AT&T strikes first with 4G LTE Windows Phones from Nokia, HTC
AT&T announced its first LTE smartphones at CES 2012. Expect to see the Nokia Lumia 900 and HTC Titan II headed your way in the first half of 2012.
LAS VEGAS--AT&T customers, rejoice! The carrier just announced that the first 4G LTE Windows Phone smartphones are headed to the U.S. in the first half of the year.
HTC, Nokia, and Microsoft all joined AT&T on stage at the Developer Summit to introduce their devices to the crowd, starting with the HTC Titan II. The HTC Titan II holds the title of having the largest display of any global Windows Phone at 4.7 inches, and it also has a 16-megapixel (!!) camera.
HTC has recently focused on improving the quality and capabilities of its camera phones, and to our knowledge, the Titan II is equipped with the largest camera on a handset in the U.S. In addition, the Titan II has a f/2.6 wide-angle lens, autofocus, dual-LED flash, red-eye reduction, image stabilization, and a backside-illuminated sensor.
The Windows Phone Mango device also offers a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S2 processor. During the presentation, HTC CEO Peter Chou boasted about the "blazing-fast" speed of AT&T's LTE network, but what else would you expect?
Nokia, on the other hand, was more of a tease. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop confirmed that it will launch its first 4G Windows Phone devices with AT&T, but said he would provide more details about the handset at Nokia's press conference today at 3 p.m. PT. With all the early leaks, though, it should not be a surprise to see the Nokia Lumia 900 handset make its grand debut this afternoon.
Finally, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer joined AT&T's Ralph de la Vega onstage to talk Windows Phone and developer relations. Ballmer emphasized Windows 8 as the next step forward and said the operating system will create a new opportunity for developers. Not surprisingly, Ballmer ended the presentation with his signature battle cry, "Developers, developers, developers!"