Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy said that Nokia‘s flagship smartphone Lumia 920 will be available at $149.99 in the U.S. market, on a two year AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) contract. On Sunday, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) started taking preorders for the Windows Phone 8-based device. However, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) suddenly removed the device from its website on Monday.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) unveiled Lumia 920 in September. The device is expected to hit the market next month to exploit the opportunity of holiday session. Best Buy has put the price of device at $149.99, if you want a two year contract with AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Without the contract, Lumia 920 would cost $599.99.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), which lost $1.27 billion in the third quarter, has lost a chunk of its market share to Apple and Samsung. To make its latest offering a success, Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is aggressively tying up with the carriers around the world. Telecom carriers also have positive expectations with Lumia 920. However, a lower price would further hurt the margins of Nokia, which is already suffering losses for straight six quarters.
According to Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), Lumia will be cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 5, which costs $199.99 on a two year contract. Samsung’s Galaxy SIII also comes at $199.99 on a two-year contract with AT&T. However, HTC X8 smartphone costs only $99.99 under the same contract terms. However, analysts think HTC X8, which also runs on Windows Phone, is not a threat to Lumia.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) has high expectations with Lumia 920. The previous versions of Lumia, which run on older Windows Phone, were not received very well by consumers. The new device has certain advantageous features, such as a camera with optical image stabilization, wireless charging, and runs on the latest Windows Phone 8 operating system.
Technically, it has capabilities to compete heads on with Apple’s iPhone 5. The Finish company said it could sell only 300,000 Lumia smartphones in the U.S. market during the third quarter. Earlier this month, AT&T said it will start selling Lumia 920, as well as Lumia 820 in November. Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) said it will start shipping the new smartphone as soon as it becomes available.
