Samsung Focus 2: Can a $50 Windows Phone Steal HTC, Nokia Thunder?

Samsung's Focus 2 has the same form factor as the original Focus, but runs on AT&T's 4G LTE network. Photo: Samsung

While Samsung just created serious buzz around its latest Android phone, the Galaxy S III, the company clearly isn't giving up on its Windows Phone line. In fact, Samsung's new Focus 2 is aggressively priced to steal sales from Nokia and HTC.

Revealed Monday, the Focus 2 follows the original Focus, the Focus S and the Focus Flash. The latest Samsung Windows Phone, running Windows 7.5 Mango, will be available exclusively on AT&T starting May 20.

The Focus 2 is Samsung's first LTE Windows Phone device. AT&T offers two other LTE Windows Phones — HTC's Titan II and Nokia's Lumia 900, both released in April. But unlike the Lumia 900 at $100 and the Titan II at an even more pricey $200, Samsung's Focus 2 is incredibly affordable at $50 with a two-year contract.

With such a low price point, the Focus 2 could appeal to users transitioning from feature phones to smartphones.

"We've seen that so much of our sales are smartphones now. But there's still a large population has hasn't transitioned yet," Mike Woodward, AT&T's VP of Mobile Device Portfolio, told Wired. "Windows Phone has an OS that really speaks to simplicity, and the lower price point [of the Focus 2] is certainly something else that can help with that transition."

The Focus 2 specs are on par with other thin smartphones, measuring at 10.98mm thick and weighing 4.3 ounces. By comparison, Samsung's Galaxy S III is 8.6mm thick and 4.7 ounces.

The device harkens back to the rounded edges of the original Focus, and features a 4-inch, 400×800 Super AMOLED display. It packs a 1750mAh battery, 8GB of memory, and a 1.4GHz single-core processor. A 5-megapixel camera can shoot video in HD 720p, and a front-facing VGA camera facilitates video chat.

Colors? There's only one choice: "pure white."

Windows Phone adoption has been slow to pick up — Nokia is even facing a lawsuit from shareholders claiming that Windows Phone failed to save the mobile handset company's flagging position in the smartphone market. But Woodward says that AT&T fully supports Windows Phone and has seen positive feedback from customers.

"We see Windows Phone as a delightful end-user experience. Our own internal surveys show that [the OS] has great customer satisfaction," Woodward said. "From the beginning we saw this as an opportunity to offer consumers something new and innovative. We've now just hit a point of maturation where it makes sense to offer more choices [for Windows Phone]."

AT&T has the largest portfolio of Windows Phone devices, and plans to add more as Microsoft's platform gains momentum.

Samsung recently surpassed Nokia in mobile handset sales, largely due to its support of the Android platform. It will be interesting to see whether Samsung's investment in the Windows Phone platform — especially with such an affordable device like the Focus 2 — will undercut Nokia's Lumia sales.

"If you look at the momentum of Windows Phone, Nokia coming into it was a very strong endorsement. I think the fact that Samsung, who is now the world's largest cell phone maker, continues to invest heavily in the category provides significant momentum," Woodward said. "This is a marathon, not a sprint. For sure, Windows Phone will be one of the strong competitors."

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Original Page: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/05/samsung-focus-2-can-a-50-windows-phone-steal-htc-nokia-thunder/

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Regards,

Derik Chan