Microsoft is serious about ensuring the success of their Windows Phone series, and during the announcement of the Windows Phone 8, they were quick to reveal which carriers would be providing these phones to consumers, and if you’re already a customer of any of the big three, and you want a Windows Phone 8, you won’t be disappointed.
According to PCMag.com, the first carriers to step up the Windows Phone 8 plate are huge players in the telecommunications industry, and are very well known to their already-existing customers:
AT&T: The company sent me this statement. “AT&T plans to carry a new line of Windows Phone 8 smartphones launching later this year. The unmatched leader in Windows Phone – offering the very first 4G LTE Windows Phone smartphones in the U.S. – AT&T is home to the most robust Windows Phone portfolio of any carrier.”
T-Mobile: “T-Mobile is very bullish on Windows 8 and will be a partner at launch,” a company spokesman told us via e-mail. The carrier followed up with an official blog post extolling Windows Phone 8.
Verizon Wireless: “We have said publicly that we will support the Windows Phone 8 platform,” a spokesperson told us via e-mail, but didn’t give details on exactly when. However, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo told Reuters in April that the phones would be coming by the end of the year.
Other mobile device service providers are waiting to see if the device is successful:
Cricket: In May, Cricket told us that it’s in discussions with OEMs on whether to carry Windows Phone 8. Today it said “we have said that we want to offer customers a range of choices regarding phones, plans and operating systems,” but no more than that.
MetroPCS: “We’ll continue to monitor the consumer adoption of Windows Phones in the marketplace,” said Jay Moller, Metro’s handset product planner.
Sprint: “We have a very strong relationship with our Microsoft partners, but we don’t comment on products and services not yet announced.”
In other words, if the WP8 flies off the shelves like its Apple competitor, expect to see the devices in just about every major carrier’s inventory. Much like Google and Android, Microsoft is allowing their Windows Phone 8 operating system to propagate across a number of devices, including Samsung, Nokia, HTC, and Huawei. Over at the Windows Team Blog, the new OS is getting hyped up a great deal:
…it’s the most advanced mobile OS Microsoft has ever made and will arrive on new phones later this year.
Many of Windows Phone 8’s new capabilities come from a surprising source: Windows, the most successful and powerful operating system on the planet, and one used by more than a billion people. Yes, you read that right: Windows Phone 8 is based on the same core technologies that power Windows 8.
The Start screen is heavily featured, as well. In fact, they have a video extolling its virtues: