FollowThe US based carrier AT&T has started selling the latest flagship device from Nokia, the Lumia 1020. However the Windows Phone 8 based smartphone is restricted to sale via the net only and if that is not enough, the device so far is exclusive to AT&T. The Finnish company has been following the practice of having a version of its flagship device for each of the carriers in the US. Whether such a strategy makes for a great business idea is a matter of debate though as things stands right now, Nokia has only one version of its Lumia 1020 on offer and one has to be either an AT&T subscriber to pick up the device or buy it unlocked at a higher price.
Those who are already subscribers to other carriers such as Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint will have to wait till Nokia comes out with their respective versions of the Lumia 1020. That Nokia is loosing out on quite a huge market unless it has a version of the 1020 for the other carriers is all too evident.
Also, while still on the price, the Lumia 1020 is definitely not cheap, even with the carrier subsidy in place. The device comes for $299.99 after signing up for a two year contract. For those who’d like to be hooked on to the carrier for only one year should be prepared to shell out a higher amount of $549. 99. Or if you prefer to remain free of any carrier obligations, well there is a price to be paid and that stands at a cool $659.99. Needless to mention, the flagship Lumia is definitely priced at a premium considering most of the best selling Android devices can be picked up for less than $100 in the US after carrier subsidy.
Meanwhile, AT&T also has a slightly more sugar coated pricing scheme for the Lumia 1020. As per the new plan termed AT&T Next, the price of the 1020 will come down to just 33 dollars to be paid for one year and eight months. Those opting for the AT&T Next plan though will have to be wary of the fact that they will have to pay the remaining sum if they choose to walk out of the plan at any time. But the good news about AT&T Next is that after a period of one year, customers can exchange the device for a newer model.
Meanwhile, the device is available in various attractive shades of white, black, and yellow and that too with no shipping charges. The device comes with a 4.5 inch display having a resolution of 1280 x 786 pixels. There is a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top to ensure better survivability. Powered by a 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip, the smartphone also boasts of an internal storage of 32 GB along with a RAM of 2 GB. However, saving the best for the last, the biggest attraction of the Lumia 1020 is its primary back facing camera that comes with a 41 mp sensor complete with a flash as well as the full suite of software to ensure one get to have the best quality images with the device.
