currently have plans to sell the 800 on its own. The Next Web says you’ll just have to put up with the excess hardware.
“Here’s the worst part: you can’t buy a Lumia 800 without the bundle. In other words, if you were hoping at snagging an 800, unlocked, for your own personal use, you had better hope that you really wanted a new speaker and two headsets.”
And even though it’s unlocked, says Business Insider, only some networks will support it.
“This means you’ll have to pop in a SIM card if you’re on AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon and Sprint users are out of luck.”
Gizmodo says it looks like you might be paying more -- a lot more -- for less phone.
“Nokia’s plan has been to blitz the US with value. The Lumia 710 on T-Mobile is just $50. The Lumia 900 might be $100. Who in their right mind would pay $900 just for a smaller version of the 900, but with no LTE?”
Hey -- still cheaper than diamonds, though, right?
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